Want to lose weight? Then there is no way around a little math. Here’s how to subtract calories from your diet, adding up to gradual weight loss that lasts.
By K. Aleisha Fetters Medically Reviewed by Lynn Grieger, RDN, CDCES
Reviewed: December 21, 2022
To move the needle on the scale, doing some minor arithmetic can help.
Although there are many factors that influence body weight, losing weight is frequently a numbers game. You will lose weight if you burn more calories than you consume each day.
It used to be the case that you needed to burn 3,500 more calories per day than you consumed in order to lose 1 pound (lb) of fat. You would have 1 lb less body fat at the end of the week if you maintained a 500 calorie deficit each day.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that for some people the 3,500-calorie equation can be quite broadly applicable, it is neither straightforward nor easy in reality. According to Gary Foster, PhD, chief scientific officer at WW, "a pound of body fat contains roughly 3,500 calories, but a calorie deficit of 500 calories does not necessarily equal a pound of lost fat for every person" (formerly Weight Watchers).
According to studies, cutting 3,500 calories greatly underestimates how much weight would be lost and how much of it will be fat. According to researchers, a significant portion of the mismatch results from changes in the body's metabolism as a result of weight changes. Additionally, as Dr. Foster points out, all of the lost weight is a combination of lean tissue, which is primarily muscle, and fat. While several dietary and activity factors influence how much of the body is made up of fat vs muscle, caloric deficits never completely target fat. Therefore, it is a fallacy when a business or program says that it can aid in fat loss.
When trying to lose weight, Foster adds, it's crucial to consider a food's complete nutritional content as opposed to just its calories. "You can lose weight eating 1,200 calories of anything, but choosing the right calories is important for your health." Foster suggests consuming fewer meals that are high in saturated fat and added sugars and more foods that are high in protein, unsaturated fats, and fiber.
Doing The Math With A BMR Calculator To Make Weight Loss Work For You
You must have a solid understanding of how many calories you consume for energy on a daily basis in order to lose weight. The average adult woman burns between 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day, whereas the average adult man burns about 2,000 to 3,000, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020–2025. (According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the typical height and weight of an adult American woman are 5 feet, 3.5 inches and 170.8 pounds, respectively. The average height and weight of men in America are 5 feet 9 inches and 199.8 pounds, respectively. Age, amount of activity, size, and body composition are the main factors that affect how many calories an individual burns throughout the course of a day.
You can use a metabolic rate calculator online to get a more precise sense of your daily caloric needs. These figure out basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the quantity of calories burned by the body each day only to sustain essential biological processes. According to Diabetes.co.uk, your height, weight, age, and sex are taken into consideration. Your daily metabolic rate is determined by multiplying it by an activity factor, or how much movement you make each day. According to Sari Greaves, RDN, of LBS Nutrition in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and author of Cooking Well, Healthy Kids, this is an estimate of how many calories you actually burn in a day and how many calories you need to consume daily to maintain your weight. Some BMR calculators let you enter the ratio of your body fat to lean mass, which explains a lot of the differences in basal metabolic rates between any two individuals. The "fat pinchers" your doctor might employ or calipers, or a smart scale that measures your body composition, are necessary for using these calculators, despite the fact that they are correct.
You can develop your own weight-loss strategy after you are aware of your current daily caloric needs. Audra Wilson, RD, CSCS, a bariatric dietitian and strength and conditioning specialist at the Northwestern Medicine Metabolic Health and Surgical Weight Loss Center at Delnor Hospital in Geneva, Illinois, states simply that you will lose weight as long as you are consuming fewer calories than that amount or you increase your daily caloric burn with exercise.
To generate a deficit of 500 calories, you could, for instance, eat 500 fewer calories, burn 500 more calories through exercise, or do any combination of the two. She gives the example of eating 250 calories less than you need each day and then exercising to burn an additional 250 calories.
According to the 3,500-calorie rule, you will lose 1 lb of fat in 7 days if you reach the 500-calorie deficit at the end of each day. Don't anticipate to drop that much that fast because that equation tends to oversimplify and underestimate losses.
Additionally, Wilson stresses that calorie restriction does not necessarily result in weight loss. It's a start, but she adds that with weight loss, it's impossible to just build a deficit and calculate certainty. There are other additional factors at play, not the least of which are the compensatory actions our bodies perform in an effort to preserve homeostasis.
However, you are more than welcome to calculate the figures that predict your unique weight loss equation (keep in mind that the word predict does not imply a guarantee). Although the math is challenging, one of the top nutrition research institutes in the US, the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has developed a weight loss predictor to help you more accurately predict how much weight you will lose with a specific daily calorie deficit. The amount of your daily caloric deficit as well as your age, height, weight, and sex are taken into account as well as mathematical models.
When It Comes To Losing Weight, Easy Does It
Your rate of weight loss is influenced by the magnitude of your caloric deficit, with higher deficits resulting in quicker weight reduction.
Wilson notes that specialists generally concur that the healthiest and most long-lasting rate of weight loss is 2 pounds per week. If you lose more weight than that in a given week, your lean muscle mass is probably being severely reduced. Your metabolic rate will slow down, which will make it more likely that you will eventually gain back all of the weight you lost and even more. According to Greaves, if you lose more than a few pounds every week, you run the risk of not getting enough vitamins, minerals, or macronutrients (protein, carbs, and fat) in your diet. Not because rapid weight reduction deprives the body of nutrition in and of itself. Instead, when you drastically reduce your calorie consumption to the point of losing weight quickly, your overall food (and hence nutrient) intake may be unhealthy low. According to the authors of a 2018 study in the journal Nutrients that examined three commercial diet programs marketed for quick weight loss, individuals had nutritional deficits in vitamin D, B vitamins, vitamin E, selenium, and zinc.
However, Greaves notes that if you dramatically reduce your intake of processed foods or carbohydrates, you may drop water weight quickly even with a caloric deficit of a few hundred calories per day.
Factoring In Diet And Exercise To Shed Unwanted Pounds
Whatever your weight reduction objective, it's optimal to combine food and activity to lose 1 lb. Setting yourself up for future weight gain by pursuing one without the other.
Diet and exercise complement each other, according to Wilson. "Diet has a greater short-term impact on weight loss, and exercise has a greater long-term impact on maintaining weight loss."
Not to add, for the majority of individuals, burning 500 calories through activity is more difficult than cutting 500 calories from their diet. However, without activity, most of any weight lost will come from lean muscle, which means that even if you may lose weight, your body fat percentage may actually go up. She explains that over time, your body may actually put on weight since low levels of muscle slow down your metabolism.
Utilizing a journal or app to keep track of your meals is one approach to stay on track. Many let you keep track of the calories you take in and the calories you burn off during daily activities and exercise. That may be helpful in the management of weight loss, according to one study.
Again, regrettably, calorie counters frequently underestimate energy expenditure and rarely get everything just right, according to Wilson. In fact, several studies indicate that women typically underestimate their calorie consumption by 25%.
Additionally, if you don't weigh or measure each food item you consume (which can be difficult), you might mistakenly believe you have a significant calorie deficit when you fact have a surplus. This indicates that you are effectively gaining weight because you are ingesting more calories than you are burning, she explains.
According to one study, every fitness tracker examined overestimated calorie burn by at least 20%.
I don't discount the importance of having a tracker, Greaves continues. They can help you stay on track and support your efforts to eat well. But I suggest using these trackers as tools. Not for calorie counting, but for mindfulness: track.
You can lose weight slowly, steadily, and permanently by making little modifications to your diet and activity levels.
Diet And Exercise Tips That Help With Weight Loss
You can achieve a daily calorie deficit that will enable you to lose 1 lb by following these diet and activity tips:
Eat whole grains. Compared to the simple carbs found in processed wheat or white rice, they are more satiating and take longer to digest. Pick whole-grain products like oats, brown rice, and bread. According to a variety of study, whole grains also have a significant amount of good fiber, which may help with weight loss even more. The USDA estimates that 1 cup of cooked brown rice contains 3.23 grams of fiber, which makes it a decent source.
Think before you drink. According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, sodas and fruit juices are loaded with calories and added sugar, which can cause weight gain and have a negative impact on your health in a number of ways. 8 ounces of fruit punch, for instance, has 110 calories and 26 grams of sugar, according to the USDA. She claims that by simply switching to water (simple or sparkling), you can almost immediately reduce your calorie intake.
Another calorie source to consider is alcohol. A standard 12-ounce beer has about 155 calories, while a 5-ounce glass of red wine has about 125 calories.
Eat regular meals. Greaves warns that skipping meals might lower blood sugar levels and increase your risk of binge eating later in the day. Maintain a daily schedule of three meals and one to two snacks. Set reminders on your phone for all meals and snacks if you frequently forget or skip meals.
Do regular strength training. At rest, muscle burns a few extra calories compared to fat. Gaining additional muscle mass makes weight loss more effective. Even while at rest, you will burn more calories the more muscle you have. Foster adds that strength training will ensure that you lose the majority of your weight through fat rather than muscle. Yes, you can deliberately increase your lean muscle mass and still lose fat.
Break up your workout. Try to do 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week, or at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, five days a week. Remember that you don't have to follow the current federal recommendations in their entirety to experience the benefits of weight loss. For instance, Wilson suggests going for a quick 10-minute walk around the block in the morning, followed by a 20-minute strength-training session in the afternoon. This makes it possible for even the busiest folks to fit in calorie-burning activities. MyFitnessPal, Simple Workout Log, and FitNotes are three highly regarded apps for activity tracking.
Your weight reduction strategy will be more successful now that you know how to lose 1 lb of fat, and you'll start developing the motivation to drop more and more.
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