How Many Calories Should You Eat To Lose Weight?
“How do I lose belly fat?”
“How do I get rid of my muffin top?”
These are questions I get all the time and the answer is always the same. You need to be in a calorie deficit.
What is a calorie deficit and how do you get into one?
Calories = energy we get from the food we eat.
A calorie deficit means you are consuming less calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight.
We all have individual calorie needs that are dependent on:
Age
Sex
Weight
Height
Activity level
There are other things can can factor into energy balance and everyone’s individual metabolism can vary— which is what makes it a bit tricky finding the right calorie balance for you.
So how do you find the right amount of calories for you?
Finding the right calories for you can also depend on your goals. If you are trying to gain weight you will want to be in a calorie surplus. ( eating more calories than your body needs to maintain it’s current weight ). If you are wanting to maintain your weight you will want to consume the amount of calories your body needs to maintain its current weight, and last but not least— if you want to lose weight you will need to consume less calories than your body needs to maintain it’s current weight.
To keep it simple, let’s talk about being in a calorie deficit for weight loss.
There are a variety of different formulas you can use to estimate your calorie needs.
I could list all of the different formulas out there for calculating your estimated calorie needs, but let’s be real, ain’t no one got time for that and I am not here to try to make you think I am a mathematician.
Even if you tried all the different formula’s out there, ultimately they are all just going to be estimates and the only way to figure out if the estimated calories work for you is to try them.
A simple google search will lead you to a variety of different calorie calculators. Don’t over-think it. Just pick one.
Let’s use me for example:
I just typed into google “Calorie Calculator” and clicked on the first thing that came up.
I entered in all my info into the boxes and hit calculate.
Above is the results this calculator gave me. Seeing as I have been prepping for a physique show for weeks now… I will say that this is actually quite accurate. However, that doesn’t mean it will be accurate for you, or everyone.
How do you find out if it is accurate?
Start with your preferred rate of weight-loss. I am going to suggest that you chose the mild weight loss mark because going too fast too soon usually leads to feeling deprived, hungry, lethargic, and more likely to end up head first in a pint of ice cream or a bag of chips within a week. Faster is not always better when it comes to weight loss. Adherence is the most important factor. If you can’t adhere to something long term… it’s not going to work.
Once you pick your calorie intake suggestion, you are going to start tracking your food intake and aim for the given amount of calories.
Picking a food tracker
There are a variety of different food trackers out there but my personal favorite is MyFitnessPal. Food trackers are currently the most convenient way to track your food/calories. Back in my day we used to have to write our food down with a pen and paper and add up the calories ourselves. I guess I do some math after all, and I guess I am also old as fuck.
MyFitnesspal not only does all the math for you, but it can also scan barcodes for easy entry of foods, and breaks down your micronutrients and macronutrients. ( I will go over macros here in a bit ).
After you have selected your favorite food tracker, you will want to be as accurate as possible with measuring out your food portions.
The most accurate way to measure your food portions is with a food scale.
This is the food scale I have had for five years and it was only $14.00
Using a food scale is going to be your best bet when it comes to accuracy. If you don’t have the money to spend for a food scale, you can try using cup and teaspoon measurements but:
1. Cups and teaspoon measurements are actually way more of a pain in the ass ( ends up being more dirty dishes ).
2. Weighing by volume vs. weight leaves a lot more room for error.
Think about how some recipes call for a packed cup of brown sugar vs. just a cup of sugar. A packed cup of something, or a heaping tablespoon of something, can leave you eating way more than you think. It might seem minuscule in the moment but that shit adds up.
I can’t tell you how many people have come to me thinking their metabolism was broken because they have been tracking their food, thinking they are in a calorie deficit when they are not.
Tracking your food won’t automatically mean you are in a calorie deficit. Tracking your food accurately is key.
Alongside tracking your food accurately with a food scale, the next step to finding out if those estimated calories are right for you is weighing yourself daily.
Just like weighing your food has to be done accurately, you must also log your weight accurately and here is how:
Weigh yourself at the same time each day. Get out of bed, use the restroom, and then weigh yourself. You should be either naked or wearing the same clothes. Clothes add weight and if you are wearing sweatpants one day and shorts the next…obviously that is going to impact your weight on the scale. Make sure you weigh yourself before eating or drinking anything.
If you have an iphone download the app Happy Scale. If you have an android, download the app Libra. These apps allow you to log your weight each day and it will create a trend line for you so that you don’t freak out when you see scale fluctuations. Enter your weight in these apps every day.
Now that you are tracking your food accurately and logging your weight each morning you will want to pay attention to your “weight trend.” Both of these apps take your 7 day average weight so that you get your real weight vs. freaking out about weight fluctuations.
Your weight will fluctuate from day to day and that is completely normal.
If you are shaking your head right now to the thought of weighing yourself everyday because seeing your weight go up and down has caused you distress in the past ( perhaps even 1-5lbs from one day to the next ). You are not alone, but also… this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t weigh yourself everyday, it means that you have not yet become acquainted with scale fluctuations and why they occur.
When you start to understand why the scale fluctuates, it becomes much less scary.
Reasons why the scale fluctuates from day to day:
Hydration levels
Hormone fluctuations
Stress
Lack of sleep
You ate more sodium than usual
You ate a late meal
You ate more carbs than usual
You had an intense workout the day before. ( my weight usually spikes after leg day. )
You need to take a shit.
One of the main reasons the scale did NOT fluctuate: FAT GAIN.
Let’s say the scale went up one pound from one day to the next. In order for that pound to actually be one pound of fat, you would have had to of eaten an excess of 3,500 calories on top of your daily calorie needs. That is actually quite difficult to do. ( This is not a challenge I am just saying it’s not as easy as some may think. ).
The more you weigh yourself and start to learn how your body works and are able to identify the reasoning behind the fluctuation… the less impact the scale starts to have. It is merely a tool that gives you some pretty damn insightful data into how your body works.
Take this image for example: This is the weight trend of a client of mine. If they hadn’t logged their weight each day… they would continuously freak out every time the scale fluctuated. However, you might notice that when the scale spiked up, it was followed by a new low weigh in not long after. This is what we call the “whoosh” effect.
The last step to finding your calories is…
Taking starting progress photos.
You will want to take progress photos because sometimes the scale doesn’t show you the whole picture.
For example: These pictures below are a month apart. My weight is actually .8lbs heavier in the right picture. If I had not taken a progress photo I would have thought I was gaining fat. Turns out, I was experiencing some body fat re-composition. I had gained a little bit of muscle, but had simultaneously lost fat.
You will want to take pictures from the front, back, and side wearing just underwear for the best view. ( for you not other’s unless you intend it for that too ).
How to know if those estimated calories are right for you.
Now that we got all of the tracking shit out of the way, we can talk about how to know if those estimated calories are right for you or not.
In order to find this out you will need to track all of the things listed above for at least two weeks straight as accurately as possible.
If in two weeks you are doing everything accurately and you don’t see any type of progress on the scale, or in the photos then it is time to adjust. If you gain weight that is obviously fat weight, ( pants don’t fit, scale is up, etc.) you need to take your calories down lower. Start by lowering them down by 200 at a time. Don’t go crazy.
Once you lower them down. Try this new calorie estimation and repeat for another two weeks.
If you didn’t gain weight but also did not lose weight… then congrats you found your maintenance calories. You will still want to take them down if your goal is weight-loss.
If you lost weight quickly ( more than 2lbs per week ) There is a chance they are too low but you can go off how you felt during this time. Did you feel ravenously hungry or were you okay?
If you were ravenous then you will want to take your calories up by 100-200 calories so that you make sure you are not dipping too low too fast. Not because you will kick yourself into starvation mode ( that is a myth btw ) but because it is less likely to be sustainable and you might end up with a case of the “fuck it’s.”
“The Fuck It’s”: When you have been dieting too hard and end up ravenously hungry wanting to eat everything in sight.
Now that we have covered calories, let’s go over macros.
What are macros?
Macros stands for macronutrients.
Food is made up of micronutrients and macronutrients.
Micronutrients are your vitamins and minerals which are important for health, but they do not contribute calories.
Macronutrients are: Protein, Carbs, and Fat. These are the nutrients that make up the calories in your diet.
Calorie count for each Macronutrient:
Protein: 1g = 4 calories
Carbs :1g = 4 calories
Fat: 1g = 9 calories
Alcohol: 1g = 7 calories ( this isn’t a macronutrient but it is good to know if you are someone who drinks regularly ).
If you are already counting calories, and all you need for weight loss is to be in a calorie deficit… why should you pay attention to macros?
Let me break it down for you:
When it comes to weight-loss or weight-gain: Calories are king. Energy balance will be the most important factor. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the thought of macros. Focus on your calorie goals first.
When it comes to body composition: Macros are king. The main focus with macros is usually getting in enough protein in order to increase or preserve lean muscle mass during gaining or losing phases.
When it comes to health: Micronutrients are important to keep your body nourished and running optimally.
The pyramid above illustrates the importance of calories, macros, micros, meal timing, and supplements.
Unfortunately with all of the savvy internet marketing around these days, the fitness industry is really good about getting you to think that supplements or fad diets are of the upmost importance to losing weight. Do not be deceived.
Any diet that has ever “worked” for someone for weight loss is not due to the magic of the diet. It is due to them being able to adhere to a diet that has put them in a calorie deficit. Whether that diet is keto, paleo, vegan, intermittent fasting, etc. If you lose weight on any diet, it is because you are in a calorie deficit.
If you are just getting started with all of this and are suddenly feeling more overwhelmed…
Take a deep breath.
Start by focusing on your calories. Go back up to step one and start with the initial estimation.
Take it one step at a time. Once you find your calories and get the hang of tracking them accurately, start paying attention to the numbers on your macronutrients. Don’t do anything with them, just start being mindful of what foods contain which macros.
Once you get a hang of calories, start paying attention to protein.
If you are starting to feel ready to set macro goals for yourself, I suggest you go here.
I will go deeper into macros at a later time, but until then, hopefully this gives you a good starting point. Take it one day at a time, don’t be tempted to drop your calories too low, and don’t let perfection be the enemy of good.