Understanding How to Manage Your Weight
What's important early on when it comes to transforming your physique is being comfortable with the process and to know the mechanisms at play. Not think, but know! With that in mind, there is scarcely a more fitting place to start than discussing how to effectively manage your weight.
You may want to gain, maintain, or lose weight, and it's important to understand how to do all three, because when weight loss is successful, maintenance would be your next logical step. Conversely, if weight gain is your goal, we need to know how to do that and how to maintain or cut afterwards.
Prefer to watch than read? Then please check out the video below:
Calorie deficit
Firstly, let's talk about a calorie deficit. This arises when you consume fewer calories than you burn. If you consume 2000 calories and your Total Daily Energy Expenditure is 2550 calories, you will be in a 550-calorie deficit, and induce weight loss. Great success! Specifically, a 550-calorie daily deficit, totalling a 3,850 calorie deficit over the week, equates to ~0.5kg of fat loss per week. This is because 1kg of body fat contains roughly 7,700 calories, and we’d be breaking into half of that energy reserve, so half a kilo, over the week. A calorie deficit is the cornerstone of any effective weight-loss strategy; if sustained, weight loss is not a matter of if, but when.
Weight Maintenance
Maintenance occurs when caloric intake aligns with expenditure: 2,550 calories in this example. In this instance, the body has no need to draw upon its stored reserves, which is ideal if you're satisfied with your current leaness and want to support training performance with adequate fuel.
Calorie Surplus
Then we have the calorie surplus – ideal for you, little rebels wanting to gain weight, usually, of course, in the form of muscle mass. Making gains. Getting jacked! Even though you can build muscle in a deficit, it's easier in a slight surplus due to the catabolic nature of energy restriction. When in a surplus, it's important to stay only just above maintenance, as otherwise you risk body fat gain. A 5% surplus is a good place to start, so 2,550 becomes 2,677.
The maths of body composition
The maths of body composition is simple in principle, but how your body responds can be less predictable. A calculated deficit may not prove to be an actual one, and may require adjustments. If the scales aren't budging, there's either tracking errors – which are very common – or it simply isn't a true deficit. If this situation arises, we refine the variables and adjust caloric intake or activity levels until results show.
Scale Fluctuations
One caveat: even with impeccable calculations, the scales don't always faithfully reflect changes within the body due to fluctuations in glycogen, food weight, and water retention – easily swinging the scales by a couple of kilos in a given week or even day. For example, if you eat an 8-oz steak, which is 230 grams, the scales will go up by that amount. You drink a litre of water on top of that, which is 1kg, you’ve now gained over 1.23kg. None of this is body fat, and the scales will normalise, but it shows how easily and quickly the scales fluctuate and mask fat loss. That said, if you're in a true, sustained deficit, you will lose fat, and even if this fat loss is happening behind the scenes, and not immediately obvious, it will eventually show on the scales.
Key Takeaways
The key takeaway: when you fully appreciate that energy in vs energy out is the main principle of weight management, it's genuinely empowering. You will have almost full control over your weight, particularly your body fat. How exciting is that!