Some of you may have seen this phrase thrown about, others may not. But it is the one fundamental factor in all diets whether that is weight loss, muscle gain or just maintaining where you are right now, energy balance is what affects it all.

What a lot of people do at this stage is make it all sound very complicated but energy balance breaks down to a simple equation of energy in vs energy out. Imagine a set of scales with one side having energy in, so that’d be what you consume through to eat and drink – carbohydrates, protein, and fats – and the other having energy out which is made up of your BMR (Basic metabolic rate), NEAT (Non-Exercise activity thermogenesis) and EAT (Exercise activity thermogenesis)

So if the scales were showing that your energy in was higher than what you were using your body would store that energy for a rainy day this would lead to fat gain.

Whereas if the scales were showing that the energy out was higher than what you were taking in your body would need to use that energy it had stored for such an occasion, this would lead to fat loss.

“But Shaun what happens if they’re both the same” – well, in that case, you would simply maintain where you were.

As I mentioned this is THE fundamental factor in all weight loss diets. If you were ever to peer behind the veil and see why it’s working for that person. For example, if your friends have gone Keto and lost a shed load of weight, it isn’t because their body is learning how to burn fat as is so often advertised. They have simply removed an entire macronutrient in carbohydrates so as you can imagine that is going to seriously affect how much energy they’re taking in… they’ve removed so many food groups it’s unreal! Or we all have them, friends, one is on Slimming World doing absolutely amazing and the other cannot for the life of them figure out why it isn’t working. I’m just going to throw it out there, maybe, just maybe that ‘free’ food they’re consuming on mass actually contains energy and therefore is throwing their scales from the fat loss side all the way to the other!?

Once you wrap your head around this simple but very important premise suddenly life becomes flexible, you can eat some toast at night time if you want, you can go out for a drink or two you’re your mates after work, welcome to a world where all diets become options. And what about if I told you breakfast was not the most important meal of the day!