Ew, I know. There are huge controversies surrounding calorie counting and what makes up a “good calorie” and a “bad calorie”. There are people who have done the calorie counting thing and become obsessed, there are some who have developed actual eating disorders from it. I want to preface this entire article with a trigger warning, I will be discussing tracking calories and find a calorie deficit. If eating disorders are something that you’ve struggled with, turn away now.
I have plans to write about my feelings surrounding diet culture. However, I want to further educating myself before I tackle that subject. That being said, I know that the diet industry is worth upwards of 63 billion dollars. The entire industry aims to tell you that their product(s) is the secret ingredient to losing weight. Today, I want to tell you how easy it is to find the formula to losing weight. I’m not going to tell you that it’s an easy journey because it’s not. But I’ll help give you the tools you need.
Again, this isn’t going to work for everyone. I only have the ability to share what I know.
Calorie Deficit
Let’s define what a calorie deficit is. Your body has a number of calories that it burns when you’re at rest, meaning that if you do nothing but lie in bed all day, you will burn that amount. At the moment, mine is 2,100. As your weight fluctuates that number will too.
The idea with a calorie deficit is to eat 200-500 calories less than your resting number.
Any “diet” that you try will only ever show you results because they are putting you into a calorie deficit, whether that’s keto, weight watchers, paleo, and so on. It’s not about cutting out food groups – carbs are not the devil.
I’m currently reading a book that discusses how different body types break down certain foods. Your body could respond worse to carbs than protein but that doesn’t mean you should ever cut it out. I’ll do a post on that when I’ve finished the book.
I never have and likely never will track my macros (protein, carbs, fat). I just make sure I eat between 1600-1800 calories a day. I’m also mindful of what I use to fuel my body. Make good choices, eat your veggies.
The How To
This is going to be a short blog post, because it’s quite easy to calculate your calorie deficit. Talk to your doctor or nutritionist about what your resting rate is!
The number that you receive from a professional is your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). That’s the resting number I talked about earlier. Subtract 200-500 from that number and that’s how much you should eat in a day so consistently lose weight.
If you’re unsure about whether or not you’re doing it in a healthy way, please make sure you discuss it with your doctor.
No really, how?
Now that you have your number the challenge is to stick to it. Consistency is key. Eating in a deficit one day a week will do nothing. Some people have had success finding your calories for the week so that they can save some calories on lower days for the weekend. I’ve never tried that but you could.
If you’re struggling to know how to eat in your deficit check out this article!
The biggest thing for me was actually purchasing a food scale. Measuring things based off of cups and tablespoons isn’t very accurate and those calories can add up quickly. This one has done well for me.
It might be tempting to think that lowering your calories more will make you lose weight faster. It will. BUT lowering your calories too much will actually damage your metabolism. Even if you reach your goal weight you will gain the weight back faster or you’ll plateau before you reach your goal weight because your body is trying to protect itself.
1200 calories is how much the average toddler is meant to eat. EAT MORE.
I’m here for you
This concept is generally simple to grasp but somehow was difficult to achieve at first, for me. If you have questions about this, need recipes, need support, or a shoulder to cry on, please leave a comment or reach out to me. I needed so much support and accountability when I got started, and I was lucky enough to have it. I will gladly be that for you.
I’m thankful that you’ve taken the time to read through this. If you’re still here, your support and encouragement mean the world to me. Drop a comment or share this with someone who needs it. I’d appreciate that SO much!
Bye for now!
Starting Weight: 352
Current Weight: 295
Goal Weight: 150
Thanks for this Shelby. My biggest struggle is that I still have to feed my family, and my growing teenagers will need more than this, so then I always feel like I’m making two or 3 different meals. I just need to be OK with that. I struggle also with the little extras – how much peanut butter did I spread on my rice cake, or how much dressing did I use for the salad, stuff like that, I find it hard to keep an accurate count of the calories. Thanks for all this encouragement!