Hey, welcome back to my channel.
Today's video, I'm going to talk about what is a calorie deficit diet and pretty much
give you the calorie deficit meaning.
I keep getting a ton of questions on my social media and here on YouTube, because I've been
talking a lot about weight loss lately, and how is the best way to lose weight for a long-term
sustainable weight loss, not a quick fad diet.
And I keep talking about a calorie deficit, how to calculate your calorie deficit.
In this video, I'm going to break down exactly what does that even mean.
What does it mean to be in a calorie deficit?
Just quickly, if you're new here, my name's Michelle roots, kinesiologist, certified strength
and conditioning specialist and nutrition coach.
This channel is all about helping you on your fitness and weight loss journey, by providing
you with workouts and weight loss tips, just like this one.
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you new videos every single week.
Okay, let's talk about calorie deficit.
What is a calorie deficit?
What does this mean?
People keep talking about to lose weight, you have to be in a calorie deficit.
What does it even mean?
What does calorie deficit mean?
Let's start by talking about, what is a calorie?
A calorie is basically a unit of energy.
So your body burns calories, as well as consumes calories.
So we consume calories in food.
We burn calories through movement, through our metabolism, through our basal metabolic
rate and all kinds of things.
So in order to be in a calorie deficit, we need to consume less calories than our body
uses each day, or our body burns each day.
That will put you in what's called a calorie deficit and is literally the only possible
way that you will lose weight.
There are a few different other terms I'll just quickly cover, just in case you've heard
of these things.
So there's also something called calorie maintenance.
So that is where you are consuming the same amount of energy or calories as your body
is burning.
That will help you maintain your current weight.
So a lot of people, once they've been in a calorie deficit for long enough and they lose
the weight and they get to their goal weight, they go into what they call calorie maintenance.
There is also something called a calorie surplus.
So that is where you're eating more calories, consuming more calories, more energy, than
your body is expending.
And that often results in weight gain.
So what we are looking at, the best way for weight loss, and again, what we are talking
about in this video, is calorie deficit.
So when we talk about calorie deficit, this is not a diet.
This is not a specific fad diet.
All of these fad diets, the reason that a lot of them work, is because in the end, after
all of the fancy things of whatever the theme of that fad diet is, in the bigger scheme
of things, it is putting that person in a calorie deficit, hence why they are able to
lose weight.
So there are two ways, well, actually three ways to get into a calorie deficit.
One, eat less, so consuming less calories than your body burns.
Two, working out more, so burning more calories and consuming the same amount.
Or three, a mix of the both.
So eating less, moving more, which is usually the best choice for long-term sustainability.
In this video, I'm not going to get into detail about how to calculate your calorie deficit,
but make sure you check out this video right here after you watch this one.
I talk more about calorie deficit and how to calculate your calorie deficit to achieve
your weight loss goals.
And one thing to keep in mind about calorie deficit, we want to do specific calculations
for your metabolism, your movement goals, your weight loss goals, to ensure that you
are eating enough within your calorie deficit.
It doesn't just mean drastically dropping your calories.
It doesn't mean saying, "Okay, I'm going to just eat 1000 calories a day or 800 calories
a day and perfect, I'll lose more weight quickly."
That's not the way to do it.
We do not want to force our bodies to lose weight, because what happens is you will lose
weight, but you won't keep it off.
You're drastically affecting your metabolism, you will lose muscle mass, you won't be able
to gain muscle mass in order to speed up your metabolism and speed up your basal metabolic
rate.
If you don't know what basal metabolic rate is, basically it's how many calories your
body burns if you were laying in bed all day.
So we want to, for one, make sure that we are eating at least at our basal metabolic
rate.
If you want to know how to calculate your basal metabolic rate and your total daily
energy expenditure, check out this video right here after you watch this one, I explain all
of that to you as well.
So let's get back on the topic of calories.
So if we're looking at how many calories we are taking in versus how many calories we're
burning, in order to get accurately in a calorie deficit for a really long time consistently,
to achieve our weight loss goals, we need to look at the calories we're actually consuming.
So, are all calories created equal?
No, but in the end, if you eat 300 calories of junk food and you eat 300 calories of lean
meat, vegetables, fruits and low-glycemic carbs, it's still 300 calories.
It's just what you choose.
So technically, yes, you could still achieve weight loss when you're in a calorie deficit,
but only eating junk food, as long as you're staying within that calorie range, that is
your calorie deficit.
Yes, technically you will lose weight.
But, will you keep it off?
Probably not.
Also, when you're eating in a calorie deficit, technically, yes, you're eating less food,
but the thing is about junk food is, it's much higher in calories for the volume that
you're eating.
For example, you could eat a bag of chips and some m&ms, which would maybe be about
5 or 600 calories, or for that same 5 or 600 calories, you could eat a massive salad, with
vegetables, lean protein, some strawberries, some dressing, that's going to keep you feeling
full for longer.
You will eat that bag of chips and because you're eating in a calorie deficit, so again,
we're eating less, you're going to be hungry in an hour.
You won't feel satisfied and most likely after eating those foods, you're going to feel hungry
again and you're going to be start craving those foods again.
In the end, you choose to eat that way, that's fine.
If you're still in your calorie deficit, yes, you will lose weight.
Will you be the healthiest person?
Probably not.
Will you be fuelled and will you feel awesome to crush your workouts?
Probably not.
So when we talk about the quality of food, the quality of the calories, in the end, a
calorie's a calorie, it's a unit of energy.
But, we also want to look at the quality of the food we're taking in, when you're eating
fruits and vegetables and less processed food and higher protein, things that will help
you feel full, it will help you stay in that calorie deficit, because you will have less
cravings.
You will feel energized.
You will feel good.
You will sleep better.
You'll feel energized to move more, which in turn, will help you increase your calorie
deficit, in turn, increase your weight loss.
If you guys want to know more about calorie deficit and why you're calculating your calorie
deficit in a certain way, check out my free calorie deficit guide for beginners.
I'll leave a link in the description where you can download that.
And if you've been eating in a calorie deficit, but you're actually not achieving weight loss
and you're not getting to your weight loss goals, check back next week.
I'm making a video all about that because this is also a common question I get asked,
"I'm eating in a calorie deficit.
I swear, I've been watching everything I eat and tracking everything I eat, but I'm still
not losing weight."
I'm going to answer all those questions next week.
So again, make sure you subscribe to my channel, hit the bell to be notified when that video
will be released.
There you go.
I hope that answered your questions.
What is a calorie deficit and what is the meaning of a calorie deficit and how to get
yourself in one.
Again, I'll leave all the links below to the videos I recommended in this video, as well
as the free calorie deficit guide, where you can download that.
Leave any questions in the comments.
I'm so happy to help you guys out.
My goal is to help everybody achieve weight loss, but in a healthy way, and build a healthy
relationship with food, say goodbye to food guilt, and really achieve the body that they
want to achieve, the healthy way without having to starve yourself.
Make sure you subscribe to my channel and check me out on all other forms of social
media, especially Instagram and TickTock.
I am there on a daily basis providing more information, more value, more weight loss
and fitness tips.
So check me out there.
Feel free to shoot me a DM with any questions as well.
I'm happy to help you guys out and I'll see you in the next one.