The Concept of Losing, Gaining & Maintaining Weight

Are you confused about how to change your body's composition? The concept of losing, gaining & maintaining weight is actually quite simple. However, in today's era, there are hundreds of fitness influencers that overcomplicate this topic. So, in this blog post, I'm going to break down some simple info you may have heard of, but don't understand how it works.

Caloric Surplus, Caloric Deficit & Caloric Balance 

Caloric Deficit:

A Calorie deficit means that the number of calories that you've consumed during the space of a day is lower than the number your body has burned throughout the day. This is the strategy that you need to adopt if you want to lose body fat & weight. In the Gym Atmosphere, this would be called " the cut".

I.E 2500 cals burned - 2000 cals consumed = 500 cal deficit

Caloric Surplus:

A Calorie deficit means that the number of calories that you've consumed during the space of a day is higher than the number your body has burned throughout the day. If your goal is to gain weight or gain muscle, This will be your weapon of choice. In the Gym Space, you may hear people say "I'm bulking or I'm on a bulk.

I.E 3000 Cals consumed -2500 cals burned = 500 cal surplus 

Caloric Balance: 

This is a very simple & basic concept. Your calories in match your calories out. Your weight will remain the same. 

I.E 2500 cals burned  - 2500 cals consumed = 0 cals lost or gained

SECRET: You can almost eat anything you want if you stick to these concepts, take this with a pinch of salt because although this is true, it's not optimal to eat junk food for long-term health. Whole foods are best to consume when it comes to longevity. 

How do you begin?

You need to begin by finding out your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure), This is how many calories you would burn if you were sleeping all day. Everyone's TDEE is different, it depends on a number of factors including height, weight, age, muscle mass, etc. A tip I found useful to find out my TDEE is to eat the same foods every day for 7 days and I weighed myself at the end of those 7 days. The point of this is to see if I lost, gained, or maintained weight. I moved accordingly from this point onwards.

SECRET: You can eat 50 apples in a day, you will still gain weight & you can eat 3 donuts all day & lose weight. When you're trying to change your physique. It isn't necessarily about the quality of food you consume. It's about the quantity of food you consume.

I hope I've cleared up any misconceptions you may have had on this topic, if you have any questions about my methods you can contact me direct via the website or my Instagram @akakpo.trains

I've linked a short 8 min video for those who want any further clarification. :)