Calorie math: a guide to fat loss

Fat loss and weight management goals are based on the basic principle of calorie intake versus calories burnt. That simple math is the foundation of all weight issues.

Vitaminfood is your reliable aid to calorie calculation and fat loss. We got our calories figured out so it is easier for you. At Vitaminfood, we offer a wide variety of weight loss shakes. Use our vegan shakes to lose weight. The weight loss shakes come in different flavors and is 100% sugar-free. This is the ideal stuff and you do not want to miss it for cutting weight.

You might be struggling with losing weight, cutting down on extra fat, or maintaining your weight after hitting your goals. Congratulations! If the latter describes you. Many would have given up along the way. Now let’s not mess it up at the end by forgetting the math that got you there. If you are yet to achieve your goal, brace up for this is the foundation for your understanding of weight loss. 

The explanation is meant to build the right mindset for your weight loss and help you deal with a lot of doubt about the impact of diet on your weight. Get it right and you will never be confused about calories. You’ll also be more decisive with your nutritional goals.

Energy expenditure 

Calories are the energy used to power your body and all its activities. These calories can be obtained from glucose in your body, metabolized fat, or broken down protein. Having extra calories means that your body has more than it can use. So most of this extra is converted to storage compounds, which could be glycogen or fat deposited into your fat cells.

The extra is what we should typically be avoiding or trying to use up for our weight loss. In weight maintenance, it is just avoiding having too many extra calories. For weight loss, you need to burn most of the extra calories stored as fat layers.

The primary goal is to use up more than you consume every day. Weight loss is expending more energy than you take in. Are you wondering why take in more while you already have an excess? Sure your body has excess which needs to be used up but it is not in a ready-to-use format. So you need to take in enough calories which are absorbed as sugar; mostly glucose.

This energy absorbed will be used in the conversion of the extra fat during metabolism which is an energy-requiring process. So you invest energy to use up even more energy. Consuming enough calories is essential in burning fat. Anything less than 1200 calories would be undereating for almost any adult. The specific amount varies depending on your level of activity and age too.

This article -  https://druggenius.com/health/increasing-your-metabolism-and-becoming-healthier/ - is a simple and accurate explanation of metabolism.

Undereating is very harmful and could cause irreversible damage to your metabolism. It is highly advised to take enough calories in a weight loss diet. Our epic shakes contain at least 400kcal per serving. You can also adjust to suit your goal and ensure appropriate nutrition.

Calorie deficit

With all the calorie activity going on; calories coming in and a lot being burnt, you should aim to have a calorie deficit in your intake. This means that whatever you take in is less than what your body needs. The body is therefore forced to stretch into its resources and get the extra stored calories to sustain the bodies’ requirements. 

This gradually reduces the fat reserves in the body as they are constantly being used to sustain the energy requirements. The end product is a lot of the extra fat is used up and the fat layers are wiped clean; not clean but greatly reduced to only healthy amounts. Do this right and boom! You got your dream body. See how easy math is? 

This situation is the deficit. A good calorie deficit is around 250- 500. This keeps you healthy and avoids overstressing the body. Beyond this, the metabolism might be problematic and start having severe effects. Below this, results in adults will take long and easily upset by a slight digression in your diet.

  How to obtain a calorie deficit? 

• Increase your activity by exercising and workouts without a corresponding increase in your calorie intake
• Reduce your calorie intake

 Tracking weight and calories

 Tracking helps you stay on top of things. Think of yourself as an account manager and you have to keep tabs of all the resources coming in and those going out. The better you do it, the easier it is to figure out account issues and follow up on progress. 

 You need to measure two key areas:

1. The first has to do with your meals. You need to measure the number of calories you are consuming by a measuring jug for raw ingredients or scales. You can also use fitness tracking apps which allow you to log in everything that you have had.

Login everything from your solid meals to your liquid calories and every passive snack you take. 

Especially if your calorie deficit is closer to the lower limit, toppling that over could be very easy with a lot of drinks and passive eating. 

Being detailed makes you more accountable for your account and could help with achieving your goal. It does not that you should stress over your meals but rather just log in everything you take. The soft drinks and work cookies could be all the change you need in some less severe cases. 

1. The second area has to do with your body measurements. This usually is the weight, waistline, fat content, lean body mass.

When measuring your weight, scales can be very obsessive. They could also be a deterrent and greatly hurt your morale. Remember, a long-term weight goal is the best as it ingrains better dieting practices and is sustainable.

The results could also be very slow so obsessing over scales is not a good choice. Do it every 2 days, weekly maybe. Do it at a regular time of the day as weight fluctuates greatly in a day.

You can also use tape measurements for your waistline, arms and feet and abdomen. Photos in one outfit are another great option. 

Section summary:  establishing your Total Daily Energy Expenditure(TDEEs) is a great initial step that helps set your goals. This involves getting you basal metabolic rate (at rest) and then factor in your activity by using activity. This also needs to be checked and revised regularly as you continue to lose more weight.

Measuring body fat- some tests that can be useful in measuring your body fat include, skinfold calipers/ 9 point calipers test, bio-electrical impedance, body circumference measurements, hydrostatic weighing and multi-compartment models. Some of these are expensive and require the skill of a long time practitioner and experts. 

Diet sustainability

This is where we come in. Nutrition is Vitaminfood’s specialty and we have powered many proud customers to their weight management goals. 

For any weight loss diet chosen, sustainability is as important as how effective it is. If the diet is not sustainable why even bother picking it. 

Vitaminfood allows you to manage your macros because we got all the micronutrients figured out for you. Our vegan meal replacement shakes contain everything in just the right portions. With us, you can never be deficient.

This will factor in greatly in your weight management as well. Eat what you enjoy and still support your goal. Change from a diet mentality to a lifestyle one. Weight management is a lifestyle, not a diet. If you do not put enough effort into figuring this out, you will soon be back where you started.

Really! You want to gain all the 100lbs and 70 kgs! All of it gained back and start all over again. Diet gets you there and keeps you there. Slipping back to your original state is true and very easy but losing it is hard. So get a meal plan that you can transform into a lifestyle. 

A good diet is one that is:

• Healthy – whole, natural, minimal processing and no harmful ingredients like some shop products.
• Complete - has not only your macronutrients requirements in whatever portions you need but also has all the minerals and vitamins.
• Portion – controlled – everything on your plate should be in the right amounts. The plate should also be of a favorable size, not one that encourages overeating. At least 30% protein, 40% fat and 50% carbohydrates. This varies depending on your diet; Keto, Paleo, carb-cycling, Mediterranean, etc. But it has to meet the portion requirements recommended for your chosen diet.

Portion controlled dieting 

An effective way to manage your calorie intake is portion-controlled dieting. This demands that you eat only specific amounts of a macronutrient. This could be as a percentage of the entire diet or in relation to your total calorie intake.  

Various diets support this including the keto and paleo diets which support weight loss goals with evidence floating around social media and other diet-specific blogs.

 

• The keto diet is one that cuts down on carbs and increases the intake of fat to up to 80% of total calorie intake. This is believed to better adapt the body to burning fat. This would help in reducing your waistline and is backed by tons of evidence. It is a great tweak in your macronutrient ratio and should not be picked up hastily. Seek the counsel of a registered dietician before such drastic changes.
• Paleo diets are often high-protein diets. With most of the grains and processed sugar eliminated, the diet is high on fresh vegetables and fruits, nuts and lean meats made from natural grass. This diet is also believed to yield incredible health benefits besides weight loss.

 

Vitaminfood diets have the recommended daily intake for all your macronutrients and pre-calculated serving portions to help you be on top of your accounts. 

Meal timing 

Recent studies and some older ones from 2013 have shown that diet-induced thermogenesis is higher in the morning. The participants who had their heaviest meal in the morning recorded up to two and half times greater weight loss than those who had their heaviest meal at night. 

The action of the pancreas also drops as the day progresses resulting in most of the food taken at night being converted into fat for storage rather than being metabolized. This calls for your eating schedule to be aligned with your Circadian Rhythm. Eat more during the day and very little at night.

The night also provides a great opportunity to practice intermittent fasting for 10-14 hours. All these effects arise from having the largest meal portions in the morning, less at lunch and the least at night. The number of calories lying idle in your stomach when your metabolism is low reduces to almost zero. This way, more calories are used up and less stored. 

This schedule supports your overall weight plans because the sleep schedule is also improved.

Muscle loss and how to retain it

Undesired loss of muscle mass alongside the desired fat loss is a common occurrence. Especially for massive weight loss goals, it is almost inevitable. It just has to happen for you to achieve your goal. However, you can contain it within reasonable limits. 75% fat loss and 25% muscle loss is a good limit, 80% fat loss and 20% muscle mass loss is achievable and quite impressive too.

Protein intake greatly affects the retention of healthy muscle mass along the weight loss process. The 40-30-30 rule is a simple rule which dictates that protein content should be 30% of your total calorie intake. The 40 is for carbs and 30 for fat. 30% protein is higher than normal of 15-25% and could affect those with impaired livers and kidneys so take caution. This amount will see to it that your body retains enough muscle.

Order some Vitaminfood with an incredible 33g of protein per serving. This got you fully covered for your weight loss goals.

Sleep and healthy exercise are also as important as your protein intake. Sleep and exercise affect how much is retained and the quality of whatever is retained. Get enough rest and do some exercise even if it was not part of your plan.

How long should I plan for?

Weight management is a total lifestyle transformation. Aiming to get in and get out in a few months is a misguided and ill-formed thought. You are there to stay because regaining is very easy. it is better to plan for long-term goals and factor in maintenance.

Get comfortable and time will be a non-issue. Subscribing to Vitaminfood is a good option. The easiest goals will often require upwards of six months for weight loss and more for management and reintroducing extra food portions for maintenance. 

Get your subscription and let us get started on this transformation.