If a person introduces more or less calories than is consumed with daily activities, then they will either gain or lose weight. If you learn to calculate how much energy you consume each day, you can keep your weight normal or monitor your progress in physical exercises. There are many methods to make these calculations and you can use the results to lose weight, gain weight, keep it constant or get more detailed information on your body's needs.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Determine Calories Burned
Step 1. Calculate your basal metabolic rate
The human body is a kind of always-on engine that constantly consumes fuel (calories) even during sleep. Basal metabolic rate indicates the number of calories the body burns in a day to simply keep alive.
- Basal metabolic rate varies with age, gender, height, and genetic factors. To get a reliable value of calories consumed each day, start by finding your basal metabolic rate.
- Use the formulas described here to perform the calculations:
- Men: (13.75 × weight) + (5 × height) - (6.66 × age) + 66;
- Women: (9.5 × weight) + (1.85 × height) - (4.48 × age) + 655.
Step 2. Adjust your basal metabolic rate to take into account your basic physical activity level
To get an accurate figure of your daily energy consumption you need to calculate how many calories you burn with physical activity. People have different caloric needs based on the energy expenditure required by exercise. Multiply your basal metabolic rate by these criteria:
- If you don't train or follow a very sedentary lifestyle, multiply your basal metabolic rate by a factor of 1, 2;
- If you do moderate physical activity (1-3 times a week) or are slightly active, then the coefficient is equal to 1.375;
- People who train 3-5 times a week or follow an active lifestyle must multiply their basal metabolic rate by 1.55;
- If you exercise almost every day and do very physically intense work, then multiply your basal metabolic rate by 1,725;
- Finally, if you practice every day (even more than once) and do a very strenuous job, multiply the figure by 1, 9.
Step 3. Use an online basal metabolic rate calculator
This tool allows you to automatically find the value by entering your age, gender, height and weight.
- Thanks to an online calculator, the process is slightly easier than it takes to do the calculations by hand.
- If you have decided to take advantage of this solution, find a reliable calculator from a reputable site, such as the web pages of most clinics, hospitals, and government agencies.
- Keep your weight and height information handy, as they are essential for calculating your basal metabolic rate.
Step 4. Purchase a heart rate monitor
In this way you can understand how many calories you burn every day thanks to the data detected by the instrument.
- There are some models on the market that can be worn for 24 hours and thus estimate how many calories you consume throughout the day (with or without exercise).
- Some expect to enter data such as age, weight, height and gender. Each device uses different formulas or algorithms to perform the calculations.
- You can wear the heart rate monitor for 24 hours without doing any physical activity, to get an idea of how many calories you consume to live. Then, you can compare this with the results obtained during a day you trained.
- Remember that emotions increase the number of pulses and can "induce" the instrument to consider these peaks as physical activity and calculate a greater amount of energy consumed than in reality. While this is not a common occurrence, it is still a factor to consider.
Part 2 of 2: Lose or Gain Weight with Calorie Information
Step 1. Keep a food diary
This is a very useful tool for monitoring calorie intake; you can use a simple notebook, a specific application or a website dedicated to nutrition. In this way you can modify your calorie goals to adapt them to the change in weight you want to achieve, and you will also be able to better respect your diet plan.
- Food journals are perfect for understanding what you are currently eating and comparing this information to your calorie goal.
- With this tool you can understand which meals provide the most calories during the day.
- Finally, a food diary allows you to track your progress and help you lose, gain or maintain weight.
Step 2. Reduce calorie intake to lose weight
If you're planning on losing weight, then you need to be sure you're consistently maintaining a calorie deficit every day. You can do this by reducing the number of calories you put in or by increasing the calories you consume through exercise. You can also take advantage of both strategies.
- Generally speaking, if you maintain a weekly deficit of 3500 calories, you can lose 0.5-1 kg per week. To achieve this, cut 500 calories per day.
- Don't lose weight too quickly and don't cut down on the calories you put in too much. Most specialists recommend losing no more than 0.5-1 kg per week. More rapid weight loss could be dangerous and could leave you weak, tired and lacking in essential nutrients.
- Remember that as you lose kilograms, you will need to exercise more to maintain weight. Lower body mass also lowers your basal metabolic rate and the number of calories burned with physical activity, which means you will need to further decrease the energy you bring in with food or train harder.
Step 3. Increase your calorie intake to gain weight
If you take in more energy than you consume each day through daily activities and exercise, then you can gain weight.
- You can achieve this by increasing the calories you eat each day, reducing the energy expenditure you get from physical activity, or a combination of both methods.
- Choose healthy, calorie-rich foods that will help you achieve your goal, regardless of the reason for gaining weight. It is not advisable to eat fried, refined or unhealthy foods.
- Remember that you need to do some physical activity to stay healthy. Don't stop exercising unless your doctor tells you to.
- Although everyone needs a different level of physical activity, most doctors recommend that you dedicate two and a half hours per week to moderate-intensity aerobic training, with two days of strength training (or an hour and a half). half of intense aerobic activity).
Advice
- Most methods of calculating calorie consumption allow you to get estimates only and the results should be used as such.
- You may need to adjust your calorie goals as you track your body weight.
- If you are trying to lose weight or gain weight, you should first ask your doctor for advice to make sure it is safe and appropriate for your health condition.
