Why calorie deficit is crucial for weight loss and how to successfully achieve it?

If you're looking to shed some pounds, a calorie deficit is key. But what exactly does it mean, and how can you achieve it? Here's everything you want to know.

If you've attempted weight loss, you've probably heard about the importance of a calorie deficit. However, you might still be unsure about what it entails and why it's crucial for weight loss. Losing weight can be a challenging task, but it's not impossible. One of the most effective methods to shed those extra pounds is by creating a calorie deficit. A calorie deficit means consuming fewer calories than your body burns, resulting in weight loss. However, it's important to note that creating a significant calorie deficit can be dangerous and lead to adverse health effects. Therefore, it's essential to achieve a calorie deficit in a safe and healthy way. To jump-start your weight loss journey it is important to have a better understanding of how to create a calorie deficit.

A calorie deficit means consuming fewer calories than your body burns, resulting in weight loss. (Unsplash)

Kajal Agarwal, Clinical Dietician and PCOD Expert shared with HT Lifestyle, the importance of a calorie deficit for weight loss and how to achieve it through a balanced diet and exercise routine.

Why is calorie deficit important:

There are several reasons why calorie deficit is important:-

Energy balance: When you consume more calories than your body requires, the excess energy is stored as fat, leading to weight gain. Conversely, creating a calorie deficit forces your body to tap into its fat stores for energy, resulting in weight loss.

Fat loss vs. muscle loss: Calorie deficit plays a crucial role in determining the type of weight loss experienced. By incorporating a moderate calorie deficit, your body primarily targets fat stores while preserving lean muscle mass energy

Sustainable weight loss: Calorie deficit promotes gradual and sustainable weight loss. By creating a moderate calorie deficit, you can lose weight at a steady pace, making it more likely to maintain your progress in the long term.

How can one achieve a calorie deficit?

Making a calorie deficit in a diet is not difficult at all! It can be done easily by replacing your dinner with a good bowl of paneer salad, chicken salad or just a green salad, or you can do it by checking on the oil consumption.

For example, If your body needs 1800 calories for day-to-day work and for weight loss you need 1500 calories, replacing dinner with salads, checking on oil consumption and increasing intake of raw veggies in each main meal will create a major deficit and with physical activities, you can burn 200 calories and make a deficit, with this method, you can easily lose weight.

Note that although a calorie deficit is important and one of the major factors in losing weight one should always focus on both the quality and quality of the food. Consuming 200 calories from a cold drink bottle is just empty calories but getting it from a smoothie or a meal is something our body needs.