How many calories to eat for fat loss.
The only article you need to determine your calorie deficit.
Note that if you are looking for specific meal plans, this is where a Registered Dietician comes into play. It is not within the scope of practice of a fitness professional to be prescribing meal plans. This article is designed to give a high level overview of macronutrients and calorie targets for the goal of fat loss.
Fat loss is, without a doubt, the most common fitness goal. If you're tired of crash diets and endless hours on the treadmill, then you've come to the right place. Sustainable fat loss comes from understanding your body's unique needs and creating a personalized plan that works for you. In this article, I dive into the world of macronutrients and calories. So grab a notebook and a pen, and let's get started!
The fat loss recipe
I’ve said it once and I will say it again. A calorie deficit is the only way to lose body fat. Period, end of story.
You may have heard people say “I have NEVER counted calories and have lost weight using [Paleo / Keto / Intermittent Fasting / Carnivore / Atkins]. Calorie deficits are therefore NOT required to lose weight!”
The reality is that all of these programs are just different ways to potentially create a calorie deficit. The reason I say potentially is that you can cut out carbs all you want, but if you’re overeating calories on a Keto diet, you’re not going to lose body fat.
You can also eat between the times of 12 and 6pm if that makes controlling your calories easier. But, if you are overeating calories in that timeframe you’re not going to lose any fat. Intermittent fasting is just another strategy to create a calorie deficit.
The people who have successfully lost weight using [Paleo / Keto / Intermittent Fasting / Carnivore / Atkins] did so because the plan put them into a calorie deficit.
Should you use these diet strategies?
You certainly can. But, unless you are able to sustainably cut out carbs forever, eat in a 6 hour window, or never eat a donut again, you probably shouldn’t use diet strategies like this.
Why? Because the second you end your “diet”, the scale will slide right back to where it started. When you are no longer chained to Keto, will you actually have the skillset to keep the weight off while eating carbs again? Probably not. So, instead of throwing a Hail Mary and telling yourself you will “figure it out” after the diet is over and the weight is gone, this time you’re going to plan a calorie deficit in a way that works for you.
Okay, so we understand that a calorie deficit is required to lose body fat.
What is your calorie deficit?
Great question. Before we jump into how many calories you should eat and more specifically, the macronutrient targets, it’s important to understand the difference between the two.
Macronutrients, also known as macros, are the three main types of nutrients that make up the food we eat: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Each macronutrient has a specific caloric value, which is the number of calories it contains per gram.
Calories, on the other hand, are a measure of the amount of energy in food. A calorie is a unit of measurement used to quantify the energy that our bodies derive from the food we eat. In order to create a calorie deficit for fat loss, we need to consume fewer calories than we burn.
The relationship between macronutrients and calories is that the calories we consume from our macros make up our total daily caloric intake.
For example: if we consume 100 grams of carbohydrates, which contain 4 calories per gram, we would consume 400 calories from carbohydrates.
To create a calorie deficit for fat loss, we need to consume fewer calories than our body needs to maintain its current weight. This can be achieved by adjusting our macronutrient intake to reduce our overall caloric intake.
Step 1: Calculating your calorie deficit:
I learned this trick from Jordan Syatt, a world-famous powerlifter and now online fitness coach. I like giving this formula to anyone who is new to tracking calories because it’s straightforward.
Multiply your goal body weight by 12.
Example: Your goal weight is 140 lbs.
Your calorie deficit = 140 x 12
Your calorie deficit = 1680 calories
What should my goal body weight be?”
This really depends on how much you have to lose. If you currently weigh 200 lbs and your goal is 140 lbs, then it is likely best to start with an incremental goal of around 180 lbs. Then, as you get closer to that body weight, you could shift the goal to 160 lbs, and so on. This will keep your diet moving at a sustainable pace without slashing calories.
With that said, don’t take your “goal body weight” too literally. You may find that you feel amazing and are happy by the time you hit 160 lbs. You don’t actually need to hit 140 lbs. It’s just a jumping off point. Generally, a calorie deficit of around 300-500 calories per day from maintenance calories is a great place to aim.
This will get the scale trending downward while keeping hunger at bay. For someone with a large amount of body fat to lose there could be an argument for going into a deficit of more than 500 calories per day.
Step 2: Determine your macros
Based on the number of calories needed to be in a healthy deficit, you will now use this number to break down your calorie targets into the 3 macronutrients.
As a quick reminder, here are your macronutrients:
Protein = 4 calories per gram
Fat = 9 calories per gram
Carbohydrates = 4 calories per gram
Alcohol = 7 calories per gram → considered the “fourth”, but non-essential macro. We will not discuss this here.
Calculating Your Protein:
Protein is the foundation of your macro breakdown as it keeps you full longer, which is key in a calorie deficit. It also helps you build muscle and more importantly, hold onto existing muscle as your body is losing fat. If your protein is not high enough during a calorie deficit, you risk losing muscle in addition to body fat. Your goal is to have as much weight loss as possible come from fat stores rather than muscle.
Multiply your goal body weight by 1.
Example: Your goal body weight is 140 lbs.
Your Daily Protein = 140 x 1
Your Daily Protein Minimum = 140 g
This is the minimum amount of protein you should aim to consume daily. Personally, I prefer to eat more than this because I feel more satiated.
Bottom line: Aim anywhere between 1-1.5g x goal body weight for daily protein.
Calculating Carbs & Fats (optional)
If you’re just getting started with food tracking, you don’t necessarily need to track carbs and fats in order to lose weight. If weighing your food sounds overwhelming, you can see incredible results simply by tracking just calories and protein.
So why track carbs and fats?
Think of carbs and fats as the cherry on top of a sundae.
If the secret to fat loss was eating a sundae (if only), then your calories would be the bowl and the vanilla ice cream. Essentially, the foundation of your sundae is calorie intake. The protein would be the banana, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. Also vital for a sundae. With these items alone, you have yourself a pretty decent sundae.
The carbs and fats are the cherry and sprinkles. Not detrimental if it’s missing from your sundae, but it certainly gives the total package. If you currently have 0 ingredients for a sundae, you are best starting off with the basics and buying yourself a bowl and ice cream.
But, if you’re ready to dive all in, then here’s how you add the cherry and sprinkles:
Calculating Your Fats:
Multiply your daily calories by 0.25.
So, turning back to our example from above. If your goal body weight is 140 lbs, your daily goal is 1680 calories.
→ 1680 calories x 0.25 = 420 calories.
This is how many calories you roughly want to come from fats daily.
Why? Generally, a healthy range of daily fat consumption is anywhere from 20-30% of your daily calorie intake.
Now, divide your calories from fats by 9.
→ 420 / 9 = 46.6 g.
So, in this case your goal is to eat 47g of fat per day.
Calculating your carbs:
Now we know how many grams of protein and carbs you’re aiming to eat daily. Whatever is left, we give to carbs.
Daily calories from carbs = Total calories - calories from protein - calories from fat
Back to our example:
Calories from carbs = 1680 - (140g x 4 calories) - (46.6 x 9 calories)
Calories from carbs = 700 calories
Daily carbs in grams = calories from carbs / 4 calories
Daily carbs in grams = 700 calories / 4
Daily carbs in grams = 175g
Summary
Step 1: Determine daily calories
Step 2: Determine daily protein
Step 3: Determine daily fats & carbs (optional)
To revisit our example: If your goal body weight is 140 lbs
Your daily goal is 1680 calories
140 grams of protein
47 grams of fat
175 grams of carbs
A Crucial Step: Give it Time!
It's important to track your caloric intake consistently and accurately over a long period of time before adjusting your calorie deficit further.
By tracking your caloric intake over time, you can identify patterns in your eating habits, pinpoint areas where you may be consuming too many calories, and make adjustments accordingly. At minimum, you should be tracking your calories with accuracy for at least 30 days before adjusting your calorie targets. If you are tracking with accuracy and still not seeing changes to the scale, then you can consider adjusting further.
Well folks, there you have it. All the secrets to fat loss! While the formula is quite simple, it’s implementing it that can be challenging. A calorie deficit requires some sacrifice and moments of hunger should be expected.
Ultimately, we don’t change without a bit of a challenge.