Last updated
17 October 2009

Goal weight and calorie targets

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Calorie balancing

Once you know your TDEE or 'maintenance level', the next step is to adjust your calorie consumption and expenditure (i.e. your calorie balance) to suit what you are trying to achieve, be it weight loss, weight maintenance or weight gain.

The mathematics of calorie balance is simple:

To maintain your weight, you should remain at your TDEE;
To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit by reducing your calorie balance slightly below your maintenance level (through exercise and / or reduced consumption); and
To gain weight you need to increase your calorie balance above your maintenance level.

Our free weight loss plan allow you to input your target weight and, based on you sticking to the plan, it will determine the date by which you should achieve your desired weight.

A negative calorie balance is essential to lose body fat

Calories are hugely important when it comes to fat loss. If you are consuming more calories than you expend, you simply will not lose fat, no matter what type of foods or food combinations you eat.

Some foods do get stored as fat more easily than others, but always bear in mind that too much of anything, even 'healthy food', will get stored as fat.

Learning point: A common misconception is that fruit juice is healthy and consuming this instead of cordials or water can only be good for you......this is not quite true! Fruit juice is good for you as it is rich in vitamin C and other minerals, but it still contains a lot of calories. Always drink fruit juice in moderation. The best liquid to drink whilst dieting without doubt is water!

So to lose body fat, you must be in calorie deficit to force your body to burn body fat for the energy that it requires. The calorie deficit can be created through diet, increased exercise or preferably, a combination of both.

Calorie deficit thresholds - How low is too low?

As we have already discussed, cutting calories too much, too quickly, can lead to a slow down of the basal metabolic rate as the body can believe that it is in starvation mode.

The question therefore begging to be asked is...... Is there a threshold at which a reduction in calorie balance can have detrimental effects on metabolism?

The most common 'catch-all' guideline for diet and exercise regimes that achieve fat loss is to reduce your calorie balance by at least 500, but not more than 1000 calories per day below your maintenance level. A more bespoke approach is to reduce your calorie balance to 15-20% below your TDEE. This is considered by most dieticians to be a safe level. Thus, for someone whose TDEE is 2000 calories, a depletion of up to 400 calories per day, rather than the 'catch-all' 500 calories per day is more sensible level to apply.

Positive calorie balance is essential to gain lean bodyweight

If you want to gain lean bodyweight and become more muscular, you must adjust your daily calorie balance so that you consume more calories than you expend. Provided that you are participating in a weight-training program of a sufficient intensity, frequency and volume, the caloric surplus will be used to create new muscle tissue.

Once you've determined your TDEE, you should adjust your calorie balance accordingly. Please note that a general guideline to for gaining weight is to add 15-20% on to your TDEE in terms of caloric intake.

Measure your results and adjust calorie balance accordingly

The Purple Weight Loss tools and resource freely available to you provide you with you with fairly accurate reference points for you to start you new heath regime. However, it is important that you adjust your regime and calorie balance accordingly, depending on your progress.

You can only really make adjustments to your regime if you have been monitoring your progress, otherwise, any adjustments are really just a shot in the dark - they are not based on fact!

It is advisable, therefore, to monitor your progress closely using our free calorie consumption, exercise, weight and body fat logs and charts to help you to reach your goals.

By recording and charting your progress in this way, you have a much greater chance of achieving your goals than those who don't have access to such resources.

You will know if you have set your targets correctly by looking at the facts and figures shown on your log. If you don't see the results you expect, then you can adjust your caloric intake and exercise levels accordingly. JUST REMEMBER, IT TAKES TIME TO START SEEING RESULTS, DO NOT BECOME DISHEARTENED!

If you believe you require further calorie depletion, the best approach is to reduce calories only slightly through consumption and instead raise your daily calorie expenditure by increasing the frequency, duration and or intensity of exercise.

Always adjust your calorie intake gradually

It is important to adjust your caloric intake gradually, whether you are increasing it or decreasing it.

If you have been consuming a reduced amount of calories for a period of time to lose weight, once you have reached you target weight, don't just increase your calorie intake to your previous TDEE levels immediately. Your metabolism might have become more sluggish in adapting to this new level; hence by suddenly increasing your calorie intake, you risk being seriously in surplus and thus re-depositing fat around your body.

Always change your caloric intake gradually as your body requires a little time to readjust its metabolism back to normal levels!