CALORIE DEFICIT, MAINTENANCE, SURPLUS
AND HOW THEY CAN HELP
Whether you want to be in a calorie deficit, maintenance, or surplus depends mainly on you fitness goals. Each of the three has different effects on strength and can either aid you in accomplishing your goals or hinder you.
Calorie Deficit
When someones main goal is weight loss, it requires a calorie deficit. This is a state in which you are burning more calories than you take in. When you are working in this state your body has to make up the difference in what you burn and what you eat. For example, you are burning 2,000 calories a day but are only taking in 1,500. The other 500 calories come from somewhere, and that somewhere is usually stored body fat. Body fat is stored energy from times of caloric maintenance or surplus. That body fat being burned over time causes weight lose.
Calorie Maintenance
Whether you are looking to lose or gain weight calorie maintenance is important, its the calories you first need to know in order to determine the calories necessary for deficit or surplus. A simple way to estimate maintenance calories is to take your body weight and times is by 14 and 17. For example, a 150 lb person, 150x14=2100 and 150x17=2550, this means that persons maintenance calories are somewhere between 2100 and 2550.
Calorie Surplus
A calorie surplus is when more calories are taken in than necessary. This state is used when someone is looking to gain weight or put on muscle. Putting on muscle requires a surplus combined with a strength training routine. When working out you create tears in muscle tissue, while at rest the body works to treat these tears. Once repaired the muscle fiber becomes bigger and stronger which results in weight gain over time. The recovery process is energy intensive, so the extra calories consumed are put to good use.
Not using the correct state for your goals could result in below-par results or none at all. Being in a calorie deficit when trying to add muscle, wouldn’t be optimal. Just like being in a calorie surplus when trying to lose weight wouldn’t help. Each of the three calorie states have their advantages, however, the one you should be currently focusing on depends on your current fitness goals.