If within a week of accurately counting calories and carefully observing physical activity and sleep patterns, you do not experience positive dynamics in the form of visual recomposition of the body and reflection in the mirror, then it is recommended to be tested and seek advice.
Carbohydrate distribution:
Morning (short starch) - yeast-free bread, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pita bread, flat bread, pastries without sugar and yeast.
Lunch (long starchy) - rice, lentils, beans, buckwheat, chickpeas, quinoa, bulgur, cereals).
Evening (vegetables) + You MUST allow yourself your favorite product for 200-300 kcal (fruit, natural chocolate, baked goods without yeast) within the calorie content and BZHU no later than 2 hours before bedtime.
If in caloric calculations you have less than 100 grams of carbohydrates, this indicates that 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 MUST eat more fiber and alkaline foods: greens, celery, radishes, cucumber, spinach, cauliflower and white cabbage, beetroot, carrots, garlic, seaweed, broccoli, avocado, lemon.
ON EXERCISE DAYS, add another 100 grams of carbohydrates 120 minutes before exercise from short starchy carbohydrates (yams, potatoes, yeast-free bread, pita bread, flat bread, baked goods without sugar and yeast).
ADD WITHIN CALORIES.
For example: you must eat 150 grams of carbohydrates per day, consume 100 of them before training and distribute the rest throughout the day.
DURING EXERCISE Drink ONLY plain water without various BCAAs and amino acids (due to insulin spikes not needed during exercise).
Add 5-7 grams of salt per day (table or iodized)
REDUCE and ideally REMOVE the number of simulators: coffee, tea, tobacco, alcohol.
Buy kitchen scales. Weigh grains, vegetables and other foods in their raw form. Meat, fish, poultry 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, potatoes, gluten-free flour, sugar-free and yeast-free baked goods)
In nutrition, it is recommended to prioritize foods that cause an alkaline reaction, eliminate or reduce to 1 meal a day foods that cause an oxidative reaction: poultry, red meat, gluten, sugar, fish and shellfish. Farm eggs and farm dairy products are allowed. Food with acidity 6. 0 - 10. 0 PH. More detailed table at the link.
Livestock products either freshly killed or in vacuum packaging are permitted for human 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 caloric intake with the "CORRECT" foods, we include the maximum caloric content of the macro (BZHU).
The number of meals is not important; eat carefully according to your appetite (divide your "food basket" into a number of meals that suit you).
It is possible to change the components of the diet depending on your own preferences within the macro (BZHU).
- B12-, iron-deficiency anemia, weakness, increased fatigue, reduced hematopoiesis (pallor and yellowing 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 stools, loss of appetite, weight loss, change in color and shape of the tongue, taste disturbances, frequent oral infections, abdominal pain after eating), damage to the nervous system (decreased sensitivity, paresthesia, ataxia, decreased muscle strength, decreased 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), stunted growth in children and intellectual development.
- Metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance). Increased body weight in the abdominal area, metabolic disorders, insulin resistance. Subjective sensations: bouts of bad mood in a hungry state, increased fatigue, selectivity in food, bouts 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 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. Basically, calories are energy. Most of it is used daily to maintain body function: breathing, heartbeat, digesting food, etc. Scientists have found that:
- Men burn more calories than women.
- The older a person gets, the less energy he uses.
- During youth, 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, determined by genetics, which determine the rate of calorie consumption. But on average, you can easily calculate how many calories you need to consume per day in order not only to gain weight, but also to lose weight.
For example, you can use the formula of researchers 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 must:
- Weight multiplied by 10.
- Height multiplied by 6, 25.
- Age multiplied by 5.
Then all that remains is to add your weight and height together 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 trains 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 in order to lose weight, you will need to calculate how many calories you need to consume.
How to lose weight by counting calories?
The golden rule for losing weight is to burn more calories than you consume. But you can't suddenly reduce the amount of food you eat. The body does not like that. Instead, get out the calculator again and calculate how many calories you need to eat to lose weight. To do this, subtract 15-20% from the previous result. That is, our female accountant, in order to prepare for the summer, must absorb:
1966, 8-20%=1573, 44 calories.
If she has an idea to get better, then she has to do the opposite. But it doesn't end there. There are several other factors to consider:
- The number of calories consumed should not fall below 1200. Otherwise, the body will not have enough energy to live, and chronic diseases of various kinds may develop.
- You can't calculate how many calories you need per day to lose weight, eat them in the morning and go around starving all day. Desire to divide the meals into 5-6 times. In this way, the stomach and intestines will be constantly busy with work, the sensation of hunger will disturb less, and the diet as a whole will be much more pleasant.
- It is necessary to monitor not only calories, but also nutrients. The food should be varied so as not to provoke vitamin deficiency and other health problems.
- We must not forget water. Drinking large amounts of liquid speeds up metabolic processes in the body and removes toxins. This is a great help for rapid weight loss.
Therefore, some nutritionists advise not to pay too much 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 quickly lose weight 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 give her a subscription to 5 classes in 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 food, recalculate. And at the same time, she still wants to lose weight quite quickly.
Why can't you cut back too much on your diet?
If you start counting how many calories you need to consume 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 actually speed up weight loss. With prolonged fasting, less positive changes already occur:
- hair falls out and skin condition worsens;
- the person becomes irritable and becomes easily depressed;
- the function of the digestive organs and kidneys is disturbed;
- concentration and the ability to think coherently decrease.
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 the fast, weight gain happens quickly.
It's better to keep track of how many calories you need to eat to lose weight and not rush into anything. Healthy nutritionists recommend not trying to suddenly lose 5-10-15 kg by cutting calories. Natural weight changes should be around 1-1. 5 kg per week. This is the most comfortable rate of weight loss for the average person, which is what we should strive for.
How to calculate the daily calorie intake
Any diet, regardless of the goal, begins by calculating the daily intake of calories, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. In this article, we will talk about the most accurate methods of determining the daily calorie intake for men and women.
The calorie content is calculated depending on the goal (weight loss, maintenance, weight gain), gender, age, physical activity and other factors.
What is basal metabolism?
Calculating the daily calorie intake begins with the calculation of the basal metabolic rate (BMR) - the amount of energy that the body requires to support vital processes. The human body, even when at rest, is constantly using 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 chamber, 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 inaccessible.
The indirect method involves calculating basal metabolism using a special formula. Today there are several main methods of calculation. Let's list the most important 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 is still relevant. Has 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 result obtained is the daily calorie intake that the body requires for normal function. To calculate how many kcal you need to consume to maintain weight, multiply the resulting number 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 (training 30-60 minutes 3-4 times a week);
- 1, 7 – high (training 30-60 minutes 5-7 times a week; heavy physical work);
- 1, 9 – extreme (several intense trainings per day 6-7 times a week; very demanding work).
Calorie calculation using the Mifflin-San Geor formula
The method for calculating the daily calorie intake was developed by nutritionists under the guidance of doctors Mifflin and San Geor. The formula was developed relatively 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 (without taking physical activity into account)
- 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 adipose 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 are 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 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 (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 (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 a harmonious and safe weight loss, it is recommended to reduce the caloric content of the diet, taking into account physical activity, by 10-15% (by 20% for severe overweight). The daily calorie content should not be lower than the following indicator:
Weight in kg/0. 45 x 8
The WHO recommends reducing food intake by 500 kcal per month from the diet itself, 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 you have reached your ideal weight, it is recommended to recalculate the daily calorie intake taking into account new indicators.
You should not cut 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. Exceeding these numbers means loss of muscle and fluid.
Proteins, fats and carbohydrates when counting calories
Effective weight loss is not only about maintaining the daily calorie intake, but also about the correct 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% fat, 30-40% carbohydrates;
- To maintain weight: 25-35% proteins, 25-35% fat, 40-50% carbohydrates;
- For weight gain: 35-40% proteins, 15-25% fat, 40-60% carbohydrates.
With this distribution of BJU in the diet, the body receives sufficient amounts of nutrients and vitamins.
Do not forget that all formulas for calculating daily calorie intake can have errors. They do not take into account the percentage of food absorption, health status, metabolism and other factors. Even a diet prepared by a specialist may not work in a particular case 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 won't take long to arrive!