Weight loss terms explained!

I'm sure I'm not the first to post something like this, but I see a lot of folks use CICO and "calorie counting" interchangeably, and I think that might be confusing for newbies so sometimes it's nice to have a reminder of some useful weight loss terms.

Note: I'm going to really simplify things here - human bodies are damn complicated and I don't have a degree in biology. If I got anything clearly wrong, please let me know.

CICO = Calories In vs. Calories Out.

The basic law of energy balance that all bodies (whether human or not) adhere to. Eat too few calories, and you will lose weight. Eat too many calories, and you will gain weight. If you put an average person in a cell and fed them 500 calories a day, they will lose weight. Feed them 5000 calories a day, and they will gain weight.

Calorie Counting

This is simply a tool you can use to estimate your calorie intake. You can count calories to lose weight, maintain weight, or gain weight. The more accurate you are, the more reliable your results will be. This usually involves measuring all your liquids in measuring cups and your solid foods with a scale, then inputting your values into a website like MyFitnessPal or LoseIt. You can also count the calories you burn through exercise. Calorie counting is never going to be 100% accurate, due to a whole lot of factors - but it's definitely better than just eyeballing portions.

BMR = Basal Metabolic Rate.

How many calories your body burns over a 24-hour period of just existing. Keeping your heart pumping, your lungs breathing, your temperature regulating. Basically, if you're in a coma.

NEAT = Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis.

All little activity you do without stepping into a gym or intentionally working out. Stuff like brushing your teeth, walking up a flight of stairs, fidgeting at your desk.

TEF = Thermic Effect of Food.

How many calories you burn when you eat - chewing, digesting, storing food. Macros (the three major categories of food: protein, carbs and fat) have different TEF. Your body works harder to digest protein (20-30% TEF), so it has a higher TEF than fat (0-3% TEF) or carbs (5-10% TEF). Your body also works harder to digest whole foods than heavily-processed/liquid foods, so whole foods tend to have a higher TEF (raw peanuts vs. peanut butter is a good example). This is one thing that throws a wrench into calorie counting, but the effect is minor enough that it shouldn't make a big difference.

EAT = Exercise Activity Thermogenesis.

Pretty straight-forward - the calories you burn through intentional, strenuous exercise. Hitting the gym, going for a run, etc.

TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

The combination of BMR, NEAT, TEF and EAT. Phewf. All the factors that go into determining how many calories your body is burning during a 24-hour period.

Now - some people prefer to use TDEE minus EAT when it comes to calorie counting, in favour of manually calculating their EAT and logging the calories they burn. This is a good tactic if you tend to take a lot of rest days or mix up your workouts and their lengths. But if your only source of EAT is a 5k run every day, there's no harm in including that in your TDEE.

A TDEE calculator I like is: https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/

Once again, calculating your TDEE/BMR is not a perfect process - just an estimation based on averages for your height, weight and sex. Some people may have higher or lower BMR/TDEE than what a calculator tells you - for a whole variety of reasons.

Keto, Paleo, Vegetarian, Whole 30, etc. = Ways of Eating.

Regardless of which way of eating you choose to follow, your body is "doing CICO". Eat below your TDEE and lose weight. Eat above your TDEE and gain weight. There are plenty of little intricacies involved (especially that TEF) but the general formula still applies.

Different diets offer different levels of satiety, which is super important when it comes to sticking to a calorie deficit. Different people find different foods filling, allowing them to naturally and intuitively remain in a calorie deficit (without necessarily calorie counting). Some people find focusing on high-volume, low-calorie foods (mainly veggies) helps them remain in a calorie deficit. Others may find lots of fat and moderate protein (keto) filling. Others (like myself) find that a combination of high-protein and high-fiber gets the job done.

The best diet you can follow to lose weight is one that:

• Keeps you satiated while in a deficit

• Keeps you healthy and happy

IF = Intermittent Fasting.

Just another tool in the arsenal of calorie control. Eat during a reduced window (commonly 1-8 hours) and liquid fast (usually water, tea & coffee) during the remainder (commonly 16-23 hours). Another alternative is ADF - Alternate Day Fasting (alternate fasting/very-low-calorie days with eating days).

And last but not least...

• SW = Starting Weight

• CW = Current Weight

• GW = Goal Weight

I hope this clears things up for folks not so experienced in the weight loss game. Good luck on your efforts!

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