Caloric deficit is not starvation in a literal sense

It seems that deficit has a negative connotations with it, and people often equate it to starvation in an extreme way. Usually equating to prisoner of war kind of life style and visuals of Ethiopian; being a bag of bones.

The truth is this, caloric deficits are by no means starving yourself silly, it is eating lesser than your energy requirements. You can still can have a sense of “fullness” with a caloric deficit, all you need to do is to make choices with less caloric dense food.

Caloric density doesn’t always measure up to volume of food which you consume, you can eat 1kg worth of spinach and yet consume only 230 kcal. Stuffing yourself with 1kg of spinach is feat by itself and you’d even puke your guts out while attempting this feat.

A caloric deficit doesn’t mean that that you have to choose bland food that are not tasty, it simply means to be more aware of your caloric accountability and try to balance things out.

Here are some food for thought -

If you consume soft drinks, say 3 cans of coke a day then switch to a diet version of it.

If you’re finding yourself snacking on cookies during breaks and while you’re working then stop that habit.

If you like to consume alcohol during the week, then reduce it to once a week.

Still can’t get the big picture?

Lets take Joe who is regular guy who works a 9-5 job in the office, get his food from a near by cafeteria and hangs out with his friends over the week occasionally.

His energy requirements for the day is about 2000 calories with a mostly sedentary lifestyle

Breakfast -

1 cup of coffee with 2 tea spoon of sugar – 33 kcal

1 Mcdonald sausage Mcmuffin with egg – 450 kcals

Morning Tea -

1 cup of coffee with 2 teaspoon of sugar – 33kcal

5 pieces of butter cookies – 241 kcal

Lunch -

300g of rice + 150 grams of chicken + vegetables – about 600 kcals

1 can of coke -  143 kcal

Dinner -

Grill chicken with mash potatoes – about 500 kcal

1 can of beer – 139 kcal

That is a total of 2139 kcal, a total of 139 kcal surplus

So if he eliminated his beer for the day, he’d be in caloric balance. If he wanted to lose weight then all he needed to do was to eliminate the morning tea and beer, and he’ll be 274 kcal in deficit. If he wanted to lose the weight faster, all he needs to do is increase his energy requirements by getting up on his feet and moving around more during his office hours.

If he really craved for a can of beer at night to enjoy, then take away the can of Coke for lunch and still he’ll be in caloric deficit. So its not the coke or beer’s fault, its the way it has been accounted for; methodology vs perception.

Letting go of a can of beer and skipping morning tea is not starvation surely, but you can see that with some caloric intake awareness you are able to get a caloric deficit. You might feel weird for the first few days for giving it a miss, but given some time you’ll be able to kick the habit.

It can even go as far as Ice cream, cakes, fried chicken and things that you like to indulge in, its all about accountability.

So think again with regards to diets and caloric deficit – it’s not starvation in a literal sense, its just doing basic accounting to reduce energy intake and not food. You don’t have to switch your lifestyle 360 degrees – eating celery and only having miserable portions of food, it is simply just knowing how to making small changes through caloric accounting and awareness to suit your lifestyle and goals.