There are a variety of methods to help people lose weight. By following a healthy diet and reducing calories you can lose weight in the most concrete and healthy way. However, it is not easy to calculate how many calories your body needs and how many need to be eliminated to lose weight. There are many equations, estimates and graphs that help you in this regard. In addition to calculators and online tables, there are some formulas that allow you to find your calorie needs.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Calculating the Calories You Need
Step 1. Calculate your basal metabolic rate (MB)
This value indicates the amount of energy expressed in calories that the body needs to function adequately in conditions of absolute rest (that is, if you spend the day doing absolutely nothing). This is known as the basal metabolic rate.
- The body consumes calories even just to ensure vital processes, such as breathing, food digestion, growth, tissue renewal and blood circulation.
- You can use the basal metabolic rate to calculate the caloric needs needed to maintain weight or to lose weight.
- Men should use this equation: 66, 47 + (13, 7 * weight [kg]) + (5 * height [cm]) - (6, 8 * age [years]).
- Instead, women have to make this calculation: 655, 1 + (9, 6 * weight [kg]) + (1, 8 * height [cm]) - (4, 7 * age [years]).
Step 2. Consider your activity level
In addition to essential bodily functions, you must also count the calories you burn during daily activities. Once you have your MB, multiply it by the appropriate activity factor:
- If you are sedentary, you do not exercise or do very little: MB x 1, 2.
- If you are mildly active (sports or light exercise 1-3 times a week): MB x 1,375.
- If you are moderately active (sport or moderate exercise 3-5 times a week): MB x 1.55.
- If you are very active (sports or strenuous exercise 6-7 days a week): MB x 1,725.
- If you are extremely active (very intense sport or exercise, strenuous work or training twice a day): MB x 1, 9.
- For example, inserting the data of a 19-year-old girl 162.50 cm tall and weighing 65 kg into the formula would yield a MB equal to 1482.30 calories. Since she is moderately active, working out 3-5 times a week, then you should multiply the result by 1.55 and get a total of 2297.57 calories. This is the total calories that the girl's body consumes on average every day.
Step 3. Calculate the calorie needs needed to lose weight
To lose a pound of fat every week, you need to have a calorie deficit of 3500 calories in seven days.
- If you cut out 500 calories a day, you'll have cut down 3,500 by the weekend.
- Try to lose no more than 0.5-1 kg per week. If you are trying to lose weight on diet alone, then you need to maintain a daily calorie deficit of 500 calories to lose 500g in seven days. If you really want to lose weight faster and get to 1kg, then you need to have a deficit of 1000 calories per day.
- Try to achieve this by decreasing food portions and increasing energy expenditure with physical activity. This combination typically produces the most lasting effects.
Part 2 of 2: Calculating Calories to Manage Your Weight
Step 1. Write down how many calories you currently eat each day
Before committing to a weight loss process, it is worth quantifying how much energy you bring into the body through food.
- Keep a food diary or use an online calculator to help you estimate how many calories you are consuming.
- Compare this with the basal metabolic rate adjusted to your level of physical activity. If these two numbers are not similar, it may be easier to start the diet by trying to eat the amount of daily calories you calculated.
- It is very difficult to drastically decrease the calories you are used to putting in every day. Slowly reduce them by changing your diet to reach the caloric intake obtained with the calculation of the MB relative to the level of physical activity.
Step 2. Do not eat less than calculated with the MB
It is not at all wise to constantly adhere to a diet that does not fully meet the basal needs. When the body does not have enough energy to perform its basic functions, it begins to break down the muscles for calories.
- Very restrictive diets are not considered safe or appropriate for weight loss. They don't give you enough flexibility to consume an adequate amount of essential health proteins, vitamins or minerals.
- Try to get at least 1200 calories per day. This is generally the minimum recommended level.
Step 3. Keep a food diary
Consider writing down everything you eat, plus calories per serving and how many servings you allow yourself. Studies have found that those who keep such a diary manage to stick to the diet for a longer period and lose more weight.
- Do some research online to find free sites or applications that allow you to enter data on how much you ate. Some are even capable of automatically calculating calories.
- By becoming aware of the calories you introduce every day you will feel more responsible for your health and you will be able to respect the calorie deficit. Be careful, regularly update your diary writing down everything you eat and in the end you will find that it is easier to stick to the diet.
Step 4. Weigh yourself regularly
Another important part of tracking weight loss is tracking your progress.
- Research has shown that dieters who weigh themselves regularly have a higher long-term success rate than those who don't.
- Weigh yourself about 1-2 times a week. Try to always step on the scale at the same time and in the same clothing to get accurate values.
- If you're not losing weight, reevaluate the amount of calories you put in. You may need to further increase your calorie deficit or be more precise in your journal entries.
