Change your daily calorie intake to achieve a deficit

To lose body weight, you need to create a caloric deficit. Learn how you can influence your daily calorie intake to create this deficit in calories.

To lose 1 pound of body weight, you need to change your daily calorie intake in such a way that you create a calorie deficit of 3500 calories.

Your daily calorie intake should cover:

  1. The minimum amount of calories required by your body to function properly, that is, the minimum amount of energy required to maintain your BMR.
  2. The amount of calories required to perform normal activities such as walking, gardening, doing house chores, etc.
  3. The amount of calories required to perform extra physical activities such as sports and recreation.

If you eat less calories than you expend through maintaining your BMR and doing physical activities, you’ll lose body weight. So if

Your calories consumed <is less than> Your calories expended
your daily calorie intake will be in the negative, so you’ll lose body weight.

If you eat the same amount of calories as you expend through maintaining your BMR and doing physical activities, you’ll maintain your body weight. So if

Your calories consumed <is equal to> Your calories expended
you’ll maintain your body weight.

If you eat more calories than you expend through maintaining your BMR and doing physical activities, you’ll gain body weight. So if

Your calories consumed <is greater than> Your calories expended
your daily calorie intake will be in the positive, so you’ll gain weight.

This means that to achieve a calorie deficit, so achieve a negative daily calorie intake, you could:

  1. Decrease the amount of calories you eat to a point where you’re below the amount of calories required to maintain your BMR and do physical activities; or
  2. If you’re currently staying at the same weight week after week, increase your BMR by increasing the amount of muscle you’re carrying on your body or by using other techniques to increase your BMR; or
  3. If you’re currently staying at the same weight week after week, increase the amount of physical activity you’re doing on a daily or weekly basis. This could mean doing more exercise or longer exercise sessions; or
  4. If you’re currently losing weight, continue what you’re doing, because you’re already creating a caloric deficit. If you’re losing weight too fast, you could increase the amount of calories you’re consuming, but not to a point where you’re above the amount of calories required to maintain your BMR and do physical activities.

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