What is the Caloric Deficit and what is it for?

A caloric deficit is defined as the caloric deficit necessary to reduce and maintain a balanced body weight, that is, consuming more calories than are consumed to avoid gaining or even losing weight. First of all, it is important to know that nutritional needs, including macronutrients and calories, are determined by several factors, such as gender, age, height, training load in the gym, additional activities, physiological state and metabolic, body composition and goals. The first concept to consider is calories, which give us the energy we need to stay active throughout the day. To lose weight, it is necessary to eat fewer calories than we burn in a day, and we are in a calorie deficit.

Balance in calories:

To gain weight, you need to eat more calories than you burn each day, and to maintain your weight, you need to burn as many calories as you burn. It is a balance of energy. A calorie is a unit of measure that is considered energy. We need to consume a certain amount of calories every day for our bodies to function properly and to stay active, focused, and strong.

Therefore, your daily calorie intake will change from 2340 to 2520. Knowing this, count the calories you burn during exercise. Conversely, if your goal is to gain weight to gain, say, muscle mass, go for an excess calorie or low calorie diet, but always stick to it.

What to eat with a healthy caloric deficit to lose weight?

Basic protein is the general determinant of intelligence. It will depend on your activity: running, cycling, walking, hypertrophy, bodybuilding… However, proteins must represent at least 10-15% of the total calories and have a high biological value, especially meat, fish, dairy or eggs. If you go to the gym regularly, you need 1.8 to 2 grams of protein a day. kilograms of body weight. That is, if you weigh 80, you eat 80 x 2, which is 160 grams of protein per day and split evenly across meals whenever possible. For all other nutrients, studies have shown that cutting carbs is more effective than cutting “good” fats for fat loss. Small but high-quality carbohydrates such as whole grains, quinoa, oats, legumes, fruits or vegetables, and unsaturated fats such as nuts, fatty fish (sardines, herring…) or olive oil. Do not even touch refined flour, and if you cheat, avoid foods that give you empty calories, such as soft drinks, industrial pastries or junk food. Also keep in mind that going into a calorie deficit to lose weight has its downsides: You may feel more tired, your immune system may suffer, or you may lose muscle mass.