Easiest Way to Control a Caloric Surplus / Deficit

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I’m going to go over something that will seem straightforward, but when unaware of how easy it is, can be slightly overwhelming. It’s concerning adding or removing calories from your diet, when aiming to eat in a surplus or a deficit. Now, I say it seems overwhelming, because when you’re in the process of losing fat or gaining muscle, it can sometimes feel like you’re fighting against the clock. You see so much plastered on social media about how you need to consume ‘X’ amount of this, in ‘X’ amount of time, and it can often feel like you’ll lose all your progress inside the gym if you don’t achieve a specific nutritional target outside the gym. The advice given will help avoid any confusion surrounding the topic.

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Social media is plastered with all sorts of different advice, which can be confusing, as you don’t know which contrasting opinion, from different influencers to believe. I would argue that the stress caused by not knowing who to listen to when beginning, is more detrimental to your overall health, than eating a couple hundred calories above or below your maintenance calories (maintenance calories - eating the exact number of calories to remain at your current bodyweight).

 

Avoiding stress will benefit your health far greater than trying to avoid foods you have seen referred to online as ‘toxic’ or ‘poisonous’. To avoid stressing yourself out about meal planning, what you’re consuming etc, this is my number one piece of advice, for keeping on top of your eating, when it comes to going into a surplus or a deficit, or when initially planning your diet, to get in shape.

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Whether you’re eating in a surplus (eating above maintenance calories) or a deficit (eating below maintenance calories), you should be aiming to consume 200-500 calories more or less than your maintenance calories. Anything greater than this can result in an excess amount of fat being put on, which will then require a longer cutting phase to lean back out again, after your bulk. Putting on too much fat can also have negative effects on your health and isn’t worth the strength gains you’ll receive from the bulk.

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On the other end of the spectrum, a rapid decrease of body fat, caused by eating in a gigantic deficit, can be to the individuals’ detriment also. When at a lower body fat level, the hunger caused by a massive restriction of food, can be a trigger for binge eating. While the fat will fly off, you will start feeling lethargic very soon, due to a lack of energy and depletion of glycogen storages (energy reserve from carbohydrates stored in the muscles and liver in a sugary liquid form). It may become difficult to sleep at night and energy levels throughout the day will be very low. That’s why you should not jump into a massive deficit immediately, and rather perform a slightly longer cut, with less of a reduction in your calorie intake.

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The first step to controlling a surplus or a deficit is to find out exactly how much you should be aiming to consume, by finding out your maintenance calories. (link to article)

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Secondly, make a meal plan to suit your required number of calories. Ensure that you’re eating between 0.9g-1g of protein, per lbs of bodyweight. For example, a 200lbs individual, should aim for between 180g-200g of protein, daily. Craft your meals around a protein source, as protein is the main macro nutrient for building muscle, and then add a combination of carbs and fats, to create a balanced meal plan.

 

 

 

Now, for the actual tip.

• Create a meal plan that fits your calorie requirements, that sits around your maintenance calories.

 

• Eat at this number of calories for a week, weighing yourself at the end of each day, to ensure your weight hasn’t drastically risen/dropped.

 

• Remain eating the same meals when either bulking or cutting, just simply remove calories from the meals you are eating

 

For example, if you eat a meal that has 250g rice and 200g chicken, just half the amount of rice you’ll be eating, to 125g, if you are cutting

If the meals do get too large, I would then suggest eating a snack alongside the meal, as I find eating too many meals throughout the day is just far too time consuming, and you feel much groggier when in a constant state of digestion.

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I’ll quickly add some core foods for each macro nutrient.

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For Protein; chicken breast, beef, whey protein powder, salmon, turkey, tuna, milk, yogurts, eggs, and nuts

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For Carbs, Bagels, wholemeal pasta, white rice, regular or sweet potato, oats, fruit and veg, beans and wholemeal breads

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For Fats, nuts, Olive oil, avocado, egg, salmon, grass fed butter or ghee, dark chocolate

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You don’t need a full new meal plan every time you change between cutting and bulking. Yes, it is good to change things up, so you don’t get bored, but if you find it too confusing, or you really enjoy what you are currently eating, then it’s absolutely okay to just reduce or increase what you are already having.