Calories are king, but is it really that simple?

For those of you who are looking to lose weight or fat or even gain muscle. You should probably know by now that calories are king.

No matter what your body composition goals are, it is vital that your calories are in the right ball park.

Why? Because your calorie intake vs your calorie expenditure makes up the energy equation of the physics law of thermodynamics.

If we burn more energy then we consume, then we will lose weight. This is because we need to find something else to burn to make up for the deficit. This comes from fat, muscle, etc.

However, if we consume more than we burn, we are going to gain weight. That is because we are using up the energy that we need, then storing the excess as fat, etc, for later use.

Knowing this is vital. Because for losing weight and indeed body fat, we need to be consuming LESS than we burn every day, to ensure that we tap into our body fat also and lose weight.

This is simple, this is LAW, and this backs up the fact that calories are indeed, king.

However, the reason why I am questioning its simplicity is NOT because of this proven law, but more to do with the process and application itself.

We may understand that we need to eat less and move more in order to lose weight. This is the simple bit. But the complexity comes in no know HOW, or indeed not being able to maintain the HOW.

Let us explore this more and hopefully I can give you some insight that will help you here.

Here is an exampe:

Rachel eats 2000 calories a day, she maintains weight but wants to lose some.

Rachel cuts her calories back to 1500 a day and loses weight.

That is the law of thermodynamics.

BUT, how does rachel do this? How does she drop 500 calories a day from her diet? THIS is where it is not so simple.

Lets look at some examples of how she could do this:

1. She tracks her calories using an app and looking at packets, therefore she knows for fact that she is consuming 1500 calories a day and no more. This allows her to eat what she wants, so long as she sticks to her target.

2. She performs intermitted fasting, only eating between the hours of 12:00 noon and 8:00pm. By only allowing herself to eat in this window, chances are she is going to eat LESS overall throughout the day, which equates to her 500 calories in this example and she loses weight.

3. She undergoes a 'keto' diet and drops most of her carbs. Now she has removed an entire food group which leaves her meals less calorific. Her meals have now gone from 700 to 500 calories each, leading to an overall drop in daily calories, just because she has dropped out carbs.

4. She drinks 'diet' drinks instead of fizzy full fats. Now, instead of reaching for a drink with 100 calories in 5 times a day, she has 5 with 0 calories in, leading to a 500 calorie drop over the course of the day.

5. She cuts out processed foods and only eats natural ingredients. The nutritional value of these natural foods keep her fuller for longer, this redues the need to snack on treats and as a result, she eats less calories throughout the day.

^^^

These are just 5 examples of how you can drop into a calorie deficit and lose weight.

Please note the following:

EVERY TIME YOU HAVE EVER LOST WEIGHT IN THE PAST IS BECAUSE YOU WERE IN A CALORIE DEFICIT.

There are tonnes and tonnes of methods to do this, but the rules are still the same. You cannot cheat science!

So, although calories are king and this is simple. The methods in which you get there are not so simple.

Every single person is different, with different calorie requirements based upon age, weight and metabolic activity.

Everyone has different goals and different needs.

Everyone leads different lifestyles.

In this post, I am NOT going to tell you HOW or even WHAT to eat.

But what I am going to tell you is that if you want to change your body composition and keep it that way, then stop thinking that there is a certain way that works for your body.

Everything works, so long as your calories are right. Just ensure that whatever methods you choose to do;

a) You are happy with them, you enjoy them.

b) They work for your lifestyle.

c) They get you results, obviously.

Know the law.

Know how to apply the law for your life.

Enjoy the process and enjoy the results.

Feel free to share if this has been helpful!

On your side,

Rory