To be able to lose weight, it is not enough to exercise, it is also important to keep under control the calories you consume daily. On your own it is not easy to determine what would be the correct caloric intake that allows you to gain or decrease weight to achieve ideal fitness. Using your basal metabolic rate (MB) as a guideline, you can calculate your daily calorie needs and how many calories you should burn each week by exercising to reach your target weight.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Understanding What Basal Metabolism is
Step 1. Find out what are the scientific foundations on which the formula for calculating the basal metabolic rate is based
Basal metabolic rate is the estimate of the number of calories the body burns when it is at rest, that is, when it is not moving. This value represents the minimum amount of energy it needs to maintain basic vital functions, such as breathing and heartbeat.
Each day, your body uses about two-thirds of the calories you consume to maintain your basal metabolic rate, so the daily calorie intake needed to allow you to gain or lose weight (and keep your body functioning) is calculated on the value. of basal metabolic rate
Step 2. Take into account age, weight and gender
The calculation of the basal metabolic rate is based on the values that correspond to age, height and weight, also varying from man to woman. Generally, the "Harris & Benedict" equations are used to determine how many calories should be consumed each day.
- For men, the formula used to calculate the basal metabolic rate is: 66.5 + (13.7 x [weight in kg]) + (5 x [height in cm]) - (6, 8 x [age in years]).
- For women, the basal metabolic rate is calculated as: 655 + (9.5 x [weight in kg]) + (1.85 x [height in cm]) - (4.7 x [age in years]).
Step 3. Calculate your weekly energy expenditure
To know how many calories you should take daily, you must also take into account the different physical and sports activities you practice. For example, if you have a very active lifestyle and train hard almost every day, your calorie needs will be higher than that of a person who is generally sedentary and does not play any sports. Be realistic in assessing your level of physical activity; many people tend to overestimate their own. Judge if your lifestyle is:
- Sedentary, that is, you work sitting at your desk and do little or no physical exercise in your free time;
- Slightly active, so do light exercise or play sports 1-3 days a week;
- Moderately active, i.e. you do moderate physical exercise or play sports 3-5 days a week;
- Very active, so do strenuous exercise or play sports 6-7 days a week.
- Extremely active, i.e. you do strenuous exercise or play sports twice a day and do manual work or are taking part in a retreat to play football or another team sport.
Step 4. Use your basal metabolic rate and your fitness goals to determine your daily calorie needs
You can enter all the values obtained above into one of the many calculators available online to estimate how many calories you should be consuming each day, based on the basal metabolic rate formula. With the result in hand, you will be able to evaluate on a practical level how to be able to consume more or less calories, taking into account the weight you want to achieve.
- If your goal is to lose weight, you need to reduce your daily calorie intake. For example, you may need to cut 500 calories per day. The most balanced method is to take 250 less by eating and burn 250 more than usual by exercising. You can try walking or running 4km per day. Also, when planning your meals, reduce your portions to keep the number of calories consumed.
- Remember that a pound of body fat is made up of about 7,800 calories, so by subtracting 500 from your daily calorie intake you will be able to lose almost half a pound in a week.
- If you're trying to gain weight, eat 500 more calories per day and limit the amount of cardio-type exercise. Prefer muscle strength training, to be done with free weights, to increase lean mass. Remember that you should be getting at least one gram of protein per 450g of body weight and getting enough rest between workouts to give your body time to recover.
- Be careful to reduce or increase your calorie intake gradually and in any case never exceed the limit of 500 more or less daily calories. Changing habits progressively prevents your body from being shocked, and also ensures that you are getting enough calories to allow it to function properly.
Part 2 of 2: Maintain the Right Calorie Intake
Step 1. Create a diet based on the correct caloric intake
Use the basal metabolic rate you calculated earlier and add or subtract 500 calories (depending on your body weight goals) to plan the three main meals of the day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Remember that you should never skip a meal; Also, try to balance proteins, vegetables and healthy fats to maintain a healthy diet.
- Let us analyze as an example the case of a 28-year-old woman who weighs 64 kg with a very active lifestyle. Suppose you exercise seven days a week, do an hour of the gym every other day, and play soccer between workouts in the gym. His caloric requirement based on the calculation of the basal metabolic rate is about 2,050 calories per day. If he wanted to lose weight, he would have to cut 500 calories: subtracting 250 from those consumed by eating and burning 250 more through exercise. He will therefore have to be careful to take a maximum of 1,800 through food and to intensify the training routine to burn 250 more.
- It's easy to run the risk of eating more than expected when on a restricted diet, so it's important to plan your meals in advance and stick to your meal plan.
- First of all, we need to divide the 1,800 calories available for the three meals of the day. For example, you can consume 600 calories at each meal or reserve more for lunch and dinner, less for breakfast (500 for breakfast, 650 for lunch and dinner).
- Care must be taken not to eat too little in order not to risk taking in fewer calories than the body needs to function properly. Otherwise, you will have too rapid or excessive weight loss, accompanied by a feeling of exhaustion. It is always better to burn excess fat than to go hungry. Likewise, it is important not to overeat if the goal is to gain weight by developing muscle mass, since physical activity takes energy.
Step 2. Record how many calories you eat daily
Start keeping a food diary to get an idea of your calorie intake and how much exercise you do over the course of a week. While you don't have to worry about the weight shown by the scale on a daily basis, you should still notice how it changes over the span of seven days.
- If you want, you can download an application on your mobile that helps you keep track of the calories you consume daily. It is a practical solution that allows you to log data easily and always have it at hand.
- After a few weeks of a healthy diet based on your caloric needs calculated using the basal metabolic rate formula and exercising regularly, you should start noticing positive changes in body weight and energy levels. Getting enough calories to keep your body functions active and have the vitality you need to exercise every day will allow you to lose weight or gain weight in a safe and healthy way.
- Actions determine results. For many, diet failure is due to the fact that they overeat because they didn't measure portions correctly or didn't keep track of what they ate previously.
Step 3. After several months of a healthy diet and regular exercise, update your basal metabolic rate
When you start seeing positive results, you can pick up the formula and update your profile. Review your weight and the amount of exercise you do weekly. Based on the new result, you may need to reduce or increase the amount of calories you eat or burn each day.
