Part 3.0: The 6 Pillars of Weight Loss

In Part 1, we talked about my why, and in Part 2, we talked about my fitness background—or rather, the lack thereof. In the subsequent parts of this series, we will focus on the how.

Part 3 will be a mini-series within the larger series. Its purpose is to outline what I did during the first year of my transformation to lose the initial 45 pounds and, more importantly, keep it off. There is no magic pill, no secret shortcut, and no—no Ozempic. What I will outline here are what I call the 6 Pillars of Weight Loss.

To succeed in a weight loss journey, I strongly believe all six pillars need to be incorporated. Missing one or more components increases the risk of either failing to reach your goals or struggling to maintain your results long-term.

In this post, Part 3.0, I’ll use it as a primer to introduce the basic science behind weight management: calories, nutrition, and energy expenditure.

I firmly believe that knowledge is one of our greatest sources of power. When you understand the science behind what you are doing, every action gains purpose and direction. That knowledge becomes a roadmap for long-term success.

One advantage I have as a physician is that many of these scientific concepts are already familiar to me and relatively easy to understand and apply. However, understanding the science and successfully implementing it are two completely different challenges.

I also recognize that not everyone reading this comes from a science or mathematics background. Because of that, Part 3.0 may feel either straightforward or extremely difficult to follow. That’s okay. This section is meant to serve as a reference that you can revisit multiple times if necessary.

Fair warning: this primer is terminology-heavy. You can skip parts of it if it feels overwhelming, but I would strongly encourage you to work through it as best you can, because understanding these concepts will help you get the most out of the rest of the series.

To make this wall of text easier to navigate, I’ll bold the concepts that I believe are most important.

Following this primer, the remainder of the mini-series will be divided into the following six pillar sections:

Part 3.1: Visualization
Part 3.2: Goal Setting
Part 3.3: Accountability
Part 3.4: Walking
Part 3.5: Resistance Training
Part 3.6: Diet and Nutrition

I encourage you to read all six pillars in their entirety, because none of these sections can be fully effective in isolation. They build upon one another.

Part 3.0: Understanding the Science (Bear With Me)

Calories In vs. Calories Out

At its core, weight gain or weight loss ultimately comes down to energy balance: calories in versus calories out.

If you consume more calories than your body uses, you will gain weight over time. If you consume fewer calories than your body uses, you will lose weight over time.

Of course, the reality is a little more nuanced than that, because we first need to define what we mean by “weight.”

Most people think of the number on a scale. I’ll call this Measured Weight.

However, what I’m more interested in is what I call Real Body Weight. I define Real Body Weight as a person’s weight with:

no food in the digestive tract,
a euvolemic state (meaning neither over- nor under-hydrated),
and baseline glycogen stores (more on glycogen later).

In other words:

Measured Weight = Real Body Weight + food weight + fluid shifts + glycogen-related weight fluctuations

If this sounds confusing, that’s okay. The key takeaway is simple:

The weight you measure every day is probably not your true body weight.

Your scale weight can fluctuate significantly depending on hydration status, sodium intake, carbohydrate intake, and the amount of food still in your digestive tract. Daily fluctuations of 1–2 kg (2–5 pounds) are extremely common.

As you’ll learn later, these large day-to-day swings cannot realistically represent true fat gain or fat loss.

Because of this, it is usually more meaningful to:

compare weight week-to-week, or
track a rolling 7-day average.

One important note: gaining muscle mass is generally not a valid excuse for a complete lack of weight loss. Even during body recomposition—where fat is lost while muscle is gained—your real body weight should still decrease over time if you are consistently in a calorie deficit.

Calories In: Understanding Your Food

The saying “you are what you eat” is not entirely wrong.

Nutrients are broadly divided into:

macronutrients, and
micronutrients.

Macronutrients provide energy (calories) and serve as the building blocks of the body. Micronutrients are needed in much smaller amounts but remain critically important for normal bodily function.

For the purposes of weight management, we’ll focus primarily on macronutrients.

There are four calorie-containing macronutrients:

Carbohydrates: 4 calories per gram
Protein: 4 calories per gram
Fat: 9 calories per gram
Alcohol: 7 calories per gram

When I refer to “grams,” I am talking about grams of the nutrient itself—not the total weight of the food.

For example:

100 grams of chicken breast contains approximately:

23 grams of protein
1.2 grams of fat
0 grams of carbohydrates

That means:

Protein: 23 × 4 = 92 calories
Fat: 1.2 × 9 = 11 calories
Carbohydrates: 0 × 4 = 0 calories

Total calories = 103 calories

One common mistake is assuming that because chicken breast is considered a “protein food,” 100 grams of chicken breast must equal 100 grams of protein. That is incorrect.

It is important to track the actual macronutrient content within a given amount of food.

You can track your “macros” using an app, or if you’re old-school like me, with a custom Excel spreadsheet. I’ll create a separate tutorial later on how to read food labels and track macronutrients properly.

Calories Out: Understanding What You Burn

Now that we’ve discussed what goes into your body, let’s talk about what your body expends.

The total amount of calories your body burns over a 24-hour period is called your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).

TDEE consists of four components:

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)
Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT)

I personally group BMR, NEAT, and TEF together under a broader category called Non-Exercise Energy Expenditure (NEEE).

If you consistently track:

your body weight,
calorie intake,
and exercise volume,

you can estimate your NEEE and EAT with surprisingly good accuracy.

If all of these acronyms feel overwhelming, don’t worry. Let’s break them down one by one.

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

This is the number of calories your body would burn if you literally lay motionless in bed for 24 hours doing absolutely nothing.

BMR supports essential life functions such as:

breathing,
circulation,
brain activity,
and organ function.

For most people, BMR ranges from approximately 1,300–1,800 calories per day, depending on body size, muscle mass, metabolism, and other factors.

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)

NEAT refers to calories burned through everyday movement that is not structured exercise.

Examples include:

walking to the washroom,
standing up,
grocery shopping,
fidgeting,
household chores,
or chasing after a bus.

NEAT varies enormously between individuals.

A very sedentary person may burn only ~300 calories daily through NEAT, whereas someone with an active job may burn over 2,000 calories.

Personally, I classify almost all non-purposeful movement under NEAT.

Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)

TEF is the energy your body uses to digest and process food.

Different macronutrients require different amounts of energy to digest:

Protein: 20–30%
Carbohydrates: 5–15%
Fat: 0–5%

Higher-fiber foods can further increase TEF because they are harder to digest.

Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT)

EAT refers to calories burned through dedicated exercise such as:

resistance training,
walking,
running,
cycling,
swimming,
etc.

Non-Exercise Energy Expenditure (NEEE)

This is the total amount of calories burned that are unrelated to dedicated exercise.

NEEE = BMR + NEAT + TEF

Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)

This is your total daily calorie burn.

TDEE = NEEE + EAT
or:

TDEE = BMR + NEAT + TEF + EAT

Calories vs. Weight

There is one very important concept to remember:

Approximately 3,500 calories = 1 pound of fat

This means:

If you lose 1 pound of true fat over a week, you must have burned approximately 3,500 more calories than you consumed.
Conversely, gaining 1 pound of fat means consuming approximately 3,500 excess calories.

This also means that maintaining a:

500 calorie daily deficit
would theoretically produce:
3,500 calories of deficit per week
which equals:
1 pound of fat loss per week
or:
52 pounds per year

Later in this series, I’ll explain how this can often be achieved without extreme hunger or suffering.

Calculating Non-Exercise Energy Expenditure (NEEE)

Remember:

NEEE = BMR + NEAT + TEF

In other words, it represents the calories your body burns independently of formal exercise.

One way to estimate NEEE is to collect data over a 2–4 week period without dedicated exercise. This can be useful before beginning a structured weight-loss phase.

During this time:

weigh yourself every morning after using the washroom and before eating or drinking,
and track all calorie intake carefully.

Using this information, you can estimate your NEEE.

This is also why people often see me weighing food year-round—even during off-seasons or recovery periods after races. These quieter periods are often the most accurate times to reassess my NEEE, which can change depending on muscle mass, training status, and metabolism.

For example:

If:

Day 1 weight = 65 kg
Day 14 weight = 63 kg
Total calories consumed over 14 days = 30,000 calories

Then:

2 kg lost × 2.2 lb/kg × 3,500 calories/lb
= 15,400 calorie deficit

This means that maintaining weight over those 14 days would have required:
30,000 + 15,400 = 45,400 calories

Therefore:

45,400 ÷ 14 = 3,243 calories/day

That would represent the estimated NEEE.

Longer data collection periods generally improve accuracy because daily food intake and activity naturally fluctuate.

For best results, this process should ideally be repeated every 6–12 months as habits, muscle mass, and metabolism evolve over time.

Calculating Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT)

Once you know your NEEE, you can estimate how many calories your exercise is burning.

Continuing from the previous example:

If:

your NEEE is 3,243 calories/day,
you consume exactly that amount daily,
and you add 10,000 daily walking steps as exercise,

then:

If your weight drops:

from 63 kg to 62 kg over 14 days,

your exercise-related calorie burn would be:

1 kg × 2.2 lb/kg × 3,500 calories/lb
= 7,700 calories over 14 days

Which equals:

approximately 550 calories/day.

This would suggest that your daily 10,000 steps burned roughly 550 calories.

Practically speaking:

Any:

increase in EAT (more exercise),
or:
reduction in calorie intake below NEEE,

will contribute toward weight loss.

For example:

NEEE = 2,000 calories/day
calorie intake = 1,800 calories/day
EAT = 300 calories/day

Total deficit:

200 + 300 = 500 calories/day

Which theoretically equals:

approximately 1 pound of fat loss per week.

The major takeaway is this:

You cannot simply “eat less and move more” without understanding the numbers involved.

Your TDEE must exceed your calorie intake in order to create meaningful weight loss.

I often have patients tell me:

“I barely eat anything, but I’m still gaining weight.”

In those situations, a careful review of:

calorie intake,
TDEE,
hidden calories,
activity levels,
and tracking accuracy

usually identifies the issue fairly quickly.

Kudos to you if you made it this far—and double kudos if you actually understood everything.

In Part 3.1, we’ll dive into the first pillar of weight loss: Visualization.