Article Highlights: 

• Discover how I simplified weight loss and stayed consistent without cutting out my favorite foods. 
• Learn how to calculate your calorie deficit and take control of your weight. 

I lost 70 pounds without doing anything extreme. I didn’t follow a trendy diet or cut out entire food groups. I ate fewer calories and exercised regularly. But I’ll be honest, getting started was the hardest part. Every time I got on social media I saw someone saying, “I lost 100 pounds on Keto,” or “All I ate was fruit and juice for a month and lost 50 pounds.” It felt like there were a million different ways to do it and I didn’t know which one worked. It was overwhelming and discouraging. 

But here’s what finally clicked: 

Weight loss comes down to one thing, being in a calorie deficit. Once I understood that, everything got simpler. 

Why do we Overcomplicate Weight Loss? 

If you’ve ever felt confused or overwhelmed about how to lose weight, you’re not alone. Everywhere you look, someone has the “secret” to success. One influencer swears by the Keto diet. Another tells you that you have to fast 16 hours a day and can only eat during an 8-hour window. 

We’re constantly being bombarded with advice from TikTok trends and Instagram Reels to YouTube fitness gurus and magazine covers. And most of the time they’re saying different things and trying to sell you their program. 

So it’s no surprise that people feel stuck and don’t know where to start. You try one thing, then another, hoping that something will finally work. But nothing ever sticks and you feel like you’re stuck on a ride that you can’t get off. 

Here’s the truth: it’s not you. 

Most weight loss advice skips out the one thing that matters: being in a calorie deficit. 

Without that foundation, none of that other stuff makes sense. That’s why people give up. Jumping from one diet to the next, cutting out foods that they love, and still not seeing results. 

The good news? You don’t need to go through that again. 

What a Calorie Deficit Really Means 

Simply put, a calorie deficit means you’re eating fewer calories than your body burns in a day.

Let’s say your body burns around 2,200 calories to maintain your current weight. If you eat 1,800 calories, you’re in a deficit. So your body turns to stored fat for energy, and that's how weight loss happens. That’s it. That’s the science. 

You don’t need to obsess over every single bite or hit the exact number every day. You don’t have to be perfect, you just need to be consistent. 

Once you understand that most of the fad diets being promoted by influencers are just overcomplicated ways to create a calorie deficit, everything becomes so much simpler. 

My experience & How I Simplified my Weight Loss 

When I first got serious about losing weight, I started by tracking my calories and making small changes to what I was eating. I didn’t follow a special diet or cut out my favorite foods I just ate less of them. Using a food scale or measuring out portions helped me understand how much I was consuming. 

I also added in lifting. You don’t need to work out to lose weight, but for me, it made a big difference. Not only was I burning more calories, but it also helped me feel more energized and motivated to stay consistent. 

As I got more comfortable with my new routine, my goals started shifting. I didn’t just want to lose weight anymore, I wanted to get stronger and build muscle. That’s when I started increasing my protein intake and being more intentional with my workouts. 

What surprised me was how lifting motivated me to stick with my weight loss journey. Once I started making progress in the gym, lifting heavier and feeling stronger, I didn’t want to give up. The feeling of making progress made me want to keep going, both with training and nutrition. Seeing what my body could do and had the potential to become made me want to stay consistent. At the end of the day, I wanted to build healthy habits that I could stick with long term. That meant keeping things simple and sustainable. 

Like I said before, you don’t have to work out to lose weight. But it helped me feel more confident, stronger, and more in control. 

How to Find Your Calorie Deficit 

To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than your body burns. The best place to start is to calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the amount of calories that your body needs at rest just to function. 

Once you find your BMR

1. Subtract 200-500 calories from that number to create a calorie deficit. 
2. That number is your target daily intake for weight loss. 

Tip: The bigger the deficit, the faster the weight will come off. But be careful. Cutting too much too fast can lead to binge eating, low energy, and cravings. It is best to start with a moderate deficit (200-300 calories) and adjust. 

Once you’ve calculated your calorie deficit, the next step is to start tracking what you eat. The most effective way to do this is by portioning out your food and logging it daily. I do this by weighing out my food with a digital food scale for accuracy and an app called MyFitnessPal to track my calories. It’s free and easy to use but there are plenty of other apps out there you can use. 

This process can be eye-opening. A lot of people don’t realize how easy it is to overeat even on healthy foods. The best thing about a calorie deficit is that you don’t have to cut out your favorite foods.  You just need to be more mindful of how much of them you’re eating. 

Staying Consistent 

You don’t need to cut out an entire food group or work out for hours every day. And you don’t need to follow the latest wellness trends on Social Media. 

You just need to be in a calorie deficit and stay consistent. That’s the part that most people overlook. You don’t need to be perfect; it’s about showing up for yourself and wanting to be better every day, even when it gets hard. It’s about choosing to be just a little better each day. 

So here's your challenge: Start small. Track your food and be honest with your portions. Remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is a healthy lifestyle.