Understanding Energy Balance ⚖️
In today’s lesson, let’s talk about a foundational nutrition concept known as energy balance. Energy balance refers to the relationship between the energy you consume through your diet (calories) and the energy you expend or “burn” through various physiological processes as well as physical activity. In basic terms, this is often referred to as calories in vs. calories out. This is important to understand, as many people believe the majority of calories we burn in a day comes from voluntary exercise, but there’s much more to it!
Energy Balance = Energy In – Energy Out
Let’s break it down…
Energy '‘Out”
Energy out refers to the calories we burn on a given day. Though people often assume that exercise is the sole contributor to burningn calories, this isn’t the full story. In fact, energy out comprises of 4 different components:
Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR):
Your RMR or REE (Resting Energy Expenditure), is the number of calories your body needs to function at rest.
RMR accounts for about 60-75% of your total energy expenditure.
Think of this as your metabolic function, or metabolism.
Voluntary Exercise or Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT):
The energy expended during deliberate exercise (e.g., running, weightlifting).
Exercise can vary greatly from person to person and typically accounts for 5-10% of energy expenditure.
Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT):
Your NEAT refers to the energy expended for everything that is not sleeping, eating, or engaging in deliberate exercise like running or weightlifting.
This includes activities such as walking around the house or office, doing household chores, fidgeting or tapping your feet, etc.
NEAT accounts for about 15% to 50% of you total daily energy expenditure, depending on your lifestyle.
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF):
The energy your body uses to digest, absorb, and metabolize food.
TEF makes up about 5-10% of your total energy expenditure.
Energy “In”
Energy-In of course simply refers to the intake of food we consume day to day. This includes all food, drinks, supplements, etc. etc.
Types of Energy Balance:
Caloric Surplus
When you consume more calories than your body burns.
Leads to weight gain over time because the extra energy is stored as fat.
Often known as ’bulking’
Caloric Deficit
When you burn more calories than you consume.
Leads to weight loss over time because your body uses stored fat for energy.
Often known as '‘cutting’
Caloric Maintenance
When the calories you consume match the calories you burn.
Helps maintain your current weight.
Applying the Knowledge
There's no accurate way to know your total daily energy expenditure, but we can get a relatively good idea by standardizing your calorie intake and monitoring weight fluctuations over time. (but that’s my job, so don’t stress!)
Key Takeaways
Energy balance is the relationship between calories in (through food) and calories out (through metabolism and activity).
To lose weight, you need to create a negative energy balance by either consuming fewer calories or increasing your physical activity.
To gain weight, a positive energy balance is necessary, meaning you need to consume more calories than you burn.
We’ll go into more depth about maintenance calories, specifically at a later time. This is because SO many people underestimate what your body can do whilst at maintenance; for example, los fat, gain muscle, improve performance!
Stay fueled,
Yara xx
