Thread: How do you know if you're in a caloric deficit? And how much exercise is "enough"?

So, this question might seem a bit dumb, but how do you know if you're actually in a caloric deficit?
Using a macro calculator, is says for my height (5ft 7), weight (66Kg) and workouts (very intense 6-7 times a week) I should be eating 2500 calories just to maintain weight.

So in theory, since I'm only eating 2100 calories, that should be a 400 calorie deficit, right?

The problem I have with these calculators, is it doesn't take into account what you actually do in your workout... like, if I did 8 sets of 10 reps of lifting 5Kg 7 days a week, surely that can't be counted as "very intense"?


My workout program looks like:

Monday: Ab exercises (crunches, plank etc...) then leg supersets (barbell squats/jumping squats, setup ups/rear lunges 4 sets of each), a 2.5 mile walk at lunch, then a 5K run in the evening.

Tuesday: Ab exercises (crunches, plank etc...) then super sets of chin ups & pull ups and supersets of push ups and chest dumbell fly (4 sets of each), a 2.5 mile walk at lunch, then I do tripcep supersets, shoulder supersets and bicep supersets in the evening (4 sets of each)

Weds: Rest (but a 2.5 mile walk at lunch)

Thursday: Ab exercises (crunches, plank etc...) then leg supersets (wall sits/glute bridge, calf raises/side lunge 4 sets of each), a 2.5 mile walk at lunch, then I hit the gym for 1.5 hours on focus on Shoulders, Back, Biceps, Triceps doing 4 sets on each machine and 2 separate machines per muscle.

Friday: Ab exercises (crunches, plank etc...) then super sets of chin ups & pull ups and supersets of push ups and chest dumbell fly (4 sets of each), a 2.5 mile walk at lunch

Saturday: I hit the gym for 1.5 hours on focus on Shoulders, Back, Biceps, Triceps doing 4 sets on each machine and 2 separate machines per muscle. Then a 5k run.


Does that realistically sound like a workout program where I should be eating 2500 calories to maintain my weight, and based on that, does 2100 calories realistically seem like a true deficit?
Since I'm new to all of this, I don't know how much working is "enough"...