If within a week after counting calories accurately and strictly observing physical activity and sleep patterns, you do not have positive dynamics in the form of visual reconstruction of the body and reflection in the mirror, it is recommended to do a test and seek advice.
Carbohydrate distribution:
Morning (short starch) - yeast-free bread, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pita bread, flat bread, baked goods without sugar and yeast.
Lunch (long starches) - rice, lentils, beans, buckwheat, chickpeas, quinoa, bulgur, cereals).
Evening (vegetables) + YOU MUST allow yourself your favorite product for 200-300 kcal (fruits, natural chocolate, baked goods without yeast) within the caloric content and BZHU no later than 2 hours beforesleep.
If in a calorie calculation you have less than 100 grams of carbohydrates, this indicates that you have 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 fibrous and alkaline foods: Greens, celery, radishes, cucumber, 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, flat bread, baked goods without sugar and yeast).
ADD IN CALORIES.
For example: you need to eat 150 grams of carbohydrates per day, respectively, eat 100 of them before training, and distribute the rest throughout the day.
DURING TRAINING, drink plain water exclusively without BCAAs and various amino acids (due to unwanted insulin surges during training).
Add 5-7 grams of salt per day (table or iodized)
READ, and ideally, REMOVE, the number of simulators: coffee, tea, tobacco, alcohol.
Buy kitchen scales. Weigh grains, vegetables and other foods in their raw form. Ready meat, fish, poultry.
Give preference to polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (omega 3, vegetable oils, nuts, avocados, seeds).
Carbohydrate ratio, 30% fructose (fruit, natural chocolate), 70% starch (rice, buckwheat, potato, gluten-free flour, baked goods without sugar and yeast)
In nutrition, it is recommended to give priority to foods that give an alkaline reaction, remove or reduce to 1 meal a day foods that give an oxidizing reaction: poultry, red meat, gluten, sugar, seafood. Farm eggs and farm dairy products are allowed. Food with acidity 6. 0 - 10. 0 PH. More detailed table at the link.
Freshly slaughtered or vacuum-packed livestock products are permitted for consumption. Avoid refrigerated and frozen animal products.
The presence of a product that gives you psychological pleasure IS MANDATORY, within the calorie and macro content (BZHU).
If it is impossible to reach your daily calorie intake with the "RIGHT" foods, we include the maximum number of calories in the macro (BZHU).
The number of meals is not important; eat strictly according to your appetite (distribute your "food basket" in several meals that are convenient for you).
The components of the diet can be changed depending on your own preferences within the macro (BZHU).
- B12-, iron deficiency anemia, weakness, increased fatigue, impaired hematopoiesis (pallor and yellowness 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 stool, loss of appetite, weight loss, change in the color and shape of the tongue, taste disturbance, frequent mouth infections, abdominal pain after eating), damage to the nervous system (impaired sensitivity, paresthesia, ataxia, decreased muscle strength, impaired urination, mental disorder).
- Hypersensitivity. 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, reduced memory and intelligence), growth retardationin children. and intellectual development.
- Metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance). Weight gain in the abdominal area, metabolic disorders, insulin resistance. Subjective feelings: attacks of bad mood in a hungry state, increased fatigue, pickiness 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 their physical characteristics and lifestyle.
Where to start?
Before you calculate how many calories you eat to lose weight, you must first determine your daily intake. Basically, calories are energy. Most of it is consumed daily to maintain the functioning of the body: breathing, heartbeat, digestion of food, etc. Scientists discovered:
- Men burn more calories than women.
- The older a person gets, the less energy they expend.
- During adolescence, pregnancy and illness, you need a lot more calories.
- Physical activity increases the rate of calorie consumption.
In addition, there are individual characteristics of the body, set by genetics, which determine the rate of calorie consumption. However, on average, you can simply calculate how many calories to eat per day to not only gain weight, but also 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 version. To calculate you must:
- Weight increased by 10.
- Height increased by 6. 25.
- Age increased by 5.
Then all that's left is to add your weight and height, and then 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 sofa for days or work in the office.
- 1. 375 – 3 times a week you remember that you need to go in for sports.
- 1. 55 – active athlete who works out 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 female accountant weighing 85 kg and 180 cm tall, the calculation will look like this (due to work, there is no time left for sports):
((85x10) + (180x6. 25) - (35x5) - 161) x 1. 2 = 1966. 8 calories.
This amount of energy will be enough for her to live and work calmly, without gaining weight. But to lose weight, you will need to calculate how many calories to eat.
How to lose weight by counting calories?
The golden rule for losing weight is to burn more calories than you eat. But you cannot suddenly reduce the amount of food you eat. The body does not like this. Instead, you need to take out the calculator again and calculate how many calories you need to eat to lose weight. To do this, you need to subtract 15-20% from the previous result. That is, our female accountant, to prepare for the summer, must absorb:
1966. 8-20%=1573. 44 calories.
If she has the idea of getting better, then she has to do the opposite. But it doesn't end there. There are some other conditions that must be taken into account:
- The number of calories consumed should not fall below 1200. Otherwise, the body will not have enough energy to survive and chronic diseases of various types may develop.
- You cannot calculate how many calories you need per day to lose weight, eat them in the morning and walk around hungry all day. Desire to divide meals into 5-6 times. In this way, the stomach and intestines will always be busy with work, the feeling of hunger will interfere less, and the diet as a whole will be much more pleasant.
- It is necessary to monitor not only calories, but also nutrients. Food should be changed so that it does not trigger vitamin deficiency and other health problems.
- We must not forget about water. Drinking large amounts of fluids speeds up the metabolic processes in the body and removes toxins. This is a great help for quick weight loss.
Therefore, some nutritionists advise not to pay 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 a proper balance is maintained, a person will lose weight quickly regardless of the number 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 her to 5-hour classes at a fitness club, it turns out that she no longer needs 1966. 8 calories, but:
((85x10) + (180x6. 25) - (35x5) -161) x 1. 55 = 2540. 45 calories.
That is, it turns out that she will even have to improve her diet a little and start eating more high-calorie foods, recalculating. And at the same time, she will still lose weight quite quickly.
Why can't you reduce your diet too much?
If you start counting how many calories you need to eat 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 fasting day once a week will create positive stress and can really speed up weight loss. With long fasting, already less positive changes occur:
- the hair falls out and the skin condition worsens;
- the person becomes irritable and gets depressed easily;
- the functioning of the digestive organs and kidneys is affected;
- concentration and ability to think progressively decreases.
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 stopping fasting, weight gain happens quickly.
It is better to keep track of how many calories you need to eat to lose weight, and do not rush into anything. Healthy nutrition experts advise not to try to lose 5-10-15 kg suddenly by cutting calories. Natural weight changes should be about 1-1. 5 kg per week. This is the most comfortable rate of weight loss for the average person, and that is what we should strive for.
How to calculate daily calorie intake
Any diet, regardless of the goal, begins with calculating the daily intake of calories, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. In this article we will talk about the most accurate methods to determine the 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?
Calculation of daily caloric intake begins with the calculation of the basal metabolic rate (BMR) - the amount of energy required by the body to support vital processes. The human body, even when it is at rest, constantly burns calories for breathing, digestion, blood circulation and other physiological processes. The daily caloric intake must be higher than the 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, a person is placed in a special room, where the amount of heat he consumes is measured, after which the PBM is calculated. This research method is the most accurate, but at the same time it is not accessible.
The indirect method involves calculating basal metabolism using a special formula. Today there are several main methods of calculation. Let's list the main ones.
Harrison-Benedict calorie calculation formula
The American physiologist Francis Gano Benedict and the botanist James Arthur Harris developed the formula at the beginning of the last century, but it is still relevant. There is an error of about 5%.
The formula for calculating the PBM is as follows:
- For women: 655. 1 + (9. 563 x weight in kg) + (1. 85 x height in cm) - (4. 676 x age in years);
- For men: 66. 5 + (13. 75 x weight in kg) + (5. 003 x height in cm) - (6. 775 x age in years).
The result obtained is the daily calorie intake required by the body for normal functioning. To calculate how many kcal you need to eat to maintain 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 (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 (workouts 30-60 minutes 5-7 times a week; heavy physical work);
- 1. 9 – very big (several hard exercises a day 6-7 times a week; very hard work).
Calorie calculation using the Mifflin-San Geor formula. . . .
Nutritionists developed the method to calculate daily caloric intake under the guidance of doctors Mifflin and San Geor. The formula was developed 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 (excluding 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 method of calculation is based on the amount of fatty tissue 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 these are assumed to have been 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 provides recommendations on how to calculate your daily caloric intake:
- For women from 18 to 30 years of age (0. 062 x weight in kg + 2. 036) x 240 x CFA;
- For women from 31 to 60 years of age (0. 034 x weight in kg + 3. 538) x 240 x CFA;
- For women over 60 years of age (0. 038 x weight in kg + 2. 755) x 240 x CFA;
- For men from 18 to 30 years of age (0. 063 x body weight in kg + 2. 896) x 240 x CFA;
- For men from 31 to 60 years of age (0. 484 x body weight in kg + 3. 653) x 240 x CFA;
- For men over 60 years of age (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 properly reduce daily calorie intake to lose weight?
For harmonious and safe weight loss, it is recommended to reduce the caloric content of the diet, taking into account physical activity, 10-15% (under 20% for severe obesity). The daily calorie content should not be lower than the following indicator:
Weight in kg/0. 45 x 8
WHO recommends reducing food intake by 500 kcal per month from the actual diet until the calorie content is 300-500 kcal below the daily requirement.
If the daily intake is reduced by 500 kcal per day, approximately 500 grams of fat mass will be lost per week. After six months of such weight loss or after reaching your ideal weight, it is recommended to recalculate the daily calorie intake taking into account 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. If you go over these numbers, muscle and fluid will be lost.
Proteins, fats and carbohydrates when counting calories
Effective weight loss is not only about maintaining daily calorie intake, but also about the proper distribution of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. A balanced diet according to the BJU ratio will look like this:
- For weight loss: proteins 30-35%, fats 30-35%, carbohydrates 30-40%;
- Weight maintenance: proteins 25-35%, fats 25-35%, carbohydrates 40-50%;
- For weight gain: proteins 35-40%, fats 15-25%, carbohydrates 40-60%.
With this distribution of BJU in the diet, the body receives sufficient quantities of nutrients and vitamins.
Do not forget that all formulas for calculating daily calorie content may have errors. They do not take into account the percentage of food absorption, health status, metabolic rate and other factors. Even a diet compiled by a specialist may not work in a certain situation due to the individual characteristics of a person. In the process of building a beautiful, strong body, you should listen to your feelings, and, if necessary, change your diet and the ratio of KBJU.
Watch your diet, exercise, and the results will soon come!