Snacks #017: The calorie deficits I use for my fat-loss clients & why

So many people don't understand exactly how fat-loss calories work, or what they're even calculating when they try to DIY- but you can avoid the confusion by reading through this guide.

Here's a straightforward breakdown of calorie deficits to make things easier for you when it comes to dieting.

My process with clients:

1. Goal setting first always
What is the desired total fat loss amount?
How much time do they have to achieve this goal?
Is it realistic? (If not, I advise them to adjust their goal time frame or weight loss)

2. Work out the required rate of fat loss by dividing the amount of kilos per weeks available to achieve the goal.

3. Set the calorie deficit depending on the rate of fat loss. Calculate maintenance calories first then minus the appropriate calories per day (more on this below).

Understanding fat loss:

A kilo of stored fat is about 7700 calories

Although one gram of fat = 9kcal, when it’s stored in the body it’s stored with some water, so this makes it about 7700 per kilo (instead of 9000 calories).

Therefore, to lose 1 kilo of fat, a calorie deficit of 7700 calories must be created across a period of time.

This deficit can be created over a few days, a week, a fortnight, WHATEVER you like.

This will also depend on the client in terms of how many calories they burn daily, as this affects the realistic rate of fat loss.

Easy maths for rate of fat loss:

To lose a kilo per week

You’d need to be in a calorie deficit of 1100 calories per day

To lose 500g per week

You’d need to be in a calorie deficit of 550 calories per day

To lose 250g per week

You’d need to be in a calorie deficit of approx 300 calories per day

To recap:

1. Set your goals (be realistic)
2. Calculate your maintenance calories (this is how many calories you burn per day)
3. Choose a rate of fat loss
4. Set your calorie deficit depending on this

Eg. A client's goal is 5kg weight loss in 10 weeks.

• She is highly active and burns 2500 calories per day.
  This is a rate of fat loss of 500g per week, therefore her calorie deficit should be 550 calories per day
  2500-550 calories = approx. 1950 calories per day to lose 500g fat per week

I hope you found this summary helpful, and, for more...

For coaching, see this link: https://www.evolvefn.com.au/coaching-options?cid=ed851be1-4e54-4975-82da-a1daead49c4d
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