What Is A Calorie Deficit?

In simple words, when calories in are lesser than the calories out we are in a calorie deficit.

CALORIES IN is everything, you eat and drink.

CALORIES OUT is a bit tricky and consists of:

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) :-

Calories burnt to accomplish vital life sustaining functions e.g. respiration. In short, calories that are burnt without moving.
It is the number of calories the body needs to keep you alive.
BMR usually accounts for the largest amount of, about 60-70% of the total calories burnt.
It is based on our genetics, gender, age, height, and weight but we have little control over it. We cannot change it much.

EAT (Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) :-

Calories burnt during formal exercise.
It only accounts for 5-10% of the total energy burnt (will be higher for athletes and can differ from person to person).
It is an overrated factor for fat loss. People start exercising for 1 hour a day and use it as an excuse to be inactive during the rest of the day. Unfortunately, this proves counteractive towards weight loss efforts.
We usually engage in formal exercise 4-5 times a week, so the cumulative effect of the calories burnt each day is small.

NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) :-

Calories burnt while doing any activity that is not formal exercise, e.g., cleaning, gardening, walking, etc.
It accounts for 10-15% of the total energy burnt. This is the second highest energy output source.
It is an underrated factor for fat loss. This is the one calorie burning source that YOU can change the most.
NEAT may act as one of the key factors to determine if one succeeds in fat loss or not.

TEF (Thermic Effect of Food) :-

Calories burnt to digest and absorb food.
Accounts for 5-10% of the total calories burnt.
TEF depends on age, meal size, meal frequency, and meal composition.
A high protein diet will utilize more calories while digestion versus a high fat or a high carbohydrate diet.

To sum it up :-

BMR is important but we cannot change it much.
EAT is important but can only marginally affect fat loss.
TEF can be changed by changing our meal patterns and compositions.
NEAT is an underrated factor and can hugely impact our fat loss journey.

So, in order to maintain a calorie deficit: track the calories taken in and keep them lower than the calories burnt through BMR, EAT, TEF, & most importantly NEAT.

- Jinal Furia Shah

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