A calorie deficit is a state in which you burn more calories than you consume. As one of the most popular approaches of losing weight, how does it work? For example, if you burn 2,500 calories per day but only eat 2,000, you have created a deficit of 500 calories per day. There is mathematical certainty. But this by no means tells the whole story about how calories deficit affects our lives.
Before wondering what a calorie deficit is, it's probably best to learn what a calorie is. A calorie is a unit that we use to track our body's energy expenditure(消耗) and storage. In order to just stay alive, human beings(and animals) burn calories. This means, even before we perform any activity, our bodies are already using energy(measured in calories) to keep us alive. Around 70% of the calories we consume are spent on just keeping our vital organs running. Thus, if a person consumes calories far more less than needed to look thin, it may have negative effects on the body.
When people pick up a calorie deficit, they often merely note that the calorie math is irrefutable(无可辩驳的). The question here is that not all calories are the same. If you eat a few bags of potato chip worth of calories to support the calorie intake needed to maintain or cut down on your weight, it will work. But this doesn't have the same effect on your body and overall health as a balanced nutritional meal containing the same amount of calories.
It seems like a simple unit of energy has become an object of our society's obsession. It needn't be that way. Remember, calorie deficits are just a tool, which serves a purpose in losing some weight and keeping track of your calorie intake seems simple enough.
