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Let's start by explaining calories and what they actually are. A calorie is a unit of measurement for energy. In nutritional terms a calorie often refers to a kilocalorie (kcal) which is the approximate amount of energy needed to increase the temperature of 1kg of water by 1 degree Celsius. The body absorbs calories and energy in two ways; - 1) From the food that you consume. - 2) From the fat that is stored in your body.
As you can probably see, the ideal weight loss situation is to force your body to burn fat for energy. This can be achieved by eating less than your normal appetite i.e. reducing your caloric intake. Your body will then be forced to burn stored fat to get the additional energy it requires. If you think of the body like a car it may be a little easier to explain. Let's imagine that this car requires twenty gallons of petrol every week but you purchase twenty four gallons instead. Every week you build up a reserve of four gallons which you can use at a later date if needed. However, if you do not use up these gasoline reserves soon you will quickly find that you need a large storage tank. Similarly with your body, if you burn as many calories as you consume you will be fine. If you consume more calories than you burn for an extended period you will find your fat stores rapidly expanding. To lose this excess weight you will have to consume less calories than you burn.
So now you understand the theory behind calorie restriction you probably want to know how many calories should you personally eat to force your body to burn fat? One suggestion is to eat fewer calories than those needed to fuel your basal metabolic rate (BMR) i.e. the calories you need to survive. You can calculate your BMR with the help of BMR calculators which are available for free online. Once you have your BMR number you should focus on consuming less calories. As long as the number of calories you consume is lower than your BMR number, your body will start to burn fat. However, I understand that this can often be easier said than done so here are a few tips to help you restrict your daily caloric intake:
1) CURRENT DAILY CALORIC INTAKE:- What is your current daily caloric intake? How different is this to your BMR number? By looking at your existing caloric intake you have a base to work with which makes the whole calorie restriction process a lot more manageable. For example, let's say your BMR is 2000 calories a day. You write down all the foods you eat in a week and it turns out you are consuming an average of 2500 calories a day. From this you can see that you need to lose 500 calories a day. You can modify your existing diet so that it contains less calories instead of trying to create a completely new 2000 calorie per day diet.
