I specifically said FAT and not WEIGHT, since weight can be skewed by a multitude of factors such as water content, muscle mass, stress, hormonal fluctuations and muscle glycogen content. This is why the scales are not the best way to assess this.

So, what is a deficit? It means you are eating at a level below your calorie maintenance. All things being equal, you are expending more energy than you consume.

Why are You Not in a Deficit?

There are likely 3 options…

1. You don’t want or need to be (THIS IS FINE)
2. You are miscalculating your calories (BE PRECISE, DON’T GUESS)
3. You are not complying with the deficit rule.

Number 3 is the point I want to address.

Being in a deficit is not easy. It will feel uncomfortable. However, it does get easier as your body adjusts and you approach your goal IF you are sensible with your approach. This means no crash dieting. The aim of the game is to eat in a way that is sustainable, not a quick fix.

Being in a deficit really just boils down to how much you WANT to lose fat.

Having a junk binge might feel good at the time, but it will inevitably bring you crashing down and leave you feeling worse… This is the easy option

OR

You can be disciplined and stay the course. This requires willpower.

These are the only two choices you have and only you are ACCOUNTABLE. We have become so accustomed to seeking short-term gain that most people lose sight of the end goal, which is usually a happier self.

Biology

Your brain will tell you that you are hungry or that you need more to eat, but you don’t!! A sensible calorie deficit is NOT starvation. You will not die if you don’t eat a bag of crisps, or if you reduce your portion sizes. People regularly fast for 16 to 24 hours and have excellent health and blood work. If I could recommend one book that might change your thinking with regards to eating and body composition it would be “Eat Stop Eat” by Brad Pilon.

Cutting out the crap – crisps, biscuits, sweets, cakes, pastries, fizzy drinks, chocolate etc. is often all that’s required to reach a deficit. It sounds funny when you have to justify why such foods HAVE to be in your diet, and they offer very little in the way of nutrients.

How To Work Out What your Deficit Should Be

There are numerous calculators online that enable you to estimate your calorie needs. For simplicity, I am going to use the formula devised by the respected nutritionist Alan Aragon. Please note this is only an ESTIMATE as individual requirements will vary (a more accurate approach would be to keep an actual food diary (using a tool such as My Fitness Pal) for 2 weeks and calculate your average daily calories).

If you have been given specific advice by a certified dietician or nutritionist then listen to them!

STEP 1 – Decide on your TARGET weight in lbs.

This must be realistic:

• Obese – Can lose 2 lb per week.
• Overweight – Can lose 1lb per week.
• Lean – Can lose 0.5 lb per week

STEP 2 – Decide on your ACTIVITY level.

• Sedentary (mostly inactive) = 9 (for women use 8)
• Moderate (e.g. 4 or 5 hrs in the gym per week) = 10 (for women use 9)
• High (e.g. training often and a physical job) = 11 (for women use 10).

STEP 3 – Calculate your TOTAL HRS of training/sport per week.

The formula is:

(STEP 1 x (STEP 2 + STEP 3)

It’s that simple.

An Illustrated Example 

Bill is sedentary (desk bound). He weighs 240lbs (about 105kg). He is 30% fat. He engages in 2 hrs gym training per week.

Bill is likely obese (>30% fat) and therefore can lose 2lbs body fat per week. If we are looking at a 3-month period Bill can therefore reasonably lose 8lbs per month or 24lbs in 3 months.

STEP 1 – His target weight is 216lbs (240 – 24)

STEP 2 – His activity level is 9 (sedentary)

STEP 3 – 2hrs

Bill’s Calorie Need = 216 x (9 + 2) = 2376 calories

So What Now?

1) Calculate your own calorie needs for fat loss. Once you have it written down, then decide how you are going to achieve that amount each day. For example, if Bill was to eat 3 equal meals per day he would have 792 (call it 800) calories in each meal.

2) Plan and write down your meals the day before. This makes you accountable for the things you will eat the next day. Any deviation from what you have written down means you are less likely to achieve your goal. Don’t make EXCUSES!

3) Eat protein and veg with every meal. Protein will keep you full (I don’t mean protein bars, I mean real food). Ensure there are good fats in your diet. Be sensible and balanced with what you eat. Drink lots and lots of water!

4) Sleep between 7 – 9 hrs per night.This reduces the impact of stress on your body.

5) Give it 3 or 4 weeks and see what happens. If you have not lost any fat then simply reduce your calorie target by 15 –  20%.

If Bill is not losing fat at 2376 calories then his new target would be 2376 x 0.8 = 1900 calories.

The idea is that Bill will be eating the right amount of food for his target bodyweight; at no point do we want it to become a crash diet.

And Exercise?

Conditioning (or ‘cardio’) is important for health but it is only the icing on the cake when we are talking about fat loss. Use it to burn a few more calories if you wish, but do not chase calories or run yourself into the ground. You will see a much bigger impact on your body from eating appropriately than you will from running 90mins every evening in order to expend calories. Remember the first picture in the article?

Strength training is key. In conjunction with a balanced diet, strength training will build and maintain muscle and ultimately lead to long-term body transformation. If you omit the strength training on a deficit then it is likely you will become a smaller version of your current self, and some of the muscle you already had will have been cannibalised in the process. Not only will this mean you are weaker, additionally you will have reduced your fat burning capability – since muscle is a hungry beast!

I hope you find this useful. Keep reading more of our articles, especially Alex’s excellent series on nutrition – Part 1 and Part 2 can be found here, stand by for more!

Be bulletproof,

Coach Craig.

Author - Craig Peterson - Personal Trainer & Mentor

Like what you read? Want to know more?

If you have a question about anything Health & Fitness that you want to see answered in a future article, or even fancy treating your brain & body to a whole day with one of our brilliant Mentors. Please contact us – we will endeavour to get back to you within 24hrs!

Remember – It is never too late to bulletproof your future self.