If within a week after carefully counting calories and strictly observing physical activity and sleep rhythm, no positive dynamics are found in the form of visual recomposition of the body and reflection in the mirror, it is recommended to take the test and ask for advice.
Carbohydrate distribution:
Morning (short starch) - yeast-free bread, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pita bread, focaccia, sugar-free and yeast-free baked goods.
Lunch (long starchy foods) - rice, lentils, beans, buckwheat, chickpeas, quinoa, bulgur, cereals).
Evening (vegetables) + You MUST treat yourself to your favorite product for 200-300 kcal (fruit, natural chocolate, yeast-free baked goods) within the calorie content and BZHU no later than 2 hours before bedtime.
If you have less than 100 grams of carbohydrates in your calorie calculation, this indicates that you have an increased body mass index. Physical and physical activity should be increased. Recommended values: at least 100 grams of carbohydrates for women, and at least 150 grams of carbohydrates for men.
You MUST eat more fiber and alkaline foods: greens, celery, radishes, cucumbers, spinach, cauliflower and white cabbage, beets, carrots, garlic, seaweed, broccoli, avocado, lemon.
ON TRAINING DAYS, add an additional 100 grams of carbohydrates 120 minutes before training from short starchy carbohydrates (yams, potatoes, yeast-free bread, pita bread, focaccia, sugar-free and yeast-free baked goods).
ADD WITHIN CALORIES.
For example: you need to eat 150 grams of carbohydrates per day respectively, consume 100 before training and distribute the rest throughout the day.
DURING TRAINING drink ONLY plain water without BCAAs and various amino acids (due to unnecessary insulin changes during training).
Add 5-7 grams of salt per day (table or iodized)
REDUCE, and ideally REMOVE, the number of simulators: coffee, tea, tobacco, alcohol.
Buy a kitchen scale. Weigh grains, vegetables and other foods in their raw form. Ready-made meat, fish, poultry.
Give preference to polyunsaturated and monosaturated fats (omega 3, vegetable oils, nuts, avocados, seeds).
Carbohydrate ratio, 30% fructose (fruit, natural chocolate), 70% starch (rice, buckwheat, potatoes, gluten-free flour, sugar-free and yeast-free baked goods)
In nutrition it is advisable to favor foods that give an alkaline reaction, eliminate or reduce to 1 meal a day foods that give an oxidative reaction: poultry, red meat, gluten, sugar, seafood. Farm eggs and farm dairy products are permitted. Foods with acidity 6. 0 - 10. 0 PH. More detailed table at the link.
The consumption of freshly killed or vacuum-packed animal products is permitted. Avoid refrigerated and frozen animal products.
The presence of a product that gives psychological pleasure, within the caloric and macro content (BZHU) is MANDATORY.
If it is impossible to reach the daily calorie intake with the "CORRECT" foods, we include the maximum calorie content within the macro (BZHU).
The number of meals is not important; eat strictly according to your appetite (distribute your "food basket" into the number of meals you prefer).
You can change the components of the diet according to your preferences within the macro (BZHU).
- B12-, iron deficiency anemia, weakness, increased fatigue, blood changes (pallor and yellowing of the skin and mucous membranes, rapid heartbeat, heart pain, exercise intolerance, dizziness and frequent fainting, enlarged spleen) , damage to the digestive system (indigestion, unstable stools, loss of appetite, weight loss, change in color and shape of the tongue, taste disturbances, frequent oral infections, abdominal pain after eating), damage to the nervous system (reduced sensitivity, paraesthesia, ataxia, decreased muscle strength, urination disorders, mental disorders).
- Hypothyroidism. Decreased physical and mental performance, increased fatigue, skin changes (myxedema), increased sensitivity to cold, hoarseness, weight gain, swelling of the face and body, constipation, hypotension and bradycardia, drowsiness, decreased memory and intelligence), growth retardation in children and intellectual development.
- Metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance). Increased body weight in the abdominal area, metabolic disorders, insulin resistance. Subjective sensations: attacks of bad mood in a state of hunger, increased fatigue, selectivity in food, attacks of rapid heartbeat, heart pain, headache, thirst and dry mouth, increased sweating
How many calories do you need per day to lose weight?
There is no single standard for how many calories you need per day to lose weight. It is calculated individually for each person, taking into account his physical characteristics and lifestyle.
Where to start?
Before calculating how many calories to eat to lose weight, you must first determine your daily intake. Essentially, calories are energy. Most of it is spent daily to maintain the functioning of the body: breathing, heartbeat, digestion of food, etc. Scientists found that:
- Men burn more calories than women.
- The older a person gets, the less energy he expends.
- During adolescence, pregnancy and illness, you need many more calories.
- Physical activity increases the rate of calorie consumption.
In addition, there are individual characteristics of the body, established by genetics, that determine the rate of calorie consumption. However, on average, you can simply calculate how many calories to consume per day in order not only not to gain weight, but also to lose weight.
For example, you can use the formula of scientists Mifflin and San Geor. It was introduced in 2005 and has proven to be more effective than the Harris-Benedict variant. To calculate you need:
- Weight multiplied by 10.
- Height multiplied by 6, 25.
- Age multiplied by 5.
So all that's left is to add your weight and your height, then subtract your age. Next, men add 5, and women subtract 161. The result is multiplied by the activity coefficient:
- 1. 2 – you lie on the couch for days or work in the office.
- 1. 375 – 3 times a week you remember that you have to do sport.
- 1. 55 – an active athlete who trains 5 times a week.
- 1. 725 – you train actively every day.
- 1. 9 is a fanatical athlete and during breaks you work as a loader.
That is, for a 35-year-old accountant who weighs 85 kg and is 180 cm tall, the calculation will look like this (due to work, there is no more time for sports):
((85x10) + (180x6, 25) - (35x5) - 161) x 1, 2 = 1966, 8 calories.
This amount of energy will be enough for you to live and work calmly, without gaining weight. But to lose weight you will have to calculate how many calories to consume.
How to lose weight by counting calories?
The golden rule for losing weight is to burn more calories than you consume. But you can't suddenly reduce the amount of food you eat. The body doesn't like this. Instead, you have to take out the calculator again and calculate how many calories you need to eat to lose weight. To do this, subtract 15-20% from the previous result. That is, our accountant, to prepare for the summer, must absorb:
1966, 8-20%=1573, 44 calories.
If he has the idea of improving, then he must do exactly the opposite. But it doesn't end here. There are many other conditions that need to be taken into account:
- The number of calories consumed must not fall below 1200. Otherwise the body will not have enough energy to live and chronic diseases of various kinds could develop.
- You can't calculate how many calories you need per day to lose weight, eat them in the morning, and walk around hungry all day. I want to split meals into 5-6 times. This way, the stomach and intestines will be constantly busy with work, the feeling of hunger will interfere less, and the diet as a whole will become much more pleasant.
- It is necessary to monitor not only calories, but also nutrients. Food should be varied so as not to cause vitamin deficiency and other health problems.
- We must not forget water. Drinking large amounts of fluids speeds up metabolic processes in the body and eliminates toxins. This is of great help for quick weight loss.
Therefore, some nutritionists advise not to pay too much attention to the number of calories consumed. They believe that it is much more important to monitor the ratio of nutrients in the diet. And if the right balance is maintained, a person will quickly lose weight regardless of the amount of calories consumed.
By the way, there is another way to lose weight without cutting back on your diet. If we take our accountant and give her a subscription to 5 classes in a fitness club, it turns out that she will no longer need 1966, 8 calories, but:
((85x10) + (180x6, 25) - (35x5) -161) x 1, 55 = 2540. 45 calories.
That is, it turns out that she will also have to improve her diet a little and start eating more high-calorie foods, recalculating. And at the same time he will lose weight quite quickly.
Why can't you reduce your diet too much?
If you start counting how many calories you need to consume to lose weight, it may seem that the problem can be solved if you immediately reduce the amount of energy several times, or even to zero. But that's not how the human body works. A day of fasting once a week will create positive stress and can actually accelerate weight loss. With prolonged fasting, less positive changes already occur:
- hair falls out and skin condition worsens;
- the person becomes irritable and easily depressed;
- the functioning of the digestive organs and kidneys is disrupted;
- concentration and the ability to think coherently decrease.
At the same time, the body goes into "energy saving mode". Metabolic processes slow down and weight loss occurs more slowly than it should. And after breaking the fast, weight gain occurs rapidly.
It is best to track how many calories you need to eat to lose weight and not rush into anything. Healthy eating experts advise not to try to suddenly lose 5-10-15 kg by cutting calories. Natural weight changes should be approximately 1-1. 5 kg per week. This is the most comfortable rate of weight loss for an average person, which is what we should aspire to.
How to calculate your daily calorie intake
Any diet, regardless of the goal, begins with calculating your daily intake of calories, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. In this article we will talk about the most accurate methods of determining daily calorie intake for men and women.
Calorie content is calculated based on your goal (weight loss, maintenance, weight gain), gender, age, physical activity and other factors.
What is basal metabolic rate?
Calculating your daily calorie intake begins with calculating your basal metabolic rate (BMR), the amount of energy your body requires to support life processes. The human body, even at rest, constantly consumes calories for respiration, digestion, blood circulation and other physiological processes. Your daily calorie intake must be higher than your BMR, otherwise your body will not be able to function normally.
The level of basal metabolic rate can be determined by two methods: direct and indirect.
In the first case, a person is placed in a special chamber, where the amount of heat he consumes is measured, after which the PBM is calculated. This search method is the most accurate, but at the same time inaccessible.
The indirect method involves calculating the basal metabolic rate using a special formula. Today there are several main methods of calculation. We list the main ones.
Calculation of calories with the Harrison-Benedict formula
The formula was developed by the American physiologist Francis Gano Benedict and the botanist James Arthur Harris at the beginning of the last century, but it still remains relevant. It has an error of about 5%.
The formula to calculate PBM is as follows:
- For women: 655. 1 + (9. 563 × weight in kg) + (1. 85 × height in cm) - (4. 676 × age in years);
- For men: 66. 5 + (13. 75 × weight in kg) + (5. 003 × height in cm) - (6. 775 × age in years).
The result obtained is the daily caloric intake required by the body for normal functioning. To calculate how many kcal you need to consume to maintain weight, you need to multiply the resulting figure by the coefficient of physical activity:
- 1. 2 – minimal (sedentary work, lack of physical activity);
- 1. 375 – low (training for at least 20 minutes 1-3 times a week);
- 1. 55 – moderate (30-60 minute workouts 3-4 times a week);
- 1, 7 – high (training 30-60 minutes 5-7 times a week; heavy physical work);
- 1. 9 – extreme (several intense workouts per day 6-7 times a week; labor-intensive work).
Calculating calories using the Mifflin-San Geor formula
The method of calculating daily calorie intake was developed by nutritionists under the guidance of doctors Mifflin and San Geor. The formula was developed relatively recently, but today it is the most accurate. It helps to calculate the required amount of kcal for a person aged 13 to 80 years.
Simplified version (without taking into account physical activity)
- For women: (10 x weight in kg) + (6. 25 x height in cm) – (5 x age in g) – 161;
- For men: (10 x weight in kg) + (6, 25 x height in cm) – (5 x age in g) + 5.
Ketch-McArdle caloric formula
This calculation method is based on the amount of adipose tissue present in the body (we wrote about how to measure it in a previous article). The formula does not include information about height, age and gender, as it is assumed that these have been taken into account when calculating body fat percentage.
Formula for calculating PBM: 370 + 21. 6 x X (body weight excluding body fat)
The result obtained must be multiplied by the activity coefficient using the Harrison-Benedict method.
World Health Organization (WHO) formula.
The World Health Organization provides recommendations on how to calculate your daily calorie intake:
- For women aged 18 to 30 (0. 062 x weight in kg + 2. 036) x 240 x CFA;
- For women aged 31 to 60 (0. 034 x weight kg + 3. 538) x 240 x CFA;
- For women over 60 years old (0. 038 x weight in kg + 2. 755) × 240 x CFA;
- For men aged 18 to 30 (0. 063 x body weight in kg + 2. 896) x 240 x CFA;
- For men aged 31 to 60 (0, 484 x body weight in kg + 3, 653) x 240 x CFA;
- For men over the age of 60 (0. 491 x body weight in kg + 2. 459) x 240 x CFA.
Where CFA is the coefficient of physical activity: 1 - low, 1, 3 - medium, 1, 5 - high.
Daily calorie calculator
You can also calculate your average daily calorie intake using an online calculator.
How to correctly reduce your daily calorie intake to lose weight?
For harmonious and safe weight loss, it is recommended to reduce the calorie content of the diet, taking into account physical activity, by 10-15% (by 20% in case of severe obesity). The daily calorie content should not be less than the following indicator:
Weight in kg/0. 45 x 8
WHO recommends reducing food intake by 500 kcal per month compared to the current diet until the calorie content is 300-500 kcal less than the daily requirement.
Reducing your daily intake by 500 kcal per day leads to a loss of approximately 500 grams of fat mass per week. After six months of such weight loss or upon reaching the ideal weight, it is recommended to recalculate the daily calorie intake taking into account the new indicators.
You should not reduce your calorie intake as much as possible to lose weight more effectively. A loss of 250-500 grams per week is considered physiological and safe for health. Exceeding these numbers means loss of muscle and fluid.
Protein, fat and carbohydrates in calorie counting
Effective weight loss not only means maintaining your daily calorie intake, but also proper distribution of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. A balanced diet according to the BJU report will look like this:
- To lose weight: 30-35% proteins, 30-35% fats, 30-40% carbohydrates;
- To maintain weight: 25-35% proteins, 25-35% fats, 40-50% carbohydrates;
- For weight gain: 35-40% protein, 15-25% fat, 40-60% carbohydrates.
With this distribution of BJU in the diet, the body receives sufficient amounts of nutrients and vitamins.
Do not forget that all formulas for calculating daily calorie content may contain errors. They do not take into account food absorption rate, health status, metabolic rate and other factors. Even a diet compiled by a specialist may not work in a particular case due to the individual characteristics of a person. In the process of building a beautiful and strong body, you should listen to your feelings and, if necessary, change your diet and KBJU ratio.
Control your diet, exercise and the results will not be long in coming!