If you do not feel positive dynamics in the form of visual reconstruction of the body and reflection in the mirror within a week after accurately counting calories and strictly following physical activity and sleep, then it is recommended to take a test and seek advice.
Carbohydrate Distribution:
Breakfast (short starch) - unleavened bread, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pita bread, flat bread, sugar-free and yeast-free baked goods.
Lunch (those with long starches) - rice, lentils, beans, buckwheat, peas, quinoa, bulgur, cereals).
Evening (vegetables) + You should allow your favorite product for caloric content and 200-300 kcal within BZHU (fruits, natural chocolate, unleavened baked goods) no later than 2 hours before bedtime.
If you have less than 100 grams of carbs in your calorie count, it means 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 should eat more fibrous and alkaline foods: greens, celery, radishes, cucumbers, spinach, cauliflower and white cabbage, beets, carrots, garlic, seaweed, broccoli, avocados, lemons.
ON TRAINING DAYS, add an additional 100 grams of carbohydrates 120 minutes before training from short starch carbohydrates (yams, potatoes, unleavened bread, pita bread, rice, unsweetened and unleavened baked goods).
ADD CALORIES.
For example: you need to eat 150 grams of carbohydrates per day, respectively, consume 100 of them before training and distribute the rest throughout the day.
During TRAINING, drink EXCLUSIVE plain water that does not contain various BCAAs and amino acids (due to unnecessary insulin spikes during exercise).
Add 5-7 grams of salt per day (table or iodized)
REDUCE and ideally ELIMINATE the number of simulators: coffee, tea, tobacco, alcohol.
Buy kitchen scales. Eat whole grains, vegetables, and other foods raw. Meat, fish, poultry are ready.
Opt for polyunsaturated and monounsaturated 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 bakery products)
In nutrition, it is recommended to give preference to foods with an alkaline reaction, to remove foods with an oxidizing reaction or to reduce them to 1 meal a day: poultry, red meat, gluten, sugar, seafood. Farm eggs and farm dairy products are allowed. Food with an acidity of 6. 0 - 10. 0 PH. More detailed table in the link.
Freshly cut or vacuum-packed livestock products are allowed for consumption. Avoid chilled and frozen animal products.
It is a MUST to have a product that gives you psychological pleasure, within the calorie and macro content (BZHU).
If it is not possible to meet your daily calorie intake with the "RIGHT" foods, we enter the maximum amount of calories in the macro (BZHU).
The number of meals is not important, eat according to your appetite (distribute the "food basket" into a number of meals that are convenient for you).
Within Macro (BZHU) it is possible to change the components of the diet depending on your preferences.
- B12-, iron deficiency anemia, weakness, increased fatigue, impaired hematopoiesis (paleness 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 disturbances, frequent mouth infections, abdominal pain after eating), damage to the nervous system (disturbance of sensitivity, paresthesia, ataxia, decreased muscle strength, impaired urination), mental disorder).
- 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 and intellectualdevelopment.
- Metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance). Weight gain in the abdomen, metabolic disorders, insulin resistance. Subjective feelings: bad mood attacks when hungry, increased fatigue, pickiness in food, 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 you need to eat to lose weight, you must first determine your daily intake. Essentially, calories are energy. Most of it is spent on a daily basis to ensure the functioning of the body: breathing, heartbeat, digestion of food, etc. Scientists have determined that:
- Men burn more calories than women.
- The older a person is, the less energy they use.
- During adolescence, pregnancy and illness, more calories are needed.
- Physical activity increases calorie consumption.
In addition, there are individual characteristics of the body, set by genetics, which determine the degree of calorie consumption. However, on average, you can simply calculate how many calories you need to consume per day to not only gain weight, but also lose weight.
For example, you can use the formula of scientists Mifflin and San George. It was introduced in 2005 and proved to be more effective than the Harris-Benedict variant. To calculate you need:
- The weight is multiplied by 10.
- The height is 6 multiplied by 25.
- Age is multiplied by 5.
Then just add up 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 couch or work in the office for days.
- 1. 375 - you remember that you need to do sports 3 times a week.
- 1. 55 – an active athlete who trains 5 times a week.
- 1. 725 – you exercise actively every day.
- 1. 9 is a fanatic athlete and you work as a loader during breaks.
That is, the calculation for a 35-year-old female accountant with a weight of 85 kg and a height of 180 cm will be as follows (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 without getting fat. But you will have to calculate how many calories you will consume to lose weight.
How to lose weight by counting calories?
The golden rule of weight loss is to burn more calories than you consume. But you cannot suddenly reduce the amount of food you eat. The body does not like it. Instead, you need to pull out the calculator again and calculate how many calories you need to eat to lose weight. For this, you need to subtract 15-20% from the previous result. That is, our female accountant should master the following to prepare for the summer:
1966, 8-20%=1573, 44 calories.
If he has any intention of getting better, then he should do the exact opposite. But it doesn't end there. There are a few other conditions to consider:
- The number of calories used should not fall below 1200. Otherwise, the body will not have enough energy to survive, and various types of chronic diseases may occur.
- You can't calculate how many calories you need per day to lose weight, eat in the morning and stay hungry all day. The desire to divide the meal into 5-6 meals. Thus, the stomach and intestines will be constantly engaged in work, the feeling of hunger will interfere less, and the diet as a whole will be more enjoyable.
- You need to control not only calories, but also nutrients. Food should be varied in order not to provoke vitamin deficiency and other health problems.
- We must not forget about water. Drinking large amounts of liquid accelerates metabolic processes in the body and removes toxins. This is an excellent aid 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 more important to control the ratio of nutrients in the diet. 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 classes at a fitness club, 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 he should improve his diet a little and start eating more high-calorie foods by recalculating. And at the same time, he will still lose weight quite quickly.
Why can't you reduce your diet too much?
If you start calculating how many calories you need to consume in order 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 the human body does not work like that. Fasting once a week will create positive stress and can actually accelerate weight loss. Less positive changes occur with long-term fasting:
- hair loss and skin condition deteriorates;
- a person becomes irritable and easily depressed;
- the functioning of the digestive organs and kidneys is disturbed;
- the ability to concentrate and think coherently decreases.
At the same time, the body enters "energy saving mode". Metabolic processes slow down and weight loss occurs more slowly than it should. And once you stop fasting, weight gain happens quickly.
It is better to monitor how many calories you need to eat to lose weight and do not rush into anything. Experts in healthy nutrition 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 weight loss rate for an ordinary person, we should strive for it.
How to calculate daily calorie intake
Any diet, regardless of its goal, begins with calculating the daily intake of calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates. In this article, we will talk about the most accurate methods for determining daily calorie intake for men and women.
The amount of calories 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 calorie intake begins with the calculation of the basal metabolic rate (BMR) - the amount of energy required by the body to support vital processes. Even at rest, the human body constantly uses calories for breathing, digestion, blood circulation and other physiological processes. Daily caloric intake must be higher than BMR, otherwise the body will not be able to function normally.
The level of basal metabolism can be determined in two ways: direct and indirect.
In the first case, a person is placed in a special chamber, where the amount of heat consumed is measured, after which the PBM is calculated. This research method is the most accurate, but at the same time inaccessible.
The indirect method involves calculating the basal metabolism using a special formula. Today, there are several basic calculation methods. Let's list the main ones.
Harrison-Benedict formula calorie calculation
The formula was developed by the American physiologist Francis Gano Benedict and botanist James Arthur Harris at the beginning of the last century, but it still remains relevant. 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 obtained result is the daily amount of calories required for the normal functioning of the body. To calculate how many kcal you need to consume to maintain weight, you need to multiply the number obtained by the physical activity coefficient:
- 1. 2 – minimal (sedentary work, lack of physical activity);
- 1. 375 – low (exercise for at least 20 minutes 1-3 times a week);
- 1. 55 – medium (30-60 minutes of training 3-4 times a week);
- 1. 7 – high (exercise 5-7 times a week for 30-60 minutes; hard physical work);
- 1. 9 – extreme (several intense exercises a day 6-7 times a week; labor-intensive work).
Calculating calories using the Mifflin-San George 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 it is the most accurate today. It helps to calculate the amount of kcal needed for a person from 13 to 80 years of age.
Simplified version (excluding physical activity)
- For women: (10 x weight kg) + (6, 25 x height cm) – (5 x age 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 it in the previous article). The formula does not include information on height, age, and gender, as these are assumed to be taken into account when calculating body fat percentage.
Formula for calculating PBM: 370 + 21. 6 x X (body weight excluding body fat)
The obtained result should be multiplied by the activity coefficient using the Harrison-Benedict method.
World Health Organization (WHO) formula
The World Health Organization provides recommendations for calculating daily calorie intake:
- For women from 18 to 30 years old (0, 062 x kg weight + 2, 036) x 240 x CFA;
- For women from 31 to 60 years of age (0, 034 x kg weight + 3, 538) x 240 x CFA;
- For women over 60 years of age (0, 038 x kg weight + 2, 755) × 240 x CFA;
- For men aged 18-30 (0. 063 x body weight + 2. 896 in kg) x 240 x CFA;
- For men from 31 to 60 years of age (0, 484 x body weight kg + 3, 653) x 240 x CFA;
- For men over 60 years of age (0, 491 x body weight + 2, 459 in kg) x 240 x CFA.
Here 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 by 10-15% (20% for severe obesity) taking into account physical activity. The daily calorie intake should not be lower than the following indicator:
Weight 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.
Reducing 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 after reaching the ideal weight, it is recommended to recalculate the daily calorie intake, taking into account the new indicators.
In order to lose weight more effectively, you should reduce your calorie intake as much as possible. A loss of 250-500 grams per week is considered physiological and safe for health. Exceeding these numbers means muscle and fluid loss.
Proteins, fats and carbohydrates when counting calories
Effective weight loss is not only maintaining the daily calorie intake, but also the proper distribution of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. A balanced diet according to the BJU ratio will look like this:
- For weight loss: 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% proteins, 15-25% fats, 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 for calculating the daily calorie intake may contain errors. They do not take into account the percentage of food absorption, health status, metabolic rate and other factors. Even a diet designed 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.
Pay attention to your diet, exercise and the results will not take long!