Understanding the Role of Calories in Effective Fat Loss Strategies

Part one of a three-part blog series on fat loss and calories.

In part one we are going to focus on ‘total daily energy expenditure’ (TDEE) and how different aspects of everyday life equate to the total amount of calories we burn in a 24-hour period.

There are 4 main areas that make up this total amount with each equating to a different percentage.

Firstly, and the biggest percentage is our ‘Basal metabolic rate’ (BMR). This is the number of calories that we burn through bodily functions and surviving every day, things such as breathing and our internal organs working, and makes up 70% of our total calories burned. If you were to lie on the sofa all day and not move these calories would still be used. Although this is the largest percentage it is actually the area that we have the least control over.

Next is ‘non exercise activity thermogenesis’ (NEAT). This is the number of calories we burn through basic day to day movement such as walking around at home or work, taking the stairs or even picking children up from the floor. This part of our day burns roughly 15% of our daily total calories. Remember when everyone was told to do 10k steps a day? This is why. Being the second largest percentage of our total daily calories and the easiest to influence this could be the most influential factor when it comes to burning calories for weight loss. I will expand on this more in a later post.

The next most important area is the ‘thermic effect of food’ (TEF). These are the calories that are burned just by digesting food and makes up 10% of our total daily amount. This area again is one we can easily influence if we focus not just on the quantity of food that we eat but also the quality of food we eat. High protein diets are key for fat loss as we know that roughly 30% of the calories that we consume eating protein are burned off just by digestion. Think eggs, fish and meats, coupled with salads and vegetables and we are not far off where we need to be. I will also expand on this section in the next post.  

The last area is ‘exercise activity thermogenesis’ (EAT). This is prescribed exercise that is at a greater intensity than walking. This ranges from going to the gym to going out for a run and everything in-between, this area makes up roughly 5% of our total daily amount. Going to the gym, running, doing yoga or Pilates to name a few are all incredibly important, but if we stay on track and solely focus on fat loss, intense exercise is not the key component. The fact that it makes up such a small percentage of our daily total highlights the importance of the two areas above, NEAT and EAT.

“You can’t out-train a bad diet” is a common saying and this alludes to the fact that no matter how hard you train in the gym, if you cannot control factors outside the gym such as diet and lifestyle you will ultimately struggle to lose weight.

In the next two blogs I will explain calories in relation to food and exercise, separately in more detail, including easy, actionable changes we can all make.