Frequently Asked Questions

You get started by making a commitment right now! Not tomorrow, or Monday, or January 1st, but right this second from the very next thing you put in your mouth. If you make a commitment to changing even one thing, it will be a positive step towards long term success. Our goal is to make these changes sustainable for you, so we do not recommend you go straight from eating anything and everything to being extremely strict or cutting your calorie budget as low as possible.

Many have found that the best way to start is to track everything you eat for a few days to get an idea of your baseline, and then make adjustments until you are eating at the deficit you want to be in. Even just becoming more aware of the amount you are currently eating is a big step to take. We recommend you track everything you eat - and we mean everything! A lot of people make the mistake of discounting “hidden calories” such as cooking oils, dipping sauces, dressings, and drinks. A lot of people also grossly underestimate how much of each item they are consuming, which is why we recommend measuring everything (solids by weight and liquids by volume), especially when you are starting out.

This answer will be different for every person. Many calorie counting apps will help you to make a budget but if you want to do it yourself, a great calculator to help is available at calculator.net*. Once you have put your stats and activity level into the linked calculator, it will give you calorie budgets to maintain your current weight and for different speeds of weight loss. Keep in mind that any number given to you will be an estimate. You may find that your actual calorie needs are slightly higher or lower than the calculated values. If you are short, sedentary, and/or close to your goal, your budget may be lower than other people’s. This may mean that you need to lose weight at a slower rate. As your weight goes down, the number of calories that you need to eat to maintain the same level of loss will also go down. We want to make sure you are able to sustain this lifestyle, and so recommend focusing on that over losing as quickly as possible.

Female and male bodies have different physiological needs. It is not recommended to eat below an average of 1200 calories per day (8400 per week) for women or 1500 calories per day (10500 per week) for men. Most adults cannot get the nutrients your body needs on less & in many cases your body may require more, especially if you're not short & sedentary. If you have been on medications or have a medical condition that could alter your body's hormone balance, you should consult with your doctor about what your absolute minimum calorie budget should be. This includes transgender and nonbinary individuals.

*calculator.net is not affiliated with CICI

If you are eating less calories than your body uses in an average day you will lose weight regardless of how much you exercise. However, similar to paying attention to macros, working out is beneficial to health overall and can be useful in body recomposition. Exercise does not have to mean running or lifting weights in a gym. Even increasing the amount of time you are standing or walking can have a major impact on your overall activity level. Some people in our community like to sneak in extra movement by pacing or marching in place while doing things that they would normally be sedentary for like watching a TV show, swiping through TikToks and Instagram Reels, and scrolling through social media on their phones. Any movement counts! As cliché as it sounds, even making the decision to regularly park at the back of a parking lot or take the stairs instead of the elevator can truly make a difference. We also have a lot of members in our community who enjoy various online and free workouts, such as dance fitness videos available on Youtube.

There are some factors to consider when deciding whether or not you want to eat back your exercise calories. One thing to keep in mind is that most activity trackers and fitness machines overestimate the calories burned, so trusting the numbers you see completely can potentially stall your weight loss. When tracking your exercise calories, you can either calculate your TDEE with your activity level in mind by using a calculator (such as the one available at calculator.net*), or use a sedentary TDEE and track your activity separately. We do not recommend that you “double dip” by choosing a budget that accounts for your activity level and then also giving yourself extra calories after exercise. For lighter exercises such as walks you may find that you don’t need to eat back your exercise calories whereas for more intense activities you may find that your body needs the fuel. Some people choose to calculate their TDEE as if they were sedentary and add only half of the calories that their fitness tracker predicts they burned to their calorie budget to account for possible inaccuracies. Others choose to not eat back any exercise calories and have any calories burned through exercise be a bonus on their planned deficit.

According to the linked TDEE calculator, the activity levels are defined as:

Sedentary: little or no exercise

Light: exercise 1-3 times/week

Moderate: exercise 4-5 times/week

Active: daily exercise or intense exercise 3-4 times/week

Very Active: intense exercise 6-7 times/week

Extra Active: very intense exercise daily, or physical job

Exercise: 15-30 minutes of elevated heart rate activity.

Intense exercise: 45-120 minutes of elevated heart rate activity.

Very intense exercise: 2+ hours of elevated heart rate activity.

*calculator.net is not affiliated with CICI

You can track using a pen and paper, but many people like the convenience of a smartphone app. Most of the apps mentioned below have some features for free with optional paid subscription features. You can choose to pay for the subscriptions if you are interested in the extra features but we have people in our community who have been successful in losing weight without ever paying for a subscription to these and only using the free features. None of the below apps are affiliated in any way with CICI.

Some options for tracking calories include LoseIt, MyFitnessPal, Chronometer, Macros, Apple Health, Samsung Health, and Google Fit. Most of these also have places for you to track activity as well, and often have ways for you to link activity data from a smartwatch to help you estimate how many calories you burn each day. Others will allow you to manually log your exercise in addition to your food intake.

A popular app in the community is Ate, which allows you to track your food with photos. Ate also allows you to mark your meals as “on path” or “off path” as well as record notes or reflect on your feelings around eating. Another similar option is Bitesnap. For people who like the daily food collage, making a folder on your phone for food photos and using a photo collage app will also do the trick.

Apps for tracking how your weight changes over time include Libra (for Android) and Happy Scale (for IOS). Most of the above calorie trackers also have a place to track your weight, if you do not want to use a separate app.

Some people also use an app to track their measurements, such as Body Measurements Diary - Muscle Growth/Fat Loss. Again, if you do not want to use a separate app, this is also a feature in many calorie trackers.

There are also many apps out there that can help you keep track of water intake. Plant Nanny is popular because it gamifies water intake. Most food trackers offer this feature as well if you are not interested in a separate app.

Our philosophy is sustainable weight loss, which is generally considered to be between ½ lb and 2 lbs per week. For most people, it is recommended to aim for between ½ lb and 1 lb loss per week, or a maximum of 1% of your current weight. To find 1% of your current weight, divide your current weight by 100. Any deficit, even as little as 50-100 calories a day below your TDEE, will mean you will lose weight overtime as long as you are consistent. Losing 2 lbs a week is likely only sustainable if you have a lot to lose or you have a very high activity level. At the end of the day, weight loss is not a race. People who lose weight slowly are more likely to be able to continue to lose over time and keep the weight off long term.

If you're seeing a short term spike in weight it is most likely not actual fat gain. Short term temporary spikes in weight can happen due to an increase in sodium intake, hormones, constipation, and even exercise causing your muscles to temporarily retain water. Water weight tends to come off fairly quickly. Many people will also find that at some point their weight will hit a plateau. Sometimes this will happen when you are actually still eating at a deficit, and you just need to trust the process. "Starvation mode" is a common fallacy that eating too little will cause your body to hold on to excess weight, leading to plateaus or even weight gain. This is not true. If you are truly eating consistently in a deficit, you WILL lose weight, but due to normal daily fluctuations it can be difficult to see that on the scale in the day to day. It is important to look at the overall trend and not just a few specific days of weigh ins to account for this. That being said, a plateau that goes on for too long can also mean that you are not actually eating in a deficit. This can be because of many things such as inaccurate food tracking, having too many “treat” or “cheat” meals or days without tracking, or your body naturally needing less calories than it did when you were at a higher weight. If you have been in a true plateau for more than a month while you are accurately tracking all of your food and drinks by weighing portions and recording the calories, it may mean it is time to adjust your calorie budget to match your current weight and activity level, increase your activity level, or check in with your doctor.

This really comes down to personal preference. The way to most clearly see consistent changes is to weigh daily first thing in the morning after using the bathroom but before eating or drinking, and recording the data to see trends over time. The scale will not go down every day, but over time the average number should decrease if you are consistently in a deficit. For some people, weighing daily is not convenient or is not beneficial for their mental health. In these cases you may choose to weigh yourself weekly, monthly, sporadically, or not at all. Whatever frequency you choose, remember that your weight will fluctuate - even if you are doing everything right.

Other ways to quantitatively measure your weight loss include taking measurements or keeping track of your clothing size in a specific brand or cut of clothing.

For solids we recommend using a food scale because it is the most accurate way to measure your food. Dry measuring cups and spoons often vary in size so they tend to be unreliable when used for tracking. It can also be difficult to determine how full the cup or spoon should be filled and how tightly the food should be packed when using volume measurements. When it comes to packaged food, you should follow the instructions on the nutrients label of the package. Typically food should be measured as it is packaged. There are some rare exceptions to this rule, such as popcorn and bacon, but the vast majority of foods should be weighed uncooked. It can also be beneficial to weigh even single serving pre-packaged food. The weights listed on prepackaged foods are not always perfectly accurate when compared to the serving listed on the package. Measuring by weight will give you the most accurate calorie value.

When it comes to measuring liquids, a liquid measuring cup is the best way to get an accurate measurement. Many food scales have an option to measure mLs, but this will only be accurate for water.

You don't have to weigh or measure your food. Weight loss can be achieved through changing portion sizes and making lower calorie swaps. However, if you’re counting calories, it can be extremely helpful to weigh all of your food (especially when starting). This can help you get a better idea of portion sizes and also which foods are more calorie dense so that you can make more informed choices.

The beauty of calorie counting is that you can truly eat whatever you want -- so long as you are mindful of how much of it you are having and/or how often you are having it. There are multiple different approaches to calorie counting, and it may take some trial and error to find which works best for you and your lifestyle. Some people will try to “fit in” their favorite foods by accounting for them in their daily or weekly budget. Other people will decide to have treat meals or even treat days where they do not count at all. Both approaches can be incorporated with successful weight loss, as long as they are not happening often enough that they “undo” the deficit created by eating less calories at other times. The four main ways that people achieve a deficit while still eating all of the foods that they love are portion control, intermittent fasting, substitutions, and calorie cycling. Most people who are successful at calorie counting will use a combination of these methods. Just remember: If you're craving it, you can count it!

Portion Control, or moderating the amount of a food rather than the type of food, tends to work well for people who are not willing to sacrifice at all on the taste of their favorite foods and like to eat throughout the day. This allows you to have your treats all of the time, but you only get a small amount of them at any one time.

Intermittent fasting, or having a limited daily eating window, works well for people who like to eat larger amounts and do not mind eating less often. By only eating for a short period of the day, you limit the number of times a day that you are eating. This means you can eat more often in one sitting than someone using portion control alone, while consuming a comparable number of calories. This can be as simple as skipping breakfast or as much as limiting yourself to one meal a day (OMAD). In this community, we limit discussion of intermittent fasting to having a daily eating window, as extended fasting can be dangerous and should be approved and monitored by a medical professional.

Substitutions, or swapping out high calorie foods for lower calorie dupes, allows larger portions for a comparable number of calories. Some people will make minor swaps, like using a lower calorie tortilla, low fat sourcream, and low fat cheese along with other typical toppings on a taco. Other people will make their food as low calorie as possible so that they can practice volume eating. This works well for people who do not want to compromise on portion size.

Calorie Cycling, also sometimes called Counting Weekly, allows people the flexibility to eat more on some days than others. Rather than focusing on strictly eating approximately the same number of calories each day, calories can be banked for later use throughout the cycle period (typically a week). This tends to work well for people who have varied schedules or just find themselves hungrier on some days than others.

Water can help weight loss in many ways. Oftentimes when someone thinks they are hungry, they are actually thirsty. Drinking a glass of water can help you to determine if you are actually hungry or not.

If you start drinking more water than usual, the number on the scale may temporarily go up. This is because of the extra fluid and will go back down as your body adjusts. Overtime staying hydrated will help you to have more consistent weigh-ins. It can seem counterintuitive, but after the initial increase, people who are consistently hydrated will often find that their weight will be more predictable, with less fluctuation from day to day.

How much water you need to drink will be determined by many factors including gender, age, climate, activity level, and medical conditions. Many people in our community strive to drink between 3 liters and a gallon of water a day, but this is something that we recommend you work up to by increasing your daily water intake a little bit at a time.

While it can be helpful to track macros, at the end of the day as long as you are eating less calories than your body burns you will lose weight. In pure terms of weight loss the macronutrient distribution does not matter. However, different foods are processed differently by the body. Protein is the macronutrient that is the most helpful to track if you are choosing to track something along with your calories. A high protein diet can be beneficial for fueling your body and giving you energy. Having more protein often helps you to feel full for a longer period of time and will also help your body to retain and build muscle.

You cannot lose fat on a specific part of your body through diet alone. To target specific areas of your body, you can aim to build muscle through routine exercise, but the only way to lose weight in a specific area is to lose weight overall. Weight will come off in different places for different people at different rates. Often you will find that, unfortunately, the first place you significantly notice weight gain is the last place you will notice significant loss. For most people this is typically “problem areas” such as the stomach or love handles.

There are many fad diets, supplements, pills, enemas, teas, wraps, and more that are marketed for weight loss. At the end of the day, the only way to lose weight is to eat less calories than your body uses consistently over time. Many diet trends such as keto, whole 30, paleo, intermittent fasting, etc. DO work for some people, but they work because by restricting what someone is eating or how often they are eating the person is in turn eating less calories than they are when they are not restricting. In most cases when people stop following the trend diet and return to eating normally, they gain the weight back. Many other products, like enemas or teas, can “work” in the sense that you will initially drop weight, but can have dangerous side effects long term. There are also many products that are sold through MLM (multi-level marketing) companies, which are predatory and are not allowed in this community.

We have people dealing with many different medical conditions in our community who are losing weight successfully, but we recommend that you consult a doctor before starting your journey to be sure of any specific restrictions related to your condition.

Your goal weight should be whatever you want it to be. If your long term goal feels overwhelming, focusing on a mini goal can feel more attainable. When you meet that mini goal, you can reevaluate what your next steps need to be. Common considerations for ultimate goal weights are BMI, personal weight history, body fat percentage, and recommendations from your doctor. These things can help you to set a goal, but as you continue with your journey the most important things are how you feel and your overall health.

Most people aim for a maintenance range. Planning to stay exactly the same weight for the rest of your life is unlikely to be realistic. Some people will try to maintain a small 3-5 lb window while others feel okay with a larger variance. A lot of people choose to focus on how they feel in their body, how their clothes fit, or their measurements rather than the number on the scale. There's no right or wrong way to maintain just like there's no right or wrong way to lose: it's about what's sustainable for you.

Once you have decided you are happy with your weight and ready to start maintenance, give yourself time to get comfortable with it. Some transition to mindful eating and stop tracking all together, some track for a few months or switch from strict tracking to guesstimating, and some never stop tracking at all. Maintenance, like losing, is a process. You may find that your weight changes even when trying to maintain, and you may need to temporarily eat at a deficit or even up your calories to get back to where you want to be. You may also find that the weight you thought you wanted to maintain at isn’t ideal for you and you need to reevaluate your maintenance range. All of this is completely normal.

Some people, when starting maintenance, struggle with no longer having a goal to work towards and no longer hitting new lows on the scale. Just like losing takes a mindset shift, maintenance will too. Some people decide to focus on fitness goals rather than a number on the scale, to continue to give themselves something to strive for and to ease the transition out of losing. We welcome people who are in maintenance to stay active in the CICI community. Having a support system and people to talk to who are going through similar things is just as important in maintenance as it is during weight loss.