I’d heard about the need for a calorie deficit about a million times before I actually looked into what it was.  Now, I understand that the name pretty much explains what it is. I got it on the most basic level.  If I wanted to lose weight, I needed to burn more calories than I was taking in.  That said, when it comes to putting things into practice, the situation became less obvious to me. I admit that it took freaking forever for me to actually look it up.

What Does a Calorie Deficit Really Mean?

The reason I found the idea of a calorie deficit to be a bit on the confusing side is that it’s more complicated than just eating and drinking less than what you burn. After all, if that was the case, then simply making sure that I was 1 calorie under my energy needs for the day would count. Or, on the other hand, fasting for several days in a row would also apply.  For that matter, so would attempting to exercise all the live-long day!

That said, neither of those strategies are recommended for healthy weight loss. It’s not what is implied when doctors and weight loss experts talk about achieving an appropriate calorie deficit.

The Basics

There are two main ways to create a calorie deficit. The first is to reduce your calorie intake. Eat fewer calories to the point that your daily total is appropriately lower than what your body will burn through that day.

The second way is to boost the number of calories you’re burning through each day, typically by becoming more physically active.

That said, both of these strategies can be taken on only within reason. Still, they must be taken on with enough of a difference that the calorie deficit will actually lead to lost weight.

The CDC’s recommendations show that, within a certain margin of error, reducing your calories by about 500 per day will cause your body to turn to its own fat stores for the energy it needs, thereby leading to one pound of lost weight per week.  By simultaneously boosting physical activity levels, this can further increase the amount of lost weight.

Determining an Appropriate Calorie Deficit

The CDC’s data is based on the average needs of a healthy adult. Yours might not be exactly the same.  That said, when deciding on a calorie deficit, you’ll need to make sure you don’t drop below your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the minimum amount of energy your body requires to keep up the functions needed for you to be alive and healthy. Use a BMR calculator to help provide you with an idea of what that number is.

At the very least, it’s important not to drop below that number of calories. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s your target daily level. That said, you should remain above it even when you’re creating a calorie deficit. To know exactly what your range should be while trying to lose weight, talking to a doctor, dietician or nutritionist is always helpful.