The weight loss diet provides an average of 1,268 calories, 143 grams of protein, 105 grams of carbohydrate and 32 grams of fat. Compared to exercise changes (alone), diet changes (alone) have been shown to produce around three times the weight loss (Foster-Schubert et al. 2012). In other words, just focusing on your diet alone without exercising can result in three times as much weight loss as opposed to focusing on exercise alone with no changes to your diet. 

Bodyweight change is simply a matter of making an adjustment to your daily energy intake and output by modifying your daily activity (output) and adjusting your calorie intake. It is difficult to change our body composition (i.e. the way we look) due to what is known as our set point, which is a place of metabolic and physiological comfort that your mind and body have established due to our genetics, environment and set of long-term behavioral habits that we have established. We can’t change the genetic material we have been integrated with, however, we can make daily small changes to our physical activity (output) and eating behaviors (input) to lead to long term physiological changes, which could translate into better health, body composition, more energy, and overall performance. The general rule of thumb would be to adjust your calorie intake or output by 500 calories per day to either gain 1 pound or lose one pound, this again may be accomplished by adjusting your physical activity and exercise routine or modifying your diet. For example, if a person was aiming to lose two pounds per week they may consider expending 250 calories on the treadmill once per day and eating 250 calories less for a daily 500 calorie deficit, which may lead to a one-pound weight loss. Request an individual nutrition consultation if you are interested in knowing what your specific estimated calorie needs may be to support your weight loss effort.