You have probably been on a calorie deficit even without knowing it. Why? When losing weight, the general rule of thumb is to reduce your food portions and meal frequencies. You have probably heard that and wondered why that is the case. Why does it matter how much or how many times you eat? The reason is quite simple as it all comes down to your calorie intake.

You can use the guides below to learn more about calories, as these are the building blocks for this article:

1. What are calories, and how do you measure them?
2. What are empty calories?
3. What are maintenance calories?

What is a Calorie deficit?

It always helps to know what calories are before altering their consumption in your diet. So, what are they? Calories are a measure of the energy stored in food. Your body uses this energy to fuel its activities. But the extra calories are converted into fatty deposits. So, when you eat more than your body needs, you gain weight. And when you eat less than it needs, you lose weight.

That’s quite easy to understand. But wait – how can you tell how many calories your body needs? Well, that’s quite a good question because our calorie needs differ. They depend on:

• Your age,
• Your weight,
• Your height,
• Your gender,
• Your physical activity, and
• Your health and fitness goals.

That means that while you may be the same age, weight, and height as another person, your caloric needs can be worlds apart. So, you need to understand how many calories your body needs by calculating your maintenance calories, also known as your total daily energy expenditure. You can use this guide to get an accurate figure.

A caloric deficit is relatively easy to understand once you know your maintenance calories. Why?

You reach a calorie deficit when you eat fewer calories than your maintenance calories.

So, assuming your maintenance calories are 1,500 per day and you start eating 1,400 calories a day, you would be on a calorie deficit. See? It’s easy to get the hang of this widely used term and weight loss technique.

Should You Go on a Calorie Deficit?

There are occasions when going on a calorie deficit makes sense. These are:

1. When you want to lose weight: Most people on a calorie deficit are trying to lose weight. After all, when you give the body fewer calories than it needs, it has no option but to break down the fat deposits in your body and use them for energy. So, you start losing the fat, getting leaner, and the weight loss starts to show over time.
2. When you want to practice more control in how you eat: If your relationship with food needs more work, going on a deficit can help you build discipline. You will also learn to appreciate food tastes and smells more because you will work with less food than you usually do.

If you can relate to any of these situations, then yes, going on a deficit could impact you positively.

How Many Calories Should I Cut?

Knowing that you can lose weight by going on a calorie deficit may push you to try and expand your limits. But guess what? As I will later cover, doing so can be detrimental to your health. If you want to try a calorie deficit, you should think about why you are doing it and align the deficit to this goal. For example, if your maintenance calories are 1,800 and you want to lose weight, the following recommendations will work:

1. Slight weight loss: 5%-10% below your maintenance calories, coming to about 1,620 to 1,710 calories a day. In that case, the change would be gradual, and you would not feel like you were taking on too much of a challenge.
2. Moderate weight loss: 10% – 20% below your maintenance calories, which would be between 1,440 and 1,710 calories daily. You might feel this difference a bit, but it is also sustainable.

Should you cut more than 20% of your maintenance calories? It’s not advisable. You could strain your system so much that you feel weak and even predispose yourself to health conditions.

Also, if you increase your activity levels, recalculate your maintenance calories to avoid stressing your body. The goal is to sustainably eat below your calorie levels while still aiding your body in performing vital functions.

Are Calorie Deficits Healthy?

Sometimes, you will come across people who claim they suffer less inflammation and are much more energetic because they are on a calorie deficit. Is this true? Well, the healthiness or lack thereof of a calorie deficit depends on WHAT YOU EAT. If you’re stuffing yourself with cakes and pizza, you can still be under your maintenance calories. But you would be consuming empty calories predisposing you to chronic health conditions. However, you will be healthy if you watch your macros and integrate them with the empty calories in your deficit. So, going on a deficit does not necessarily mean you will be more mobile and enjoy better health. You also have to think about what you are eating.

What are the Dangers of Calorie Deficits?

You have likely heard of diets where you should eat two grapes for lunch and water for dinner. That is an extreme calorie deficit. And going on any diet that cuts your calories way below the maintenance calories poses the following dangers:

1. Unsustainability: If you go on a calorie deficit diet that is too limiting, you will likely veer off and end up eating more calories than you should because you will feel hungry. You may even eat on a surplus and regain all your lost weight. So, to avoid this, ensure that you eat foods filled with protein and fiber.
2. Extreme weight loss: Some diets are so extreme (the two-grape and water dinners) that your body uses all your fat deposits and starts breaking down muscle tissue to survive. That’s not good or healthy for you and can have severe consequences.

Choose a calorie deficit plan that is sustainable and practical to avoid getting too hungry, veering off the path, or losing more weight than is healthy. Other than that, a calorie deficit should have positive effects.

How Do You Achieve a Calorie Deficit?

Now that you know the basics of going on a calorie deficit, here’s how you do it:

1. Figure out your maintenance calories,
2. Determine why you want to go on a calorie deficit and align this with your current energy needs,
3. Cut anything from 5% to 20% of your maintenance calories,
4. Gauge how your body responds and increase or decrease your calorie intake (not more than 20% below TDEE), and
5. Alter your calorie deficit based on your activity level – when you exercise more, increase your calorie intake and when you exercise less, decrease your calorie intake.

It’s that easy. See the section below if you need help crafting a meal plan that aligns with your calorie deficit.

Do You Want to Go on a Calorie Deficit?

I have two plans for you:

1. The 28-Day Metabolism Challenge: Do you want to fast-track your metabolism, lose weight, and be on a slight to moderate calorie deficit? Check out this guide.
2. Get a Custom Meal Plan: If you want a customized meal plan based on your current TDEE and tailored to meet your health and fitness goals, book a consultation with me via dee@deemanded.com or drop a contact form.

Also, I am on Instagram and constantly checking my DMs. You can always find and interact with me here.