Calculating calories in your diet plans
If you've tried
diet
plans that count calories, then you should be
aware of some calorie counting facts.
To burn 1 lb. of body fat,
you need to create a 3500 calorie deficit. For
example, eating 500 calories less each day
for seven days means that you would eat 3500
calories less each week, and therefore could lose 1
lb. per week.
There's no real magic to
understanding calories. Calories are simply a
measurement of the energy that comes from food:
-
Carbohydrates:
contain four calories per gram
-
Protein: contains
four calories per gram
-
Fat: contains nine
calories per gram
-
Alcohol: contains
seven calories per gram
When you take in more
calories from food than you spend through breathing,
movement, and exercise, then you gain weight. If you
burn more calories than you take in, then you lose
weight.
Determining your daily calorie requirements for
losing weight
To determine your daily
calorie requirements:
Step 1: Calculate
the number of calories required for basic
metabolic functions (breathing, heartbeat, etc.).
(Healthy Body Weight) x 10 = basic
calories
Step 2: Calculate
your calories required for activity.
(Activity Factor) x (Healthy Body
Weight) = activity calories
The activity factors are:
-
Sedentary = 3 (no exercise)
-
Moderately active = 4
(20-30 minutes exercise 3 to 5 times/week)
-
Active = 5 (60 minutes
exercise 3 to 5 times per week)
-
Very active = 7 (60 minutes
exercise 5 times per week)
-
Extremely active = 10 (120
minutes exercise 5 times per week or more)
Step 3: Add step 1 and step 2 values to
determine the number of calories required to lose or
maintain healthy body weight. |
