The Truth About Weightloss: Understanding a Calorie Deficit
A calorie deficit occurs when you consistently provide your body with fewer calories than it needs to support calorie expenditure.
If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you’ve likely heard that a calorie deficit is required. Yet, you may wonder what exactly it involves or why it’s necessary for weight loss.
The calories you burn or expend each day — also known as calorie expenditure — include the following three components :
Resting energy expenditure (REE) - REE refers to the calories your body uses at rest for functions that keep you alive, such as breathing and blood circulation.
Thermic effect of food - This involves the calories your body expends digesting, absorbing, and metabolizing food.
Activity energy expenditure - This refers to the calories you expend during sports like exercise and non-exercise related activities, including fidgeting and performing household chores.
If you provide your body fewer calories than it needs to support these three components of calorie expenditure, you put your body into a calorie deficit. Doing so consistently for long periods results in weight loss.