The time for yo-yo dieting is over, you've found Prep Kitchen.

Many of our clients have ambitious goals - they come to us thinking "1 lb! That's nothing! I want to lose 30 lbs of fat and gain 10 lbs of muscle and look like Jennifer Lawrence / Wolverine / Brad Pitt in Fight Club!" The good news is that our clients repeatedly smash these goals, and more; however, these people didn't transform overnight - they achieved their goals by sticking to a balanced, healthy, (but totally delicious!) diet.

One of the secrets of our success - and our clients' - is that we make healthy eating easy. We put you in full control of your food intake, so you can ease up when you want to and work in treats like cake, wine or burgers. We're in this with you for the long haul - you don't want to reach your peak and only stay there for a week. This is a positive and achievable change you can commit to for life. 

But how can Prep Kitchen help you manage your weight?

The CICO diet: calories in/calories out

The Prep Kitchen Fat Loss programme is based on a simple and straightforward method of weight management: the CICO diet.

The CICO diet is an acronym for the most basic rule of weight management, namely 'calories in, calories out'. The most common question we get here at Prep Kitchen is 'How many calories a day do I need to eat to lose or gain weight (muscle)?' So here is a simple 'how to' guide:

First things first, you need to work out how many calories a day you need to eat to maintain your current weight. This is known as Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). There are plenty of calculators available on the internet; however, you can also work this out for yourself using simple formulas. We'll look at these formulas in more detail later in the article.

For the purpose of this post, let's take the average woman in the UK as an example: she's 40 years old, 5 ft 3 (160cm), 70 kg (11 stone) working in an office and tries to get a walk in occasionally.

Let's look at what she needs to do to work out her ideal calorie intake and calorie deficit.

Step-by-Step Guide to Calculating a Calorie Deficit

It can feel like a complicated process working out the ideal calorie intake to support your health goals. There are various calorie deficit calculators online, but using a couple of tried and tested formulas, you can work this out fairly simply yourself:

Step 1: Determine Your Basal metabolic rate (BMR)

Your BMR is the number of calories your body burns at rest. It's the foundation for understanding how many calories your body needs daily.

There are various different equations used to try and calculate this, including the Mifflin-St Jeor formula, but one of the most commonly used formulas for calculating BMR is called the Harris-Benedict Equation (1). This takes into account factors such as your height, weight, gender, and age. Since its introduction in 1919, the formula has been reviewed and updated multiple times to adjust for modern lifestyles and developing knowledge of metabolism. The formula looks like this:

• For men: BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 x weight in kg) + (4.799 x height in cm) - (5.677 x age in years)
• For women: BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 x weight in kg) + (3.098 x height in cm) - (4.330 x age in years)

If, as an example, we use our 40-year-old female mentioned in the previous section, the equation would look like this:

447.593 + (9.247 x 70kg = 647.29) + (3.098 x 160cm = 495.68) - (4.330 x 40=173.20) = 1417.363 

This gives a BMR of: 1417 calories

For more information on BMR and RMR, visit our blog: Are All Calories the Same

Step 2: calculate your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE)

TDEE is the total number of calories you burn in a day, factoring in your BMR plus all of the activities you undertake. As mentioned above, there are lots of different calculators online, but, it's quite easy to work out for yourself, by multiplying your BMR by your activity level:

• Sedentary (BMR 1.2):  little to no exercise - desk job or minimal movement throughout the day
• Lightly active (BMR 1.375): light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week a generally active lifestyle with occasional physical activity
• Moderately active (BMR 1.55): moderate exercise 3-5 days/week includes active job roles or hobbies
• Very active (BMR 1.725): hard exercise 6-7 days a week Intense exercise 6-7 days per week or a physically demanding job
• Super active (BMR 1.9): very hard exercise & a physical job intense daily exercise and physically demanding job or training multiple times a day

For our slightly active, 40-year-old woman, this translates to 1417 x 1.375 = 1948 calories

Step 3: Set a realistic calorie deficit for weight loss

We're all different, but many people find it easy to gain a pound of fat, and not so easy to lose it. When you consider that a pound of body fat equals roughly 3,500 calories, a daily deficit of 500 calories should lead to about 1 pound (0.45 kg) of weight loss per week. This is, of course, aside from any targeted exercise programme, which will also increase your BMR and aid weight loss.

These are general guidelines to achieve a calorie deficit for someone with a TDEE of 1947 calories:

• Small deficit (200-300 calories - approx. 1700 calories per day): for slow, steady weight loss
• Moderate deficit (400-500 calories - approx. 1500 calories per day): optimal for most people, resulting in about 1 pound of weight loss per week.
• Larger deficit (700-1000 calories - approx. 1200 calories per day): can result in faster weight loss but may be difficult to maintain long-term and might impact muscle mass or metabolism.

A larger deficit doesn't always lead to better results and can lead to changes in metabolism that ultimately slow down fat loss, so ideally it's best to opt for a small to medium calorie deficit.

These figures are just a guide, however, and if you are aiming to lose or gain a significant amount of weight, then this is always best done with professional guidance. There can be other factors to take into account, especially if you have any sort of medical condition, so discuss your health goals with your doctor first. Then ideally get some personalised advice from a qualified nutritionist, dietitian and your personal trainer if combining diet with exercise goals. There are also many factors that may influence the amount of calories each individual needs each day. 

Sample day of eating

To give you an idea, this is a sample day of eating a 400-500 calories deficit for someone with a TDEE of 1946 (for ease let's call this 2000 calories), using Prep Kitchen meals: With Prep Kitchen this equates to breakfast, two Weight-Loss Balanced  meals per day and a snack. This is just an example menu, but there are options to suit all tastes and dietary preferences:

• Breakfast: two breakfast Egg Cups (360 calories) 
• Lunch: Slow-Cooked Beef Bolognese - 440 calories
• Dinner: Bang Bang Chicken  - 440 calories
• Snack: Protein Brownie - 260 calories

Total for the day: 1,500 calories

Read our blog for more tips on cutting out those unnecessary calories: 28 Quick Ways to Cut Calories

Tracking the number of calories you eat each day can be a real headache, though, and can be one of the reasons why many people give up on their weight loss protocols. Don't worry! As usual, we've got you covered. With Prep Kitchen, calorie counting is super easy. Read on to find out more...

How do you track how many calories you're eating per day?

With Prep Kitchen meals, it's so easy to keep track of what you eat. Just download the MyFitnessPal app and every time you eat a PK meal, scan the bar code on the label. The app contains all of macros and calories for every Prep Kitchen meal, so adding them to your daily tracker couldn't be simpler. Whether we provide all of your daily calories or just some of them, Prep Kitchen helps you stay in control and achieve your goals.

The other important factor in the PK range is the high protein content of our meals. Calories from protein are metabolised differently from other foods, and consequently, a high-protein diet may help you to reach your weight loss and muscle gain goals more easily. Read more about this in our article,  Protein and Weight Loss.

Try it now - you have nothing to lose except those unwanted pounds!

Gaining and maintaining weight

We've focused on weight loss strategies in this article, but our meals can be used to support all of your health goals. If you're looking to maintain your weight, or are trying to bulk, check out our higher calorie Muscle Gain menu You may also like to read these related articles on our blog:

What is Bulking and How Does it Work?

How Much Protein Should You Eat to Build Muscle?

Weight Loss Maintenance: Keeping the Weight Off

Whether you're looking to lose, gain, or maintain, after following tried and tested fat loss and muscle gain methods with Prep Kitchen, you'll be a completely different, healthier and happier person. Eating with Prep Kitchen will save you precious time and money, so you have more time to work out, play, relax, or spend time with your loved ones. This helps to reduce stress, improve your quality of life and improves your overall sense of well being.

What are you waiting for? Check out our delicious menu and start changing your life, one meal at a time.

You may also like to read these related articles on our blog:

How to stay fit if you sit 9 to 5

Are All Calories the Same?

16 Easy Exercise & Diet Tips for Cutting Belly Fat

References:

1. Pavlidou E, Papadopoulou SK, Seroglou K, Giaginis C. Revised Harris-Benedict Equation: New Human Resting Metabolic Rate Equation. Metabolites. 2023 Jan 28;13(2):189. doi: 10.3390/metabo13020189. PMID: 36837808; PMCID: PMC9967803.