If within a week after correctly counting calories and strictly observing the pattern of physical activity and sleep you do not experience positive dynamics in the form of visual realignment of the body and reflection in the mirror, it is recommended to take tests and seek advice.
Carbohydrate distribution:
Morning (short starch) - unleavened bread, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pita bread, pancakes, unsweetened and unleavened baked goods.
Lunch (long starchy ones - rice, lentils, beans, buckwheat, chickpeas, quinoa, bulgur, cereals).
You MUST allow yourself your favorite product for evening (vegetables) + 200-300 kcal within the calorie content (fruits, natural chocolate, yeast-free baked goods) and BZHU no later than 2 hours before bedtime.
If you have less than 100 grams of carbohydrates in calorie calculations, this indicates that your body mass index has increased. Physical and physical activity should be increased. Recommended values: At least 100 grams of carbohydrates for women, at least 150 grams of carbohydrates for men.
You should consume more fibrous and alkaline foods: greens, celery, radish, cucumber, spinach, cauliflower and white cabbage, beets, carrots, garlic, seaweed, broccoli, avocado, lemon.
ON TRAINING DAYS, add an additional 100 grams of carbohydrates from short starchy carbohydrates (potatoes, potatoes, unleavened bread, pita bread, pancakes, unsweetened and yeast-free baked goods) 120 minutes before training.
ADD IN CALORIES.
For example: You need to eat 150 grams of carbohydrates per day, consume 100 grams of it before training and distribute the rest throughout the day.
DURING WORKOUT, drink exclusively plain water, which does not contain various BCAAs and amino acids (due to insulin fluctuations that are not needed 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. Meat, fish, poultry are ready.
Choose polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (omega 3, vegetable oils, nuts, avocados, seeds).
Carbohydrate content: 30% fructose (fruit, natural chocolate), 70% starchy (rice, buckwheat, potatoes, gluten-free flour, sugar-free and yeast-free baked goods)
It is recommended to give priority to foods that give an alkaline reaction in the diet, and to remove foods that give an oxidative reaction or reduce them to 1 meal a day: poultry, red meat, gluten, sugar, seafood. Farm eggs and farm dairy products are allowed. Foods with an acidity of 6. 0 - 10. 0 PH. A more detailed table is in the link.
Consumption of freshly killed or vacuum-packaged animal products is allowed. Avoid refrigerated and frozen animal products.
It is MANDATORY to have a product that gives you psychological pleasure within the calorie and macro content (BZHU).
If it is not possible to reach your daily calorie intake with "CORRECT" foods, we include the maximum calorie content in the macro (BZHU).
The number of meals does not matter, eat strictly according to your appetite (distribute your "food basket" over the number of meals that suit you).
It is possible to change the components of the diet within the macro (BZHU) according to your own preferences.
- B12-, iron deficiency anemia, weakness, increased fatigue, impaired hematopoiesis (pallor and jaundice of the skin and mucous membranes, rapid heartbeat, heart pain, exercise intolerance, dizziness and frequent fainting, spleen enlargement), damage to the digestive tract (Indigestion, unstable stool, loss of appetite, weight loss, change in color and shape of the tongue, taste disturbance, frequent mouth infections, abdominal pain after eating), damage to the nervous system (loss of sensitivity, paresthesia, ataxia, decreased muscle strength), impaired urination, mental disorder).
- Hypothyroidism. Decrease in physical and mental performance, increased fatigue, skin changes (myxedema), increased sensitivity to cold, hoarseness, weight gain, swelling in the face and body, constipation, hypotension and bradycardia, drowsiness, decreased memory and intelligence), growth retardation and intellectual disability in children development.
- Metabolic syndrome (Insulin resistance). Increased body weight in the abdominal area, metabolic disorders, insulin resistance. Subjective sensations: attacks of bad mood in case of hunger, increased fatigue, food selectivity, 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 their physical characteristics and lifestyle.
Where to start?
Before calculating how many calories you need to lose weight, you must first determine your daily intake. In fact, calories are energy. Most of it is spent on a daily basis to maintain the functioning of the body: breathing, heartbeat, digestion of food, etc. Scientists found that:
- Men burn more calories than women.
- As a person gets older, he spends less energy.
- You need many more calories during adolescence, pregnancy and illness.
- Physical activity increases the rate of calorie consumption.
In addition, there are individual characteristics of the body determined by genetics, which determine the rate of calorie consumption. But you can quite simply calculate how many calories you need to consume per day on average not only 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:
- The weight is multiplied by 10.
- Height 6 multiplied by 25.
- Age is multiplied by 5.
Then all that's left is to add your weight and height and subtract your age. Then men add 5 and women subtract 161. The result is multiplied by the activity coefficient:
- 1. 2 – you lie on the couch or work in the office for days.
- 1. 375 – You remember that you have to go to the gym 3 times a week.
- 1. 55 – active athlete who trains 5 times a week.
- 1. 725 – you actively train every day.
- 1. 9 is a fanatic athlete and you work as a loader during breaks.
So for a female accountant 35 years old, weighing 85 kg and 180 cm tall, the calculation will look like this (there is no time for sports due to work):
((85x10) + (180x6, 25) - (35x5) - 161) x 1, 2 = 1966, 8 calories.
This amount of energy will be enough for him to live and work calmly without gaining weight. However, you will need to calculate how many calories you need to consume to lose weight.
How to lose weight by counting calories?
The golden rule of 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 need to take out your calculator again and calculate how many calories you need to lose weight. To do this, you need to subtract 15-20% from the previous result. So, our female accountant needs to assimilate the following to prepare for summer:
1966, 8-20%=1573, 44 calories.
If he has any idea of healing, he must do the opposite. But it doesn't end there. There are a few other conditions to consider:
- The amount of calories consumed should not fall below 1200. Otherwise, there will not be enough energy in the body to survive and various chronic diseases may develop.
- You cannot calculate how many calories you need per day to lose weight, eat in the morning and walk around hungry all day. Desire to divide meals into 5-6 times. Thus, the stomach and intestines will be constantly busy with work, the feeling of hunger will be less confused, and the diet as a whole will become much more pleasant.
- It is necessary to monitor not only calories but also nutrients. Foods should be diversified so as not to trigger vitamin deficiency and other health problems.
- We must not forget water. Drinking large amounts of fluid accelerates metabolic processes in the body and removes toxins. This is a great helper for rapid weight loss.
For this reason, some nutritionists recommend not paying too much attention to the amount of calories consumed. They believe that it is much more important to monitor the ratio of nutrients in the diet. And if a proper balance is maintained, the person will lose weight quickly, regardless of the amount of calories consumed.
By the way, there is another way to lose weight without reducing your diet. If we take our female accountant and subscribe to classes in a fitness club 5 times, it turns out that she will no longer need 1966, 8 calories, but:
((85x10) + (180x6, 25) - (35x5) -161) x 1. 55 = 2540. 45 calories.
So, it turns out that he will have to slightly improve his diet and, by recalculating it, start eating more high-calorie foods. And at the same time it will continue to lose weight quite quickly.
Why not reduce your diet too much?
It may seem that the problem can be solved if you start counting how many calories you need to consume to lose weight, immediately reducing the amount of energy several times, or even to zero. But the human body doesn't work that way. Fasting one day a week will create positive stress and may actually accelerate weight loss. Less positive changes occur with prolonged fasting:
- hair falls out and skin condition worsens;
- the person becomes irritable and easily depressed;
- the functioning of the digestive organs and kidneys is disrupted;
- The ability to concentrate and think coherently decreases.
At the same time, the body goes into "energy saving mode". Metabolic processes slow down and weight loss occurs slower than it should. And after stopping fasting, weight gain occurs rapidly.
It is better to keep track of how many calories you need to eat to lose weight and not rush into anything. Healthy nutrition experts recommend that you do not try to suddenly lose 5-10-15 kilos 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 the average person, and this is what we should strive for.
How to calculate daily calorie intake?
Any diet, regardless of its purpose, begins with calculating the daily intake of calories, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. In this article, we will talk about the most accurate methods for determining daily calorie intake for men and women.
Calorie content is calculated depending on the goal (weight loss, maintenance, weight gain), gender, age, physical activity and other factors.
What is basal metabolism?
Calculating daily calorie intake begins with calculating the basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the amount of energy the body needs to support vital processes. The human body constantly expends calories for breathing, digestion, blood circulation and other physiological processes, even when at rest. Daily calorie intake must be higher than BMR, otherwise the body will not be able to function normally.
The level of basal metabolism can be determined by two methods: direct and indirect.
In the first case, the person is placed in a special room where the amount of heat he consumes is measured, and then the PBM is calculated. This method of research is the most accurate, but also inaccessible.
The indirect method involves calculating basal metabolism using a special formula. Today there are several main calculation methods. Let's list the main ones.
Harrison-Benedict formula calorie calculation
The formula was developed at the beginning of the last century by American physiologist Francis Gano Benedict and botanist James Arthur Harris, but it still remains valid. There is an error of about 5%.
The formula for calculating 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 calorie intake needed by the body for its normal functioning. To calculate how many kcal you need to consume to maintain your weight, you need to multiply the resulting figure by the physical activity coefficient:
- 1. 2 – minimal (sedentary work, lack of physical activity);
- 1. 375 – low (at least 20 minutes of training 1-3 times a week);
- 1. 55 – moderate (30-60 minutes of exercise 3-4 times a week);
- 1, 7 – high (30-60 minutes of exercise 5-7 times a week; heavy physical work);
- 1, 9 – extreme (6-7 times a week, several intense exercises a day; very labor-intensive work).
Calorie calculation 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 calorie formula
This calculation method is based on the amount of fat tissue in the body (we wrote about how to measure this in a previous article). Height, age and gender information are not included in the formula, but it is assumed that these are taken into account when calculating body fat percentage.
Formula to calculate 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 offers recommendations on how to calculate your daily calorie intake:
- For women ages 18 to 30, (0. 062 x weight in kg + 2. 036) x 240 x CFA;
- For women ages 31 to 60, (0. 034 x weight in kg + 3. 538) x 240 x CFA;
- For women over 60, (0. 038 x weight in kg + 2. 755) × 240 x CFA;
- For men aged 18 to 30 years (0. 063 x body weight kg + 2. 896) x 240 x CFA;
- For men aged 31 to 60 years (0. 484 x body weight kg + 3. 653) x 240 x CFA;
- For men over 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 - average, 1. 5 - high.
Daily calorie calculator
You can also calculate your average daily calorie intake using an online calculator.
How to properly reduce daily calorie intake to lose weight?
For harmonious and safe weight loss, it is recommended to reduce the calorie content of the diet by 10-15% (20% for severe obesity), taking into account physical activity. Daily calorie content should not be lower than the following indicator:
Weight kg/0. 45 x 8
WHO recommends reducing food intake from the main diet by 500 kcal per month until the calorie content falls 300-500 kcal below the daily requirement.
Reducing the 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 when you reach your ideal weight, it is recommended to recalculate the daily calorie intake taking into account new indicators.
To lose weight more effectively, you should not reduce your calorie intake as much as possible. A loss of 250-500 grams per week is considered safe for physiological and health. Exceeding these numbers means muscle and fluid loss.
Proteins, fats and carbohydrates when counting calories
Effective weight loss is not only about maintaining daily calorie intake, but also about the correct distribution of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. A balanced diet based on the BJU ratio would look like this:
- For weight loss: 30-35% protein, 30-35% fat, 30-40% carbohydrates;
- To maintain weight: 25-35% protein, 25-35% fat, 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 a sufficient amount of nutrients and vitamins.
Remember that all formulas used to calculate daily calorie content may be inaccurate. They do not take into account the percentage of food absorption, health status, metabolic rate and other factors. Even the diet compiled by a specialist may not work in a particular case due to the individual characteristics of the person. In the process of building a beautiful, strong body, you should listen to your feelings and, if necessary, change your diet and KBJU ratio.
Pay attention to your diet and exercise, and the results won't be long in coming!