Creating an Appropriate Calorie Deficit for Healthy Nutrition Goals

One of the most commonly asked questions on The Kahm Clinic’s YouTube channel is about creating a calorie deficit for reaching healthy nutrition goals. Every individual’s calorie deficit will be different. Your calorie deficit should support what your body needs to maintain a healthy metabolism while also ensuring that your body is breaking down fat rather than lean mass. 

How The Kahm Clinic Determines Calorie Deficits for Our Clients

At The Kahm Clinic, we use Metabolic Testing to determine your resting metabolic rate (RMR), which ultimately allows us to calculate an appropriate calorie deficit. We take each client’s RMR and add calories to account for general movement throughout the day (20 percent of their RMR) as well as to cover caloric burn from exercise. 

As an example, let’s say someone’s RMR according to our Metabolic Testing machine is 1,420 calories. We add 284 calories for daily living and another 350 calories for their workouts. This individual’s total daily energy expenditure or total daily needs equals 2,054 calories. Using this number, we can figure out a daily calorie intake that includes a calorie deficit based on their personal nutrition goals. 

For most of our clients, we recommend a small calorie deficit of only 200 to 300 calories. Our example individual would need to eat over 1,700 calories each day even in a calorie deficit of 300. Of course, we want to help you reach your weight loss goals, but our priority is making sure you preserve that lean mass and only see your body fat decreasing. 

Myths Surrounding Eating in a Calorie Deficit

Below, we bust three common myths related to calorie deficits.

Myth #1: You can’t be in a calorie deficit if you’re eating 1,900 or 2,000 calories a day. Wrong! Take a look at our example above. If this individual had a slightly higher RMR and burned more calories through daily exercise, they could easily be eating over 1,900 calories but still be including a deficit.

Myth #2: Everyone should be eating in a calorie deficit for optimal health. Wrong again. While a calorie deficit is appropriate for people with certain nutrition goals (such as weight loss), there are other people who need to be eating for maintenance and still others who need to eat a calorie surplus (like a patient recovering from an eating disorder). 

Myth #3: The bigger the calorie deficit, the faster the weight loss. While it may seem that way, if you create a high deficit, you’re more likely to lose your lean mass, which isn’t the type of weight loss you want. Losing too much of your lean mass leads to problems such as low energy, poor immunity, and more injuries. This practice also puts you on a yo-yo dieting cycle of losing 20 pounds (including that lean mass that you want to keep!) but then gaining back 30 pounds. 

To talk to a professional about how to figure out a calorie deficit that works for your body, please reach out to our staff or schedule an appointment at The Kahm Clinic.

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