Calories In, Calories Out
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If you were looking to lose ...
👨🍳Calories In, Calories Out
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If you were looking to lose weight and had to choose between having the equivalent of 3 of the chicken plate (one plate came out to be 850 kcal), compared to having 2 of the fast food meal (970 kcal), which one would you choose?
You most likely chose 3 of the chicken plate because of its healthier selection with a balanced plate of macronutrients. In reality, it all depends on the caloric deficit you are on. If your caloric maintenance is 2500 kcal/day, there would be no way you would lose any weight with 3 of the chicken plate (2550 kcal) because you are NOT entering into a caloric deficit. If you were to just eat 2 of the fast food plate you would be in a 22.4% deficit (1940 kcal), which means you would lose weight if you continued to eat that everyday at your current body statistics.
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Now, does this mean you can eat all the junk food you like? NO❌! These foods are high in sodium and fats, which won’t be helping with your muscle protein synthesis. This means those calories will be used for fat storage, not to mention other adverse effects like higher cholesterol.
I wanted to highlight this scenario because it is important to know even if you are eating the “healthiest” of foods it is impossible to lose weight if you are not on a caloric deficit! Any diet (ie. keto, intermittent fasting) only works if it puts you on a caloric deficit for losing weight, and a caloric surplus if you are trying to gain weight. So, tracking your calories should always be goal number 1!👨💻
