If within a week after counting calories accurately and strictly observing physical activity and sleep patterns, you do not experience positive dynamics in the form of visual reorganization of the body and reflection in the mirror, then it is recommended to get tested and get advice.
Distribution of carbohydrates:
Morning (short starch) - bread without yeast, 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 products for 200-300 kcal (fruits, natural chocolate, baked goods without yeast) in calorie content and BZHU no later than 2 hours before bedtime.
If in the calorie calculation you have less than 100 grams of carbohydrates, then this indicates that you have an increased body mass index. Physical and physical activity should be increased. Recommended value: 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, carrots, cucumbers, spinach, cauliflower and white cabbage, beets, carrots, garlic, seaweed, broccoli, avocados, lemons.
ON THE DAY OF TRAINING, add an additional 100 grams of carbohydrates 120 minutes before training from short starch carbohydrates (yam, potatoes, unleavened 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, take 100 of them before training, and distribute the rest throughout the day.
DURING TRAINING, drink EXCLUSIVE plain water without various BCAAs and amino acids (due to unnecessary insulin spikes 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, chicken ready.
Give preference to polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (omega 3, vegetable oils, nuts, avocados, seeds).
Carbohydrate ratio, 30% fructose (fruit, natural chocolate), 70% starchy (rice, buckwheat, potato, gluten-free flour, sugar-free and yeast-free baked goods)
In nutrition, it is recommended to give preference to foods that give an alkaline reaction, remove or reduce to 1 serving a day foods that give an oxidative reaction: chicken, red meat, gluten, sugar, seafood. Farm eggs and farm dairy products are allowed. Food with acidity 6. 0 - 10. 0 PH. More detailed schedule at the link.
Livestock products either freshly killed or in vacuum packaging are allowed to be consumed. Avoid refrigerated and frozen animal products.
The presence of products that give you psychological pleasure IS MANDATORY, in terms of calories and macros (BZHU).
If it is impossible to achieve your daily calorie intake with the "RIGHT" food, we include the maximum calorie content in macros (BZHU).
The number of meals is not important; eat strictly according to your taste (distribute your "food basket" into several meals that are suitable for you).
It is possible to change the components of the diet depending on your own preferences in macro (BZHU).
- B12-, iron deficiency anemia, weakness, increased fatigue, impaired hematopoiesis (pale and yellowish 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, changes in color and shape of the tongue, taste disturbances, frequent mouth infections, abdominal pain after eating), damage to the nervous system (impaired sensitivity, paresthesia, ataxia, decreased muscle strength, impaired urination, 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 childrenchildren and intellectual development.
- Metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance). Weight gain in the abdominal area, metabolic disorders, insulin resistance. Subjective sensations: attacks of bad mood in the 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 their physical characteristics and lifestyle.
Where to start?
Before you calculate how many calories you need to eat to lose weight, you must first determine your daily intake. Basically, calories are energy. Most of it is spent every day to maintain body functions: breathing, heartbeat, digestion of food, etc. Scientists have found that:
- Men burn more calories than women.
- The older a person is, the less energy is expended.
- During adolescence, pregnancy and illness, you need 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 calculate how many calories should be taken every 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 been shown 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.
Then all that's left is to add your weight and height, and 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 sofa for days or work in the office.
- 1. 375 – 3 times a week you remember that you have to go in for sports.
- 1. 55 – an active athlete who exercises 5 times a week.
- 1. 725 – you practice 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 with a weight of 85 kg and a height of 180 cm, the calculation will look like this (because of 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 him to live and work calmly, without gaining weight. But to lose weight, you need to calculate how many calories to take.
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 get 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 accountants, to prepare for the summer, need to absorb:
1966. 8-20%=1573. 44 calories.
If he has an idea to be better, then he needs to do the opposite. But it doesn't end there. There are a few other conditions that need to be taken into account:
- The number of calories taken should not fall below 1200. Otherwise, the body will not have enough energy to live and various types of chronic diseases may develop.
- You can't count how many calories you need every day to lose weight, eat them in the morning and walk around hungry all day. The desire to divide food into 5-6 times. In this way, the stomach and intestines will always be busy with work, the feeling of hunger will be less disturbing, and the diet as a whole will be more enjoyable.
- It is necessary to monitor not only calories, but also nutrients. Food should be varied so as not to trigger vitamin deficiency and other health problems.
- We must not forget about water. Drinking plenty of fluids speeds up metabolic processes in the body and removes toxins. This is a 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 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 number of calories consumed.
By the way, there are other ways to lose weight without reducing your diet. If we take our female accountant and give her a subscription to 5 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 he also needs to improve his diet a little and start eating more high-calorie foods, recalculating. And at the same time, he will still lose weight quickly.
Why can't you reduce your diet too much?
If you start to calculate how many calories you need to take to lose weight, it seems 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. Fasting days once a week will create positive stress and can actually accelerate weight loss. With prolonged fasting, less positive changes have occurred:
- hair loss and skin conditions worsen;
- the person becomes irritable and easily depressed;
- the function of digestive organs and kidneys is disturbed;
- concentration and the ability to think coherently decreases.
At the same time, the body enters "energy saving mode". The metabolic process slows down and weight loss occurs more slowly than it should. And after stopping fasting, weight gain occurs quickly.
It's best to keep track of how many calories you need to eat to lose weight, and don't rush into anything. Healthy nutritionists advise not to try to suddenly lose 5-10-15 kg by cutting calories. The natural weight change should be about 1-1. 5 kg a week. This is the most comfortable rate of weight loss for the average person, which we should strive for.
How to calculate daily calorie intake
Any diet, regardless of the goal, begins by calculating the daily intake of calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates. In this article we will talk about the most accurate method to determine 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 calorie intake begins with the calculation of basal metabolic rate (BMR) - the amount of energy required by the body to support vital processes. The human body, even at rest, constantly spends calories for breathing, digestion, blood circulation and other physiological processes. The daily calorie intake must be higher than the BMR, otherwise the body will not be able to function normally.
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 eats is measured, after which 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 main 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 still remains relevant. Has an error of about 5%.
The PBM calculation formula 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 required by the body to function normally. To calculate how many kcal you need to eat to maintain weight, you need to multiply the resulting number by the physical activity coefficient:
- 1. 2 - minimal (sedentary work, lack of physical activity);
- 1. 375 – low (exercise at least 20 minutes 1-3 times a week);
- 1. 55 – moderate (exercise 30-60 minutes 3-4 times a week);
- 1. 7 – high (exercise 30-60 minutes 5-7 times a week; heavy physical work);
- 1. 9 – extreme (several intense exercises a day 6-7 times a week; very labor-intensive work).
Calculation of calories using the Mifflin-San Geor formula
The method for calculating daily calorie intake was developed by nutritionists under the guidance of doctors Mifflin and San Geor. This formula was developed relatively recently, but today it is the most accurate. It helps to calculate the number of kcal needed for a person aged 13 to 80 years.
Short 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 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 to calculate PBM: 370 + 21. 6 x X (body weight excluding body fat)
The results 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 from 18 to 30 years (0. 062 x weight in kg + 2. 036) x 240 x CFA;
- For women from 31 to 60 years (0. 034 x weight in 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 from 18 to 30 years (0. 063 x body weight in kg + 2. 896) x 240 x CFA;
- For men from 31 to 60 years (0. 484 x body weight in kg + 3. 653) x 240 x CFA;
- For men over 60 years old (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, taking into account physical activity, by 10-15% (by 20% for severe obesity). The daily calorie content should not be lower than the following indicators:
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.
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 when reaching your 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. Losing 250-500 grams per week is considered physiological and safe for health. Exceeding this figure means losing muscle and fluid.
Protein, fat and carbohydrates when counting calories
Effective weight loss is not only about maintaining daily calorie intake, but also about proper distribution of protein, fat and carbohydrates. A balanced diet according to the BJU ratio will look like this:
- For weight loss: 30-35% protein, 30-35% fat, 30-40% carbohydrates;
- To maintain body weight: 25-35% protein, 25-35% fat, 40-50% carbohydrates;
- For weight gain: 35-40% protein, 15-25% fat, 40-60% carbohydrates.
With the distribution of BJU in the diet, the body receives sufficient quantities of nutrients and vitamins.
Do not forget that all formulas for calculating the 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 prepared by a specialist may not work in certain cases 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 the ratio of KBJU.
Pay attention to your diet, exercise, and the results will not take long to arrive!