There are countless—endless—diets that are marketed on a daily basis. Despite the fancy names and complexity of plans, there really are only three diets (when considering weight, i.e., body composition, management). These are: eucaloric, hypocaloric, and hypercaloric.
A eucaloric diet is one in which the intake of calories (regardless of macros, nutrient timing, food quality, etc.) is equal to the caloric expenditure. On such a diet, one will maintain a relatively constant weight.
A hypocaloric diet is one in which the caloric intake is less than the caloric expenditure. On such a diet, one will lose weight at a rate of approximately one pound per 3500 kcal deficit.
A hypercaloric diet—you guessed it—is one in which the caloric intake exceeds the caloric expenditure. Of course, on such a diet, one will gain weight, again, at a rate of approximately one pound per 3500 kcal.
“Weight” is made up predominately of fat, muscle, bone, and water. Losing water weight is called “dehydration” and is a source of deception on the scale. It accounts for most of our day-to-day fluctuations in body weight. Bone density does not change greatly over the rather short time. It is fat weight and muscle weight that we most want to affect. To lose fat, one must be hypocaloric. To gain muscle, one must be hypercaloric. The extent to which the diet must be one or the other depends on the goals and the current state of the body composition. For example, if over has excessive fat stores, he or she is (or has been) hypercaloric for some time. For such a person, training for muscle hypertrophy will not require an increase in calories. In fact, a modest restriction will allow for a concurrent loss of fat and gain of muscle—though the muscle gain will be somewhat limited. To lose fat, one’s goal should be to also conserve muscle. Hence, the caloric deficit should be limited modestly to permit a slow and steady loss of fat (only). This should be limited to about 1-2 pounds per week or 3500-7000 kcal per week. More extreme deficits may be initially warranted when the body fat is significantly high, but typically this is the priority over muscle mass in such cases. The leaner one becomes, the greater the emphasis must be on the specifics of the diet and exercise.
The overall majority of diet effectiveness is caloric balance (roughly 50%, according to Renaissance Periodization). So, beyond managing calories, diet is much more a matter of personal preference. Find and do what works for you. Avoid, however, diets that severely restrict certain foods or deviate from “normal” foods. Diet should be long-term—not trendy, short-term changes. Eat, overall, healthy and regulate food intake and physical activity to meet your goals and performance needs. There is nothing complicated about diet. Success is all in the implementation.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!