Create a Calorie Deficit for Weight Loss

In my last post, I talked about weight loss and muscle gain.

First, I would like to say that I am by no means an expert on this subject, but do know what worked for me and that is what I shared.

A number of people asked how to figure the number of calories needed daily and how I settled on 1800 for my new weight loss (muscle gain) program. The second question was how do you calculate how much protein your body needs.

No doubt about it…..It’s hard work and takes discipline to lose weight…..But for most of us that are not aspiring to be trained killers, it does not have to be complicated. The most important thing here is what Nike has to say……”Just Do It!” If you watch what you eat and get some good exercise, you are more than likely to see results.

That being said, there are some pretty complicated formulas to calculate your daily caloric needs, but here is what I used: Active males need approx. 15 calories per pound of body weight. I weighed 160 pounds and male, so 15 X 160 = 2400 calories. Active women need about 12 calories per pound.

For weight loss you need to create a calorie deficit….Less calories in than what your body needs to maintain…. To lose 1 # you need to create a deficit of 3500 calories. Same goes with gaining. If you eat 3500 more calories than you need you are going to put on a pound.

When I started, my goal was to lose 2 pounds a week by creating a 2 X 3500 = 7000 calorie deficit…..Again without trying to make this complicated, that meant I needed to eat less and/or burn 1000 calories per day 7 days a week. My plan was to try to stick to 1800 calories a day (a 600 calorie deficit) and burn AT LEAST 400 in the gym. I know for a fact there were days I ate 2400 calories, but burned 1000 calories in the gym. It doesn’t matter…What does matter is the deficit has got to be there or you won’t reach your goal.

I also mentioned that I concentrated on consuming protein at every meal to aid in building muscle. Again, quite a few formulas out there, but I went with the .8 gram of protein / pound. I weighed 160 so as I said in my last post, I tried to get approximately 128 grams of protein in me a day or 25-30 grams per meal or “snack”.

And remember, as I concluded in my last post……If you are going to use a solid exercise plan to create part of your calorie deficit, don’t just watch your weight loss…..Keep an eye on your muscle gain.

Hope this helps!!