Calorie deficit: what everyone who is losing weight needs to know. Acceleration of metabolism

Hi all! Today we will talk about what a calorie deficit for weight loss is, how to calculate it specifically for yourself and what ways to create it. I’ll also tell you what to do if you’re already in a calorie deficit, but the weight isn’t coming off.

A calorie deficit is the negative difference between the calories that come from food and the calories that the body uses during the day.

Our body's energy comes from calories from food and stores. If there are not enough calories from food to cover the body's daily needs, it will begin to take energy from reserves.

Controlling your calorie intake is much easier than controlling your energy expenditure.

The right approach is to combine these two methods, that is, reduce calories consumed and increase physical activity. This way we won’t have to starve (the calorie deficit will be small), and strength training will help keep our muscles toned and keep them on a diet. This is the optimal scheme for men and women.

If you have a lot of excess fat - more than 35% in women and more than 26% in men, then strength training can be traumatic for the musculoskeletal system (). To begin with, add more simple activity - long walks, spin like a bee around the house, do not use the elevator, cover short distances on foot, etc. By reducing your fat percentage, you can start training at home, on the street or in the gym.

If you have a sedentary job, then you spend less energy. The principles of creating a calorie deficit will remain the same - either eat less or move more, and the best thing is to start counting the calories in food, limit your daily caloric intake and include more activity (walking, gymnastics during breaks at work, training).

We’ll talk about how much you need to limit your caloric intake below.

How to calculate a calorie deficit for weight loss

The calculation algorithm is as follows:

1. We determine the maintenance calorie content (at which we do not lose weight or gain weight).
2. Depending on your goals, choose the calorie deficit value.

Step 1 - Calculate Maintenance Calories

There are two options to choose from:

• Determine maintenance caloric intake experimentally. The most accurate method.
• Calculate using formulas or online calculators that use these formulas.

First

To get the most accurate result, taking into account the characteristics of your body, lifestyle and activities, you will need a week of time. Choose a time without shocks, moves and upcoming holidays. Weigh yourself in the morning on an empty stomach on the first day and start counting calories. Count absolutely everything that goes into your mouth, except water. Maintain your usual lifestyle and diet throughout the week.

After 7 days, while maintaining your usual diet and activity level, your weight will remain approximately the same as on the first day. Weigh yourself on the eighth day under the same conditions as at the beginning of the week. The numbers may differ (plus or minus half a kilo), this is normal, weight is subject to strong fluctuations even during the day.

Calculate the arithmetic average of daily calories for 7 days and you will get maintenance calories.

Second

To save a week of time, you can use formulas that determine the body's basic energy metabolism BMR (the minimum amount of energy consumed by the human body to maintain its own life at rest), multiply the result by the activity coefficient and get the maintenance calorie value.

Harris-Benedict formula:

• Men: BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 × weight in kg) + (4.799 × height in cm) - (5.677 × age)
• Women: BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 × weight in kg) + (3.098 × height in cm) - (4.330 × age)

Mifflin-San Jeor formula:

• Men: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age) + 5
• Women: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age) - 161

Calculate the average and multiply the result by the activity coefficient:

• 1,2 – minimal activity. Sedentary work that does not require significant physical exertion;
• 1,375 – low level of activity. Training 1-3 times a week. The coefficient is also suitable if you lead an active lifestyle and often walk for a long time;
• 1,55 – moderate level of activity. Training 3-4 times a week;
• 1,7 – high activity. Training 5-7 times a week. This also includes work that involves physical labor;
• 1,9 – extreme level. Daily sports with several workouts per day (professional athletes); physically difficult work (miners, builders).

Do not idealize the formulas; they are just a preliminary assessment method that requires adjustment to take into account individual factors.

Step 2 - Choosing a Calorie Deficit

Now that we have the value of maintenance calories, we simply subtract the desired percentage of the deficit depending on the goals and initial data.

Table 1. Options for calculating deficit as a percentage of maintenance calories

The less a person weighs, the more carefully one needs to create a deficit so that the body does not perceive changes in nutrition as a threat to life and does not slow down metabolism.

For example, let’s calculate the calorie deficit for weight loss for a 26-year-old girl weighing 70 kg, 170 cm tall with a low level of activity.

She figured out her maintenance calories using the two formulas above and took an average of 2080 kcal.

She is in no hurry and wants to lose weight comfortably. Let's choose a deficit value of 15% of maintenance calories.

The formula for calculating the calorie deficit for weight loss is:

2080 - 15% = 2080 - (2080 x 0.15) = 1768 kcal

After a week on a calorie deficit, evaluate the rate of weight loss. If it is 0.5-1 kg, then leave everything as is. If the changes are too small, then reduce calories by another 10%. If weight loss is more than 1 kg per week in people with a small percentage of fat, and strength results deteriorate, then you need to add 10% to the caloric intake of the diet. In all other cases, you can leave the calorie content unchanged.

Online calculator for calculating calorie deficit for weight loss

If you don’t like to count, you can use a calculator that will immediately calculate the KBJU with a calorie deficit. The result will be approximate, but despite this, in a few seconds you will receive numbers from which you can build and then adjust.

Why am I not losing weight on a calorie deficit?

If you have created a calorie deficit, then know that weight loss is not linear.

This happens due to the adaptation of our body. In response to diet and training activity, the body tends to compensate for changes:

• Resting energy expenditure (BMR) is reduced because body weight has decreased and fewer calories are now required to provide energy;
• The thermic effect of food (TEF) is reduced. TEF is the number of calories the body needs to burn to digest and absorb a volume of food. Since someone who is losing weight eats less, these costs are reduced;
• Costs for non-training activity (NEAT) are reduced - due to a decrease in calorie intake, a person gets tired of training faster and moves less, has less motivation to do something, wants to sit down or lie down;
• The cost of training activity (EAT) is reduced - the lighter a person is, the fewer calories the body spends on physical activity.

In women, the adaptation of the body against the background of reduced caloric intake is slightly more pronounced than in men.

Therefore, at a time when the weight does not go away or even increases, but not more than once every 2-4 weeks, it is necessary to correct the deficit.

At the beginning of the diet, weight may not decrease, including due to water retention in the body. Read how it affects body weight.

See your results and then the table below.

Table 2. Deficit adjustment parameters

The adjustment itself can be done by reducing the caloric intake of the diet or by increasing physical activity.

Ideally, combine two methods: cover one half by reducing the caloric content of the diet, the second half by adding, for example, 10-15 minutes of cardio training (for a person weighing 70 kg, 10 minutes of moderate running at a speed of 8 km/h will burn 81 kcal). This will make it more comfortable to maintain a diet and it will work when there is nowhere to cut your diet, especially if it was modest from the very beginning.

Data on various activities with which you can create part of the deficit are given in the tables below:

How to maintain a calorie deficit

So, you have determined your maintenance caloric intake and the deficit you need. To maintain a calorie deficit and lose weight:

• Don't forget to count calories. This is necessary to do to know exactly how much you eat.
• Add physical activity if there are no contraindications for it. Working out will increase your calorie burn and maintain muscle while you diet.
• Weigh yourself every day at the same time, under the same conditions. It's better in the morning on an empty stomach. This way you will see the dynamics of weight changes.
• As you lose weight, adjust the deficit according to Table 2.
• Take care of a proper diet - go to the article where I tell you.

Conclusion

Things to remember:

1. A calorie deficit is the only condition under which you will begin to lose weight.
2. You can create it in two ways - reduce the calorie intake or increase physical activity, but it is better to combine the two methods.
3. For comfortable weight loss, it is better to choose a small calorie deficit of 10-20% of maintenance calories.
4. Weigh yourself daily and monitor your weight changes.
5. Once every 2-4 weeks, adjust the calorie deficit if the weight does not come off.

Tell us in the comments what your calorie deficit is and whether you are able to lose weight. Please advise what should be added to the article and leave your questions, I will definitely answer them.

Diet is extremely important for losing weight. It helps you become disciplined and selective when choosing foods. The main condition is that this mode is comfortable for you. Why do you think people quit strict diets? Because they are inconvenient. An adequate calorie deficit and a comfortable diet consisting of your favorite healthy foods are the most successful weight loss strategy.

The distribution of foods throughout the day should be convenient for you, but the calorie deficit must be maintained. The optimal period of time between meals is 3-4 hours.

If you have a lot of excess weight and your calorie deficit exceeds 1500 kcal, then the best option would be. If you are not overweight and your caloric deficit is below 1500 calories, then consider eating 3-4 times a day.

People with greater weight often have and will therefore benefit more from fractional meals. It will allow you to divide your daily caloric intake into a large number of meals, thereby maintaining satiety, normal sugar levels and avoiding overeating. But splitting 1300-1400 calories into 5-6 meals and eating in tiny portions will not be easy.

Breakfast sets the tone for the whole day. After a long period of overnight hunger, the body needs nutrients. Having the right breakfast helps control your appetite throughout the day. At night, the body reduces insulin secretion, and now imagine what will happen if you eat a large portion of carbohydrates in the morning - a high glycemic load, a rapid rise in blood sugar, a surge in insulin. The slower carbohydrates are digested, the smaller the sugar spike will be. Protein, fats and fiber help slow down the absorption of carbohydrates.

Therefore, it is necessary to have at least 20 g in breakfast. This is also due to the fact that the last meal of protein food was yesterday. When the body does not receive “building material” for a long time, it begins to use internal reserves - to destroy its own muscles.

A complete breakfast can be protein-carbohydrate or protein-fat. A protein-carbohydrate breakfast is suitable for people who are most active in the first half of the day. They work in mobile work or train. A protein-fat breakfast is suitable for people who are not used to eating in the morning, follow a low-carbohydrate diet, or are inactive in the morning.

Examples of a successful breakfast

Protein-carbohydrate breakfast:

• s, from one whole and two;
• s and .

Protein-fat breakfast:

• of two eggs and vegetable salad with;
• with berries and...

10 minutes after breakfast you need to take vitamins and supplements.

The purpose of snacking is to maintain moderate blood sugar levels and avoid overeating and discomfort. It should include proteins and fiber-rich carbohydrates.

Examples of a successful snack:

• Vegetable salad with low-fat cheese;
• with berries or fruit;
• Vegetable sticks and Greek yogurt sauce.

Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. By lunchtime you have already worked up an appetite, so the main task is not to overeat and. For it, choose complex carbohydrates, proteins and vegetables. If you eat first courses, then consider the amount of carbohydrates in them. For example, pureed pea soup contains much more carbohydrates than light vegetable soup without potatoes. There is no need to add additional carbohydrates to it. Aim for 20-30 g of protein, 10-15 g of fat and 30-40 g of carbohydrates. Remember, you must fit within your boundaries.

Examples of a successful lunch

With the first course:

• Pea soup, fresh vegetable salad with butter;
• Borscht with potatoes, toast made from bran or whole grain bread, vegetable stew with lean meat.

Without first course:

• Brown rice with chicken and vegetables;
• with baked lean fish and vegetable salad;
• Durum wheat pasta with lean meat and fresh vegetables.

Most people exercise after work, but not everyone has time to eat before training and make the big mistake of going to the gym hungry. Fatigue accumulated during the day and low blood sugar levels due to a long period without food will not allow you to carry out an intensive exercise. If you have strength or, then you need to eat 1.5 hours or have a light snack 30 minutes before it starts. If you have or, there is no need to have an additional snack before training.

Examples of pre-workout meals

If you can eat normally in 1.5 hours:

• Baked potatoes and baked lean fish with vegetables;
• Sandwich made from whole grain or bran bread with chicken fillet and herbs.

If you can have a snack in 30-40 minutes:

• Sweet and sour fruit (or berries) and Greek yogurt;
• Sweet and sour fruit and serving.

If you're hungry before your cardio workout, you can snack on fast-digesting proteins 30 minutes before:

• A portion ;

In one hour. If you are going straight home, then just having dinner is enough, but if after training you have some meetings and the next meal will not take place soon, then you should drink a portion of protein. You will satisfy physiological hunger and create favorable conditions for muscle recovery.

The ideal dinner is light, since most people are inactive in the evenings and spend them at home. An exception may be people who have a light dinner that makes them wake up at night and sweep away the entire contents of the refrigerator. Nutritionists recommend that such people have a light breakfast and a hearty dinner within the daily caloric intake. The composition of a standard dinner is protein and carbohydrates from vegetables.

Examples of a successful dinner

• Baked fish of moderate fat content and blanched vegetables;
• Stewed liver and stewed vegetables with butter;
• Omelette and vegetable salad.

What can you eat before bed?

The last meal should take place no later than two hours before bedtime. Choose light, protein-rich foods. Fermented milk products are ideal for a late snack; they will take care of your muscles and intestinal microflora during night hunger.

Examples of a successful late-night snack

• Cup ;
• A glass of natural unsweetened;
• A portion .

You can add to kefir, cottage cheese or yogurt,

Nutrition for weight loss plays a huge role. Nose The fitness industry intentionally encourages a complex approach that a weight-loss beginner simply doesn’t need. In fact, losing weight is very simple if you know the basic rules. Simple things work, and there is no point in trying something complex while simple things work.

The easiest steps on the planet for weight loss, in order of importance:

1. Find out your calorie intake and create a calorie deficit

2. Find out your protein intake

3. Find out the amount of fat

4. Find out the norm of carbohydrates

Step 1: Create a Calorie Deficit

Fat is stored energy. The only way to force the body to use it is to create a need. The need to waste reserves appears when energy ceases to be supplied with food every day in sufficient quantities.

Energy is measured in calories, and all food contains calories. The body takes what it needs and puts the rest aside for a rainy day. If a rainy day arrives, supplies begin to be used up.

So the only way to lose fat is to get less energy (calories) from food. This is a calorie deficit - the alpha and omega of weight loss. You can eat healthy and clean as you like, but if you are not in a calorie deficit, i.e. you get more than you spend, you won't lose weight. Read more about energy balance.

There are many different ways to create a calorie deficit.

The most obvious is to simply reduce the total amount of food you eat. That is, everything is the same, but twice as small. Less food means fewer calories, and it works great.

You can change the quality of food: replace fatty foods with low-fat ones, fatty meats with lean ones. Replace sugar with sweeteners. Diet foods make it harder to overeat. And here it is not the quality of food and special “clean” products that are the cause of weight loss, but the calorie deficit they create.

Another way is to start eating more protein and less fatty and carbohydrate foods. Protein foods (meat, poultry, fish, cottage cheese) satiate well and help control appetite. And this is again a question of calorie deficit: it is not protein that has magical fat-burning properties, but the calorie deficit created with it.

Do not change your diet, but increase physical activity, that is, create a calorie deficit again, only, unlike previous approaches, not reducing “income”, but increasing “expense”. The problem is that the number of calories that can be burned during training is small for a beginner. The only people who can burn tons of calories during a workout are experienced athletes, but they generally don't need to. Beginners do not burn such a huge amount of calories, as exercise machines and various wrist devices indicate. Therefore, limiting your caloric intake and increasing activity will work best.

The most difficult way for a beginner, but the most accurate and fastest way to produce results, is to count calories and keep a food diary in any smartphone application. Here you can allow yourself a variety of foods, and even a little harmful food every day, if everything fits into your daily calorie allowance.

People who lose weight without counting calories and are against energy balance still lose weight with energy balance. To lose fat, you must spend more or eat less. This is probably not what most people want to hear, but it is true.

How many calories do you need?

In general, 10-12 cal/lb is a good starting point for fat loss (to convert your weight to pounds, multiply it in kilograms by 2.2).

Please note: this is just a starting point and calories should always be adjusted based on actual changes. Some people with high activity levels may need more calories to lose weight, while those who are sedentary may need fewer. In the modern world, most people have a very low level of daily activity (office, computer work, car). Some particularly inactive people may need as little as 8 calories per pound.

Don't overestimate your daily activity. We all move very little, and standard workouts three times a week do not cover the minimum daily activity that everyone needs.

Step 2: find out your protein intake

After total calories, the most important aspect of losing weight is to eat enough protein.

Firstly, protein protects against muscle loss, and muscle protection is the main goal of a diet after fat loss, otherwise a person who has lost weight but is left without muscles will look like their former self, but in miniature.

Secondly, Protein creates a feeling of fullness for a long time. It takes a long time to digest and absorb, and helps control blood glucose levels. This means that the feeling of hunger will not come sharply and strongly.

In general, overweight people tend to lose less muscle mass than lean people, so they don't need as much protein to maintain muscle. As a person begins to get leaner, protein requirements increase. An additional factor is activity: regular exercise also increases protein intake.

Athletes have long used the 2.2g kg bodyweight recommendation for dieting, and this is a good starting point. But, as noted above, lean athletes on a diet should increase their protein intake, and here 3.3 g/kg per lean body mass (body weight minus fat weight) may be a good option. To do this, you need to subtract it from the total weight, and do all calculations based on the resulting “fat-free” weight

For individuals who are overweight and inactive (or minimally active), a starting point of 2.2 g/kg may also be sufficient.

Step 2: find out your fat intake

It is worth paying special attention to fats for several reasons.

Firstly, to provide the body with enough essential fatty acids (omega fats), which are very important for health. They reduce inflammation, improve cell sensitivity to insulin, and may help control appetite. And if omega-6 fats come in sufficient quantities with food from vegetable oils, then omega-3 fats are in short supply for almost everyone. At the same time, omega fats from flaxseed oil are very poorly absorbed, so if you eat little fatty fish, it makes sense to think about supplements.

Secondly, Low-fat diets are very difficult to follow due to constant strong feelings of hunger and lack of taste in food. Fats make food taste better. And, like proteins, they prolong the feeling of fullness by slowing stomach emptying. Research has shown that moderate amounts of fat keep blood glucose levels more stable, and this also appears to be associated with slower gastric emptying.

Sources of fats: oils, nuts, seeds, fatty fish, avocados, olives and olives

Starting point for fat: 0.48-0.72 g/kg body weight.

Step 4: Carbs

Calories, protein and fat are the three most important aspects of a diet. After calorie, protein, and fat levels are determined, the remaining “free” calories come from carbohydrates. This is where the diet gets complicated: the amount of carbohydrates depends on your activity level, insulin sensitivity, and personal preference.

An active person needs more calories (and therefore carbohydrates), while an inactive person needs less. A slim person on a diet can eat more carbohydrates (2-4 grams per kg of weight), an obese person can eat less due to poor insulin sensitivity (but not less than 100 grams per day).

Everything else - meal times, food combinations, number of meals, supplements and dietary supplements - plays a very small role.

As has been discussed many times, one of the most important parts of every weight loss plan is creating a calorie deficit. That is, a person should consume fewer calories than his body burns (or burn more than he consumes, it’s the same thing).

This puts the body into a negative state where it does not have enough calories to perform daily tasks (including movement, breathing, digestion, exercise, etc.)

To perform these tasks, the body will have to burn its own fat reserves and extract energy from these resources. As a result, weight decreases (more precisely, fat disappears).

Therefore, a calorie deficit is the absolute key to losing weight.

Creating the necessary calorie deficit for weight loss is an ideal way to activate fat burning in the body, that is, to start the process of lipolysis.

Lipolysis is the metabolic process of breaking down fats into their constituent fatty acids under the action of lipase.

Planning your calorie deficit

There are three main goals to keep in mind when planning the optimal amount of calorie deficit for weight loss:

1. Increased fat loss.
2. Reduce muscle loss.
3. Combine the two previous methods as much as possible.

Knowing this, we can define 3 categories of deficit “size”: small, moderate and large.

The definition of each of these concepts is open to debate and may vary depending on the individual. However, each of these methods has its pros and cons.

Small calorie deficit

With a small deficit, everything is quite simple. It is easy to create and maintain. Since the number of calories is reduced, only minor dietary changes are required.

This means that a person will not experience severe hunger or experience mood swings, metabolism will proceed without problems, and this will not affect training and recovery after it. Not to mention, the potential loss of muscle tissue will be minimal.

However, there are also disadvantages. The rate of weight loss will be very slow, which is a significant disadvantage for most people. After all, many people strive to lose weight as quickly as possible.

Major calorie deficit

With a large calorie deficit, the rate of weight loss will be maximum. This is exactly what attracts most people who want to lose weight.

However, this is where the advantages of this method end and the disadvantages begin.

The fact that this method requires significant calorie restriction makes it much more difficult to create and maintain this level (since the person will feel hungry, mood will worsen, and some metabolic problems may arise). A large deficit can also negatively affect the quality of training and recovery processes. This increases the potential for muscle tissue loss.

Therefore, those who choose the method of significantly reducing calories face many problems, although it allows them to lose weight in a short period of time.

If your calorie intake is significantly limited, the body goes into a state of emergency in response to a sharp decrease in nutrients. Stress develops, blood glucose levels drop significantly, glycogen in the liver is depleted, an irresistible feeling of hunger appears, and the motivation to continue training and any physical activity disappears. In addition, a strict diet is fraught with other undesirable manifestations: the condition of the hair worsens, it becomes dull and brittle, peeling and dry skin appears, immunity decreases, hormonal levels are disrupted, and disruptions occur in metabolic processes.

Moderate calorie deficit

A moderate calorie deficit is in between the previous two. This allows you to take the best of each method while avoiding most of the complications.

And, despite the fact that each of the three methods has its right to exist and has its own advantages, most people consider the moderate deficit method to be the most successful.

This approach allows you to increase the speed of fat loss, minimize muscle loss, and do it with the optimal combination of ease, speed and the ability to maintain your diet at the proper level without causing severe discomfort. This is the method recommended for most people who want to lose weight. Correct calculation and selection of the optimal diet will help not only get rid of extra pounds, but also gain a beautiful body. Of course, provided that you regularly perform the necessary sets of exercises.

So what is a moderate calorie deficit?

In short, this is the most optimal way to maintain a calorie deficit, which is approximately 20% of the maintenance level daily. This approach allows the body to calmly adjust to a new regime, and weight loss occurs gently and without unnecessary stress. But first you need to determine your daily calorie intake.

The relevant question here is: why is the ideal calorie deficit based on a percentage of a specific person's maintenance level, rather than a fixed amount?

Why is a percentage-based calorie deficit considered ideal?

Everything is very simple. The percentage will help ensure that the caloric deficit is appropriate for a particular person.

If we look at this diagram in more detail, we get the following. About 450 grams of fat contains approximately 3,500 calories. Therefore, if you maintain a daily calorie deficit of 500, the total deficit per week will be 3500, and the loss of fat tissue per week will be about 450-500 g.

It sounds attractive, and it's just a theory. But there is one drawback. With this method, everyone creates the same deficit and loses weight at the same pace, regardless of their current condition.

That is, some people need to lose more (or significantly less) pounds than others. If you think in this direction, it seems a little stupid to create the same conditions for everyone. But that's exactly what happens with the advice to "create a 500-calorie deficit every day."

On the other hand, since the percentage is based on a person's individual maintenance calorie level, the deficit created will be directly proportional to the number of pounds that need to be eliminated. The speed of losing excess weight will depend on this.

This shows that people with a high maintenance level (and therefore need to lose more weight) should create a larger deficit than those whose maintenance level is lower. Therefore, the size of the deficit is directly dependent on the amount of fat that needs to be eliminated.

This is due to several reasons:

• People who have a lot of weight to lose should lose weight faster than those who have a few pounds to lose.
• Those who have a lot of weight to lose are less likely to lose muscle because they have a lot of fat in their bodies. Therefore, they can create larger deficits and lose weight faster, without the risk of losing muscle tissue (provided they do everything right).
• Likewise, people who have only a small amount of weight to lose are at greater risk of losing muscle tissue. They need to create a slight deficit and lose weight slowly.

In this situation, everyone wins. Regardless of how many pounds you need to lose, a deficit of 20% of your total maintenance level is considered optimal.

An ideal calorie deficit will help you achieve good results.

Probably everyone already knows that running is the optimal type of physical activity that helps you get rid of extra pounds. And if someone else doesn’t know, then we’ll tell you about it again, only this time in more detail.

In previous articles, we've already looked at target heart rate zones, used a calorie calculator for runners and swimmers, and taken a quick look at the nutritional habits of famous marathon and ultramarathon runners. Their diet is dominated by plant foods, proteins and fats make up only a small part, meals are fractional and the daily calorie intake is not that high (from 3000 kcal to 5000 kcal).

If you decide to lose weight by running, you need to do it right: take your time, don't starve, and calculate the correct calorie deficit. A calorie deficit is when you spend more than you consume. Everything is very simple! But, in fact, most people do it wrong, because they believe that if they immediately start actively exercising and significantly reduce their diet, the results will become noticeable in just a week.

Firstly, let's not forget that as soon as we start to starve, the body turns on a protective mechanism developed over centuries: there is little food, which means we are starving, and this means that we need to save as many calories as possible in reserve. As a result, our body begins to store as fat reserves even those calories that previously went for energy needs, and not for storage. And as soon as we begin to eat more actively, our thrifty body continues to actively create reserves. This is why people who give up even a little slack after a strict diet regain the lost kilograms so quickly.

Secondly, a sharp reduction in the daily diet risks the fact that, as a result of intense training, our body will not receive the energy it needs, and then it will begin to borrow the necessary material, taking it away from our muscles and bones. That is, it is, of course, possible to cut back on your diet, but you need to do it wisely, so that the body continues to receive the products necessary for life and more intense training.

Third, a sharp transition from the usual daily diet will be a difficult test not only for the physical, but also for the emotional state. If you are used to a certain lifestyle, suddenly switching to a completely healthy diet will be very difficult and, most likely, will lead to a breakdown.

How to calculate the correct calorie deficit? To do this, you need to use the Harris-Benedict or Muffin-Geor formula to calculate metabolism (how many calories the body spends at rest to maintain body temperature, blood flow, respiration, cell renewal). Then the resulting figure will need to be multiplied by the physical activity coefficient.

In previous articles, trainer Irina Ryzhikova has already calculated 4 nutrition options using the example of specific people ( and ).

The Harris-Benedict formula was used in these calculations:

• for men: 66 + (13.8 × weight (in kg)) + (5 × height (in cm)) - (6.8 × age);
• for women: 655 + (9.5 × weight (in kg)) + (1.9 × height (in cm)) - (4.7 × age).

Muffin-Jeor formula:

• For men: (9.99 x weight (kg)) + (6.25 x height (cm)) – (4.92 x age) + 5.
• For women: (9.99 x weight (kg)) + (6.25 x height (cm)) – (4.92 x age) – 161.

Activity coefficients:

• Minimum level (bed rest) – 1.2.
• Low (sedentary lifestyle) -1.3.
• Medium (light exercise 1-3 times a week) – 1.5.
• High (high-intensity training 3-5 times a week) – 1.7.
• Very high (high-intensity exercise 7 times a week) – 1.9.

For example, you are a man, you are 32 years old, your height is 176 cm, your weight is 78 kg, you want to get rid of extra pounds and can devote time to 3 workouts a week.

We carry out calculations using the Harris-Benedict formula: 66 + 13.8 x 78 + 5 x 176 - 6.8 x 32 = 1,804.8 kcal.

Now we multiply the result by the activity coefficient (in our case - 1.5), add another 10%, which is spent on receiving, digesting and assimilating food, and we get our standard daily calorie intake: 1,804.8 kcal x 1.5 + 270.7 = 2,997.9 kcal.

Next, we remember that our goal is to get rid of excess weight! As we have already said, you need to lose weight correctly! The best option is to lose 2-3 kg within a month. If you start losing weight at a rate of 3 kg per week, weight loss will not occur due to fat burning, but due to muscle and water.

In order to burn 1 kg of fat, an average person spends about 8,000 kcal, which means that in order to lose 3 kg in a month, you need to burn 24,000 kcal. Knowing these numbers, you can calculate your daily calorie deficit: 24,000/30 = 800 kcal or 24,000/31 = 774 kcal.

Now you can remember your target heart rate, paste it into ours, and see how long you will need to run in order to burn the calculated number of calories. And on days when you don't train, you simply have to eat less. And don't forget to keep track of your calories!