How do you know if your in a Calorie Deficit or a Calorie Surplus?

First of all we need to establish what a Calorie Deficit and a Calorie Surplus actually is, as some people assume calories are not important… believe us, they ARE! Calories are a unit of measurement, just like a mile or a centimeter. It is a measurement of energy in food, so a 500 calorie slice of pizza obviously would have a lot of “energy” or, calories. We fill our body with calories (energy) all day, every day. Weigh gain happens when we intake more of these calories, then we use up, or expend. So for example if we intake an awful lot of calories throughout the day, say 3ooo calories and we don’t move an awful lot, we stay sat down and do minimal exercise. Our bodies become clever and store this extra energy as excess body fat. This is known as a Calorie Surplus!

Now, a Calorie Deficit is the opposite. Lets say we eat 2000 Calories worth of food a day but you’ve walked around 12,000 steps and done the gym every other day over the course of a week for example. Your body will use up the extra calories that it stores as “body fat”.

Most people try and loose weight by guessing their nutrition. A very simple way to help you decide if your in a surplus or deficit is to record your weight in the morning and by using My Fitness Pal, track and record everything you eat within that week, weigh yourself every morning for that week and by the end see if your weight has gone up, down or maintained.
*For women make sure this week isn't clashing with your menstrual cycle as this time of the month can withhold water causing weight gain. 
My Fitness Pal will tell you at the end of the week what your average Macronutrient intake (Protein, Fats and Carbs) is. From this you can decide if you are over eating or under eating.
*Bearing in mind an average protein target to go off is 2g of protein per Kg body weight. 
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If you are gaining weight, the options would be to increase energy expenditure, this can be done by walking or any form of exercise e.g. gym, swim, running etc. or reduce your calories (more often through Fats or Carbs, as not many people eat enough protein as it is!)