Which condition occurs if the amount of calories you eat equals the amount of calories you burn in a day?

Table of Contents Show

Create a Caloric Deficit
Do It Safely
Burn Calories with Exercise
Avoid Fad Diets
The Caloric Balance Equation
Am I in Caloric Balance?

Burning more calories than you eat will result in weight loss.

Image Credit: lzf/iStock/GettyImages

Losing weight involves following a plan where you increase physical activity and exercise with the goal of burning more calories than you eat. By engaging in cardiovascular activity and eating a balanced, nutritious diet, you can shed fat, maintain lean muscle mass and increase heart health.

Before adopting a diet or exercise program, please consult a physician.

Burning more calories than you eat will lead to weight loss.

Create a Caloric Deficit

As you burn more calories than you take in, you set up a caloric deficit, which can result in weight loss. You can reduce calorie intake by eating healthier or less food, or you can bump up energy expenditure by increasing exercise. Consistently maintaining a caloric deficit allows you to permanently shed excess pounds.

Do It Safely

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute suggests losing weight at the safe and realistic rate of one to two pounds per week. Since 3,500 calories equals approximately one pound of fat, losing one to two pounds each week requires you to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more than you take in daily. Eat smaller, more frequent meals and engage in regular exercise to create this deficit. Set process goals, like exercising regularly, and outcome goals, like losing a specific amount of weight, to change your habits and remain motivated.

Burn Calories with Exercise

Exercising regularly helps you expend calories that can't be cut through dieting. Engaging in cardiovascular activity also increases heart health, reduces blood pressure and elevates your mood.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise per week just to maintain your weight. Increase this number if your goal is weight loss. Build more activity into your day to increase the number of calories you burn. For example, walk instead of driving and take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Eating too few calories can also be detrimental to your health. Women need a minimum of 1,200 calories per day, while men need at least 1,500.

Eat a nutritious diet rich with complex carbohydrates, lean proteins and healthy fats to reduce the number of calories you ingest. Consume fruits, vegetables and whole grains to receive the proper amount of vitamins and minerals and power up your workouts. Take in healthy fats like nut butters and olive oil to increase heart health, and consume lean proteins like chicken breast and salmon to provide your muscles with vital amino acids.

The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion recommends that no more than 10 percent of daily calories come from added sugars, no more than 10 percent from saturated fats, and that you limit your sodium intake to a maximum of 2,300 milligrams per day.

Limit sodium, saturated fats and added sugars as part of a healthy diet.

Avoid Fad Diets

Stay away from fad diets promising rapid weight loss. Many of these diets restrict carbohydrates and other food groups, resulting in water weight loss. Once the body is rehydrated, the weight returns.

Cut out rich foods high in sugar and fat and reduce alcohol consumption to moderate your calories. Eat whole fruit rather than processed snacks and sweets.

More than one third of U.S. adults are obese. Weight gain occurs when you consume more calories than your body uses. Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight will help you prevent and control many diseases and conditions. The key is “Finding a Balance” in your lifestyle that includes healthy eating and regular physical activity.

The Caloric Balance Equation

When it comes to maintaining a healthy weight for a lifetime, the bottom line is – calories count! Weight management is all about balance—balancing the number of calories you consume with the number of calories your body uses or “burns off.”

A calorie is defined as a unit of energy supplied by food. A calorie is a calorie regardless of its source. Whether you’re eating carbohydrates, fats, sugars, or proteins, all of them contain calories.
Caloric balance is like a scale. To remain in balance and maintain your body weight, the calories consumed (from foods) must be balanced by the calories used (in normal body functions, daily activities, and exercise).

If you are…	Your caloric balance status is…
Maintaining your weight	“in balance.” You are eating roughly the same number of calories that your body is using. Your weight will remain stable.
Gaining weight	“in caloric excess.” You are eating more calories than your body is using. You will store these extra calories as fat and you’ll gain weight.
Losing weight	“in caloric deficit.” You are eating fewer calories than you are using. Your body is pulling from its fat storage cells for energy, so your weight is decreasing.

Am I in Caloric Balance?

If you are maintaining your current body weight, you are in caloric balance. If you need to gain weight or to lose weight, you’ll need to tip the balance scale in one direction or another to achieve your goal.

If you need to tip the balance scale in the direction of losing weight, keep in mind that it takes approximately 3,500 calories below your calorie needs to lose a pound of body fat. To lose about 1 to 2 pounds per week, you’ll need to reduce your caloric intake by 500—1000 calories per day.

To learn how many calories you are currently eating, begin writing down the foods you eat and the beverages you drink each day. By writing down what you eat and drink, you become more aware of everything you are putting in your mouth. Also, begin writing down the physical activity you do each day and the length of time you do it. Here are simple paper and pencil tools to assist you:

Food Diary[PDF-3KB]
Physical Activity Diary[PDF-42KB]

Want to try an interactive approach evaluate your food intake and physical activity? Go to the SuperTracker. The site will give you a detailed assessment and analysis of your current eating and physical activity habits.

Physical activities (both daily activities and exercise) help tip the balance scale by increasing the calories you expend each day. For examples, go to How Many Calories Does Physical Activity Burn?

Find out how many calories your body needs to maintain, lose, or gain weight by clicking here.

The bottom line is… each person’s body is unique and may have different caloric needs. A healthy lifestyle requires balance, in the foods you eat, in the beverages you consume, in the way you carry out your daily activities, and in the amount of physical activity or exercise you include in your daily routine. While counting calories is not necessary, it may help you in the beginning to gain an awareness of your eating habits as you strive to achieve energy balance. The ultimate test of balance is whether or not you are gaining, maintaining, or losing weight.

Research suggests that safe weight loss involves combining a reduced-calorie diet with physical activity to lose 1/2 to 2 pounds a week (after the first few weeks of weight loss). Make healthy food choices. Eat small portions. Build exercise into your daily life. Combined, these habits may be a healthy way to lose weight and keep it off. These habits may also lower your chances of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.

To review these key concepts, watch the video below: