When you train with us here at MHR Fitness, one of the first things that we will do is work out your ideal calorie target that you need to achieve to reach your goal.

Let us explain...

As humans, we all need to consume a certain amount of calories every day in order to maintain our current weight. This is going to be different for everyone depending on your age, sex, height and normal levels of activity.

If you start to consume less calories than you need to maintain your current weight, your body goes into a calorie deficit. This is key for anyone looking to achieve fat loss. For our clients, we normally start at a 200-300 calorie daily deficit. This can then be adjusted up or down, based on how our clients feel and the progress that they see.

But the key for this to be successful is to know how many calories you're actually consuming. Now this isn't something that we can guess, it needs to be accurately managed so that you can see results.

Our top tip

We teach a lot of our clients how to use a calorie tracking app called MyFitnessPal. MyFitnessPal is an absolute game changer for being able to enjoy the foods you like whilst at the same time still losing weight. To put it simply, if you go over your calories one day, just reduce your calorie intake another day so at the end of the week your overall calories fall in line.

Now, MyFitnessPal does take a little getting used to but after a couple of weeks everything becomes much simpler. Everytime you log, you learn a little bit more about the foods that you're eating and you will become an expert on the right food to help you reach your goals.

I'm not for one second suggesting that MyFitnessPal is something that you'll use for the rest of your life. But in the short term, or when a certain circumstance in your life has changed. It's a great thing to have in your tool box of tricks to help keep you on track.

How important are the foods you eat?

Of course, eating healthy foods is always the ideal but it can be flexible. As long as you are staying in your calorie deficit, losing weight will become more achievable. Having said this, sugary foods, drinks and a lot of the unhealthy foods will not keep you full which is why eating healthy and nutritious foods is very important too.

If you just stick to a “bad” diet, you will likely find that it is harder to stay within your calorie limit and probably feel tired and lethargic! For a healthy lifestyle, eating a nutritious, balanced diet alongside exercise is the aim.

If you want help losing weight, we can help you along the way - book a strategy call with us here to discuss your goals and see how we can help you reach them!