If after a week of accurate calorie counting and strict monitoring of physical activity and sleep patterns, positive dynamics in the form of visual body recomposition and reflection in the mirror are not observed, then it is recommended to check and inquire.
Carbohydrate breakdown:
Morning (short starchy) - bread without yeast, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pita bread, scone, baked goods without sugar and yeast.
Lunch (long starch) - rice, lentils, beans, buckwheat, chickpeas, quinoa, bulgur, flakes).
Evening (vegetables) + YOU MUST allow yourself your favorite product for 200-300 kcal (fruit, natural chocolate, baked goods without yeast) within the calorie limits and BZHU no later than 2 hours before bedtime.
If you have less than 100 grams of carbohydrates when counting calories, this indicates that you have an elevated 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 fibrous and alkaline foods: greens, celery, radishes, cucumbers, spinach, cauliflower and white cabbage, beets, carrots, garlic, seaweed, broccoli, avocados, lemons.
ON TRAINING DAYS 120 minutes before training, add an additional 100 grams of carbohydrates from short starchy carbohydrates (yams, potatoes, yeast-free bread, pita bread, scones, baked goods without sugar and yeast).
PUT ON THE CALORIES.
For example: you need to eat 150 grams of carbohydrates per day, 100 of them should be consumed before training, and the rest should be distributed throughout the day.
During training, drink ONLY plain water without various BCAAs and amino acids (due to insulin spikes, which are not needed during training).
Add 5-7 grams of salt per day (table or iodized)
REDUCE, and ideally ELIMINATE the number of exercisers: coffee, tea, tobacco, alcohol.
Buy a kitchen scale. Weigh grains, vegetables, and other unprocessed foods. Meat, fish, poultry are ready.
Give preference to 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- and yeast-free baked goods)
In the diet, it is recommended to give preference to foods that cause an alkaline reaction, to eliminate or reduce to 1 meal per day foods that cause an oxidative reaction: poultry, red meat, gluten, sugar, seafood. Farm eggs and farm dairy products are allowed. Food with an acidity of 6. 0 - 10. 0 PH. A more detailed table in the link.
Livestock products, freshly killed or vacuum-packed, are allowed. Avoid frozen and frozen animal products.
The presence of a product that gives you psychological pleasure is a MUST in terms of calories and macros (BZHU).
If it is not possible to reach your daily calorie allowance with the "RIGHT" foods, we include the maximum amount of calories in the macro command (BZHU).
The number of meals is not important, eat strictly according to your appetite (divide your "food basket" into the number of meals convenient for you).
The components of the diet can be changed according to your preferences in the macro command (BZHU).
- B12, iron deficiency anemia, weakness, increased fatigue, impaired hematopoiesis (paleness and yellowing of the skin and mucous membranes, frequent heart palpitations, heart pain, intolerance to physical exertion, dizziness and frequent fainting, enlarged spleen), damage to the digestive system (digestive disorders, unstablefeces, loss of appetite, weight loss, change in color and shape of the tongue, taste disturbance, frequent mouth infections, abdominal pain after eating), damage to the nervous system (impairment of sensitivity, paresthesia, ataxia, decrease in muscle strength). , impaired urination, mental disorder).
- Hypothyroidism. Reduced 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, impaired memory and intelligence), growth retardation in children. and intellectual development.
- Metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance). Increased body weight in the abdominal area, metabolic disorders, insulin resistance. Subjective sensations: bad mood attacks due to hunger, increased fatigue, food selectivity, 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 for each person individually, taking into account their physical characteristics and lifestyle.
Where to start?
Before calculating how many calories you need to consume to lose weight, you must first determine your daily allowance. Basically, calories are energy. Most of it is spent every day to maintain the functioning of the body: breathing, heartbeat, food digestion, etc. The researchers found that:
- Men burn more calories than women.
- The older a person is, the less energy they expend.
- During adolescence, pregnancy and illness, you need many more calories.
- Physical activity increases calorie consumption.
In addition, there are individual characteristics of the body, determined by genetics, which determine the rate of calorie consumption. However, on average, you can calculate quite simply how many calories you will consume per day so that you not only do not gain weight, but also lose it.
For example, you can use the formula of scientists Mifflin and San Geor. It was introduced in 2005. and proved 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 just add your weight and height and then subtract your age. Next, men add 5, and women subtract 161. The resulting result is multiplied by the activity coefficient:
- 1. 2 - days you lie on the couch or work in the office.
- 1. 375 – 3 times a week you remember to exercise.
- 1. 55 - an active athlete who does sports 5 times a week.
- 1. 725 - you actively train every day.
- 1. 9 is a fanatical athlete and works as a forklift truck during breaks.
That is, for a 35-year-old accountant weighing 85 kg and 180 cm tall, the calculation will look like this (due to work, there is no time 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 peacefully without gaining weight. However, in order to lose weight, you will need to calculate how many calories you will consume.
How to lose weight by counting calories?
The golden rule of weight loss is to burn more calories than you consume. But you can't just suddenly reduce the amount of food you eat. The body does not like it. Instead, it's back to pulling out the calculator and calculating 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, in order to prepare for the summer, our accountant must master:
1966, 8-20%=1573, 44 calories.
If she has an idea to improve, she needs to do the exact opposite. But it doesn't end there. There are a few other conditions to consider:
- The number of calories consumed should not fall below 1200. Otherwise, the body will not have enough energy to live and various chronic diseases may develop.
- You cannot calculate how many calories you need per day to lose weight, eat them in the morning and walk around hungry all day. Desire to divide meals into 5-6 meals. In this way, the stomach and intestines will be constantly busy with work, the feeling of hunger will be less disturbing, and the whole diet will become much more pleasant.
- It is necessary to monitor not only calories, but also nutrients. Food should be varied so as not to provoke vitamin deficiency and other health problems.
- We must not forget about water. Drinking a lot of fluids speeds up metabolic processes in the body and removes toxins. It is a great 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 much 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 is another way to lose weight without dieting. If we take our accountant and book her 5 sessions at the 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 have to improve her diet even a little and start eating more high-calorie foods, recalculate. And at the same time, she will still lose weight quite quickly.
Why can't you cut 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 doesn't work that way. A fasting day once a week will create positive stress and can actually accelerate weight loss. After a long period of fasting, less positive changes appear:
- hair falls out and the condition of the skin worsens;
- a person becomes irritable and easily gets depressed;
- the functioning of the digestive organs and kidneys is impaired;
- 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 falls more slowly than it should. And when you stop starving, weight increases quickly.
It's better to keep track of how many calories you need to consume to lose weight and take your time. Experts in healthy nutrition advise not to try to suddenly lose 5-10-15 kg by cutting calories. Natural weight changes should be about 1-1. 5 kg per week. This is the most comfortable weight loss rate for the average person that we should aim for.
How to calculate daily calories
Any diet, regardless of the goal, begins with calculating the daily rate 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 amount of calories is calculated based on the goal (weight loss, maintenance, weight gain), gender, age, physical activity and other factors.
What is basal metabolism?
The daily caloric intake is calculated from the basal metabolic rate (BMR), the amount of energy required by the body to maintain vital processes. Even at rest, the human body constantly expends calories for breathing, digestion, blood circulation and other physiological processes. The daily amount of calories must be higher than the BMR, otherwise the body will not be able to function normally.
Basal metabolic rate 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 by him is measured, after which the PBM is calculated. This research method is the most accurate, but also inaccessible.
The indirect method involves calculating the basal metabolic rate using a special formula. There are several basic calculation methods available today. Let's list the main ones.
Harrison-Benedict formula calorie calculation
The formula was developed at the beginning of the last century by the American physiologist Francis Gano Benedict and botanist James Arthur Harris, but it remains relevant. The error is 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 caloric rate required by the body for normal functioning. 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 (training for at least 20 min. 1-3 times a week);
- 1. 55 – moderate (training 30-60 min. 3-4 times a week);
- 1, 7 – high (training 30-60 min. 5-7 times a week; hard physical work);
- 1, 9 – extreme (several intense training sessions per day 6-7 times per week; very demanding work).
Calculating calories using the Mifflin-San Geor formula
The method of calculating the daily calorie intake was developed by nutritionists led by 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 from 13 to 80 years old.
Simplified version (regardless of 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 adipose tissue in the body (we wrote about how to measure it in the previous article). Information about height, age, and gender is not included in the formula because it is assumed that these were taken into account when calculating body fat percentage.
Formula for calculating PBM: 370 + 21. 6 x X (body weight without 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 the daily calorie rate:
- For women aged 18 to 30 (0. 062 x weight kg + 2. 036) x 240 x CFA;
- For women aged 31 to 60 (0. 034 x weight kg + 3. 538) x 240 x CFA;
- For women over 60 years of age (0. 038 x weight kg + 2. 755) × 240 x CFA;
- For men aged 18 to 30 (0. 063 x body weight kg + 2. 896) x 240 x CFA;
- For men aged 31 to 60 (0. 484 x body weight kg + 3. 653) x 240 x CFA;
- For men over 60 years of age (0. 491 x body weight kg + 2. 459) x 240 x CFA.
Where 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 calories to lose weight?
In order to lose weight harmoniously and safely, it is recommended to reduce the caloric content of the diet by 10-15% (in case of severe obesity - by 20%), taking into account physical activity. The daily calorie intake should not be less than this indicator:
Weight kg/0. 45 x 8
WHO recommends reducing the amount of food consumed 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 week results in 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 rate, taking into account the new indicators.
You shouldn't cut 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 these numbers means muscle and fluid loss.
Protein, fat and carbohydrates in the calorie count
Effective weight loss is not only about maintaining the daily caloric intake, but also about 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% protein, 30-35% fat, 30-40% carbohydrates;
- To maintain weight: 25-35% protein, 25-35% fat, 40-50% carbohydrates;
- For weight gain: 35-40% protein, 15-25% fat, 40-60% carbohydrates.
With this distribution of BJU in food, the body receives enough nutrients and vitamins.
Do not forget 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 prepared by a specialist may not work in a particular case due to the individual characteristics of a person. When creating 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!