Calorie counting. It's the new thing isn't it. Except they aren't new. Calories have been around for nigh on two hundred years.
But in an age where more and more people are overweight or obese, diets are becoming more and more popular, and diets for weight loss all, by definition, revolve around a calorie deficit.
What's a Calorie Deficit I hear you say?
Well, before we think about that, we must first understand what a Calorie is. A Calorie is a unit of energy, used to keep our bodies running, which we acquire from the consumption of food and drink.
The Basal Metabolic Rate (or BMR) is the amount of calories the body requires whilst at rest. I.E. to keep the heart pumping and the brain working etc.
The BMR plus any energy expended though exercise or movement is known as the Total Daily Energy Expenditure (or TDEE)
So, what is a Calorie Deficit?
When we consume fewer calories than our TDEE requirements, then we are in a calorie deficit.
Simple innit?
For example, if an individuals TDEE requirements are 2500 calories, and they consume exactly 2500 calories, then they are at maintenance. Consuming fewer calories, say 2000 then they are in a calorie deficit and will lose body fat.
There are a whole bunch of diet plans out there. Weight watchers, Slimming world, Keto, Intermittent fasting, and a whole bunch more to boot, and the one thing they all have in common is that they all create a calorie deficit in order to illicit fat loss.
How do we create a calorie deficit?
Easily.
Once we've figured out our TDEE, using one of a whole bunch of calculators online, we can consume less than that.
Or, we can increase our TDEE through exercise.
I'll be going into more detail regarding these further on down the line, so stay tuned for those posts, but for now, good night.
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