Before you jump into the 3-week challenge, you have to understand that the way you’re going to approach this, depends on your goals.
You have to realize that calories in vs calories out is the most important ratio, for the goal of regulating body weight.
Your body needs a certain amount of calories each day to maintain its weight and that number is referred to as the “Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE)”.
You can calculate your TDEE here – https://www.calculator.net/tdee-calculator.html
If you consume less than your TDEE, you will lose weight (this is called ‘eating in a caloric deficit).
If you consume more than your TDEE, you will gain weight (this is called ‘eating in a caloric surplus’).
If you consume equal or close to your TDEE, you will maintain weight (this is called ‘eating in a caloric maintenance’).
Important note
While losing weight (consuming less than TDEE), you lose both fat mass, and lean body mass (LBM).
LBM is every tissue in the body, except fat – That includes bone tissue, nerves, muscle tissue, etc.
During weight loss, the goal is to MINIMIZE loss of lean body mass, which is done in a couple ways:
- Incorporating a moderate caloric deficit (400-500 calories per day)
- Consuming enough protein (~1g per pound of bodyweight, per day)
- Engaging in resistance training
