Calorie Confusion

One of the main problems with the diet industry today is the constant push for lower calories and appetite suppressants. This has given people the idea that eating bird food and baby sized portions is the secret to fixing all of their weight loss problems. “If I just stop eating or skip meals, I’ll be skinny in no time!” Sure you might drop a few pounds quickly from starving yourself, but what happens when the body adapts? What happens when the weight loss stops before you have hit your goal?

With 1 in 9 people in the world now being considered obese, there is no doubt we need to lower our caloric intake. But, this needs to be done on a healthy level. If you cut your daily intake much lower than you daily needs, many problems can arise. One of the main issues is that your metabolism will slow down to accommodate the restrictions. This is why so many crash dieters will lose weight, then put it right back on when returning to a normal diet. Putting yourself in this starvation mode will also force your body to use lean body tissue for fuel, putting all organs and muscle at risk.

Lowering your lean mass is the last thing you want to do when dieting because the more muscle you have, the higher you Resting Metabolic Rate will be. RMR is simply the number of calories your body will burn in one day if it stayed at rest. Knowing your RMR will go a long way in determining the specific number of calories your body needs on a daily basis. To find a true RMR you need to perform a scientific test that measures your body while at rest. This can be done at many medical institutes or at a Life Time Fitness near, even without a membership. The alternative, a RMR formula, is not nearly as accurate and does not take into account any genetic traits that may affect your metabolism.  There are many different formulas available online, but I have found the Mifflin-St Jeor equation to be most accurate.( http://www.freedieting.com/calorie_needs.html ) It will take a calculator and a little converting to figure out but what else are you gonna do at work on a Monday?

Now that we have that magic number calculated we need to multiply it by your daily activity level. Here is the guide:

•  1.200 = sedentary (little or no exercise)

•  1.375 = lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week, approx. burns 590 Cal/day)

•  1.550 = moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week, approx. 870 Cal/day)

•  1.725 = very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week, approx. burns 1150 Cal/day)

•  1.900 = extra active (very hard exercise/sports and physical job, approx. burns 1580 Cal/day)

This new sum is the number that represents the amount of calories you would need daily to maintain exactly where you are. So, if you want to lose weight, subtract 500-1,000 calories from this number (making sure to never go below 1,200) to start your program. To gain weight, just add 200-500 calories.

Take a deep breath, that is all the math you will need! Keep in mind, these formulas are very basic and your diet may have to be tweaked in order to obtain optimal results. This will give you a very good base to start with. Calories burned should be greater than calories taken in for weight loss, but not at unhealthy levels.

Your body also needs all the vitamins and minerals offered in food, so make sure to keep those levels up while limiting your caloric intake. Supplementation is a great way to make this happen. Once again these are all very basic ways of determining how many calories you need each day. Everyone is different so be prepared to adjust the accordingly. The main point to remember is we are not trying to starve ourselves to lose weight, just simply burn more than we put it. But how are we going to know what to put in if we don’t know what we burn? If any of you have trouble calculating your RMR or have any other questions just contact me so we can look at your needs on an individual basis. Now balance out those calories and start feeling better immediately! Eat well, exercise hard, and BRING IT!!!!