Categories: Fitness

Calculating Your Calorie Diet For Weight Loss

Table of Contents

“Calories” is the first word that comes to the minds of many when starting a weight loss diet. However, weight loss does not mean that you have to curtail your calorie intake completely, as that may lead to hazardous health consequences that may ultimately lead to malnutrition and eventually serious survival issues! It is important to understand the implication of a dietary calorie in order to appreciate its importance in carrying out life processes. In simple terms, a dietary calorie is a measure of the amount of energy that a given quantity of food supplies to the body.

One should supply the body with a certain number of calories for maintaining health before considering their curtailment for weight loss. The quantity of the calories required differs individually. There are certain factors such as your body weight and lifestyle that determine the calorie requirements of your body. Your weight loss diet should supply the body with the minimum number of calories it requires.

Quantities of foods that supply higher calories should be avoided. Generally, more of foods high in proteins, vitamins and dietary fiber should be consumed as the calories they supply the body with are lesser than the calories supplied by the same quantities of foods high in simple carbohydrates and fats.

Calculating Your Calorie Diet For Weight Loss

Minimum Calories In Your Weight Loss Diet

The number of calories that your body requires for maintaining your life processes, called BMR ( Basal Metabolic Rate) can be calculated using the Harris Benedict equation, according to which the minimum calories required by you depends on your age, height and weight.

BMR= 655+ (4.35X weight (pounds)) + (4.7 X height(inches))- (4.7-age(years)). Your weight loss diet should compulsorily supply your body with BMR for sustenance. Any excess calories should be curtailed.

Calories Needed To Maintain Weight

You gain weight when the calories that you consume exceed the number of calories that you spend in performing daily activities, significantly. Your daily activity can be classified as sedentary, light activity, moderate activity, and high activity. Sedentary activity involves low physical movement and its Activity Factor (AF) is 4. Light activity involves greater movement than sedentary and has an AF of 1.5.

Moderate activity involves light physical labor and is rated at AF 1.6. Very active lifestyle such as that of athletes and those in the military has an AF of 1.9. The calories that you need to maintain your current body weight is your BMR X Activity Factor.

Calories To Reduce For Weight Loss

You should supply your body with lesser calories than your BMR X Activity Factor in order to lose weight. However, you should take care to maintain your calorie intake at higher than your BMR.

You should make a calorie chart of the foods that you consume so that you do not consume more than the amount prescribed for your weight loss.

Eat A Balanced Diet

It should be noted that for losing weight, you need not sacrifice your favorite foods. You should monitor the quantity of your favorite food that you consume and the type of exercise that you have to perform to burn it.

Generally, high protein foods, help in burning excess calories by boosting your metabolism, but you can have other foods too.