Creating a Calorie Deficit
A lot of people come to me, discouraged over the “stubborn” bodyfat.
“I just can’t seem to get rid of my bird wings.”
“I have this extra squish that won’t go way.”
“I must have some sort of metabolic condition because I can’t lose bodyfat.”
“I want to tone my ______”
BEFORE PROCEEDING, I HATE TO BREAK IT TO YA :(
But… you can’t spot reduce when you embark on a fat loss journey.
One more time for the people in the back;
YOU CAN’T SPOT REDUCE ON ANY PART OF YOUR BODY!
Okay, phew.. sorry for yelling.
That’s just how the cookie crumbles, my dear.
When you start losing fat, your body will become an expert at preserving it’s storages.
Afterall, fat cells are where your body reserves its energy! Genetically speaking, every individual body has it’s own, cushy place where it feels comfortable holding that excess weight.
But anyways, how do you even get started?!
Let’s start with the tough reality. There’s a hard pill you need to swallow for why you aren’t LOSING any body fat or weight.
Wanna hear it?
You’re consuming more calories than you’re burning in a day.
That’s literally the only reason; you are not in a calorie deficit.
I know, how revolutionary.
How do I create a calorie deficit?
Theres a few ways you can approach this, I’ll give you an example and if it’s too much of a headache for you, you can toss what I say out the door! But message me first so we can troubleshoot. ;)
Start by tracking your food
I recommend using an app like MyFitnessPal to see how many calories you’re eating in a day while weighing yourself and logging your weight daily. Do not restrict yourself, just use it as data.
If you are maintaining weight, you’re eating around your body’s maintenance calories; if you’re gaining weight, then you’re eating in a surplus of calories. And if you’re losing weight - by darn Linda, you’re ALREADY IN A CALORIE DEFICIT! Although I don’t think this is the case for you if you’re still reading this.
Don’t make any changes for about a week.
Continue to collect data for about 1-2 weeks and see what the average calories you consume are! This will ensure that you make the most accurate changes relative to what you’re already doing. Take note of the current cardio you’re doing as well.
Slowly subtract food!
To keep things as consistent and sustainable as possible, I would recommend a very slow approach. So if you’re maintaining weight, start conservative by taking out 50 calories per day for a week. This won’t amount to much weight loss at first, but DON’T let that discourage you.
Do you want to sustain your fat loss and see results?
Cool, then be patient.
The next week you can take out 100, and then the week after 150, and the week after 200; so on and so forth.
I would not recommend exceeding a 500 calorie per day deficit for a lifestyle weight loss. In contest prep it’s often required to take these extremes, but for the general public, exceeding this amount can result in burn out, loss in motivation, rebound & binging, which will all set you further behind.
Do not overexert on cardio!
Cardio is a tool and should be used as one. I would recommend starting this “data collection process” without ANY cardio so that you can see how your body responds without it. As you get further into your cut, you can add 5 minutes at a time per session POST lifting to increase your deficit.
If you are already doing quite a bit of cardio, it’s a good idea to slowly decrease by 5 mins per session until you phase it out. If you cut it out all together, that’s a recipe for disaster.
Do not exceed more than 6 months in a dieting phase.
Your metabolism will adapt to lower calories, so it’s a good idea to do periodic increases of calories. Whether it’s a free meal 1x per week, taking “diet break” weeks where you are still tracking food but bringing calories back up to MAINTENANCE, or slowly reverse dieting and adding calories back in, you want to make sure you’re keeping your metabolism healthy.
Kapeesh?
Okay, so last thing, while this is a recipe for success, I understand that following this method and adhering on your own can be difficult.
If this is something you think you would struggle with, it may be a good idea to hire a coach to monitor your progress and make the food changes for you in a safe and sustainable way. This can take off a huge burden and secure that you’re actually making progress every week!
It’s also important to mention that some of you reading this may not be in an optimal position to start a fat loss journey. If you have abused skinny teas, detoxes, endless cardio, diet trends, and eating way less than you should (AKA, under 1200 calories for a long period of time) - you need to focus on rebuilding your metabolism first, because you’re just going to run yourself into the ground.