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There is ONE main overriding rule for weight loss.
That is to consume less calories than you burn each day or each week. The technical term is to create a Calorie Deficit. However to set yourself a calorie deficit, first of all you need to know roughly how many calories you burn each day.
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**IMPORTANT NOTE A)
I say “roughly” because unless you enter yourself into a science lab, you will never know the exact amount. However a rough amount gives us a good guide to start with.
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** IMPORTANT NOTE B )
It doesn’t matter if you choose Paleo, clean eating, Keto, meal replacement shakes or simply healthy eating (which would be my choice btw), you must create a calorie deficit for weight loss to occur.
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** IMPORTANT NOTE C)
Please don’t randomly assign yourself a target of 1200 calories.
Take some time to find out (roughly) how many calories YOU burn each day. You can then set an appropriate calorie deficit in order to achieve long term sustainable weight loss, which usually means you get to eat way more food than a restrictive 1200 cal plan.
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To get an estimate of how many calories you burn in a 24 hour period, click the calculator link below…
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How many calories someone burns varies greatly depending on height, weight (a heavier person burns more calories than a lighter person), age, muscle vs fat ratio, activity level, etc.
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I love the linked calorie calculator because it so clearly demonstrates all the ways be burn calories in a 24 hour period.
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Let’s look at 8 ways that Sally burns calories each day.
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1) Living (breathing) – BMR
We are burning calories every second of the day simply to keep us alive. Our heart beating, our organs functioning, brain working etc. This is known as our BMR. Basal Metabolic Rate.
A 75kg female burns just under 1 calorie per minute, every minute of the day. The more you weigh, the more calories you burn.
** Worth noting. You can slightly increase your BMR by increasing the amount of lean muscle mass you have on your body
Sally’s BMR = approx. 1000 cals per day
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2) NEAT.
Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. Moving your body in small, subtle ways. Fidgeting, raising your arm to use the remote control, chewing gum, typing, changing body positions etc.
Sally’s NEAT + 100 cals
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3) Moving
General moving about in your daily activity. Shopping, walking, house work. Sally moves for 2.5 hours during an office work day
Sally’s daily movement + 450 cals
**Worth noting – Sally moves for 6 hours on a Saturday when she spends all day chasing after 2 toddlers. The calories that she burns on Saturday are much higher than on a Monday when she is sitting in the office all day.
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4) Exercise.
Getting out of your comfort zone. Huffing and puffing and / or overloading the muscles of your body. Sally exercises 1 hour, 4 X per week.
Sally’s exercise + 400 calories (exercise days only)
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5) After burn from exercise (EPOC)
A hard exercise session that gets us way out of our comfort zone continues to burn extra calories AFTER the session is over. However don’t get too excited, its only a small amount in the scheme of things.
Sally’s EPOC + 50 cals (exercise days only)
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6) Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)
The process of digesting our food uses up calories. Protein and fibrous vegetable have the highest rate of TEF.
Sally makes sure to include protein and veg in most of her meals. Just like the portion plate guidelines outlined HERE.
Sally’s Thermic Effect of Food + 120 cals
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7) Temperature regulation
We burn a small amount of extra calories when we need to cool down our body on a hot day, or warm it up on a cold day.
Sally spends most of her day in an air-conditioned environment.
Sally’s Temperature regulation + 20 cals
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8) Spicy foods and stimulants such as caffeine
Consuming some foods such as this can raise our energy levels very slightly.
+ 20 cals
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Sally’s total daily calorie burn = 2160.
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If Sally consumes less calories than she burns, we call that a calorie deficit.
Example. Sally burns approx 2160 calories but she only consumes 1700. That’s almost a 500 calorie deficit. The calorie deficit causes her to lose weight. 7000 calorie deficit = 1 kg weight loss (rough estimate).
Also see – How to lose 1kg per week. A step by step guide
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IMPORTANT
That may seem like a LOT of calories. Please know, it is SO easy to eat more calories than this if you are not careful and calorie aware.
** Please see a useful visual representation HERE.
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Questions…
Chriss, does this mean that I need to count every single calorie IN and OUT?
No.
Just like managing your money budget, you can achieve most of this with awareness, habits and routines. Just like when you first learnt to manage your money, it may take some more focus and effort and first, then after a while you will get into an auto-pilot routine.
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Does that mean I need to eat 1200 calories in order to lose weight?
No. If you burn 2400 calories per day (for example), eating less than that is a calorie deficit and will result in weight loss.
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