This
will determine how many calories you should consume
per day. Step 1 determines your BMR (basal metabolic
rate - your caloric needs to survive, essentially, to
keep your body from going into "starvation mode"
- one of the many reasons why simply not eating is a
very unhealthy way to lose weight)
Step
1 is to find your BMR:
For
Men:
BMR = 66 + (13.7 X weight in kilos) + (5 X height in
cm) - (6.8 X age in years)
For Women:
BMR = 655 + (9.6 X weight in kilos) + (1.8 X height
in cm) - (4.7 X age in years).
(Note:
1 inch = 2.54 cm; 1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs.)
Step 2 is to determine your daily caloric needs
To determine your total daily calorie needs, now multiply
your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:
| Activity
Level |
Formula
for Step 2 |
| If
you are Sedentary - little or no exercise |
BMR X 1.2 |
| If
you are Lightly Active (light exercise/sports
1-3 days/week) |
BMR
X 1.375 |
| If
you are Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports
3-5 days/week) |
BMR X 1.55 |
| If
you are Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7
days/week) |
BMR
X 1.725 |
| If
you are Extra Active (very hard daily exercise/sports
& physical job or 2X day training) |
BMR
X 1.9 |
Example:
Step 1: Finding your BMR
You are 32 years old
You are 5 feet 4 inches tall (162.5 cm)
Your weight is 185 pounds (84 kilos)
Your BMR is 655 + (806) + (291) - (150) = 1602 calories
Step 2: Finding your caloric needs
If you are sedentary, multiply your BMR (1602) by
1.2 = 1922
Your total daily calorie requirement is therefore
1922 calories.
This is the total number of calories you need in order
to MAINTAIN your current weight.
This
will determine how many calories you should consume
per day.
men
66.5 + (13.8 x weight in kg) + (5.0 x height in cm)
— (6.8 x age)
women 655.1 + (9.6 x weight) + (1.9 x height) —
(4.7 x age)
the
above formulas are for completely sedentary people
if you drive, do office work, etc. multiple the above
by 1.3
if you do light labor (laundry, housework, clean garage)
multiply by 1.6
if you do heavy labor or are into sports, multiply by
2.0
click
here to download a free interactive excel spreadsheet
to plug in numbers
To
Lose Weight (cutting phases):
Download
interactive excel document for weight loss formula
(includes macronutrients breakdown)
Before
you read the next sentence, promise to read the proceeding
sentence. Lose One Pound of Body Weight by Reducing
Calorie Intake by 3500 Calories. This means that you
can cut calories out of your diet and exercise to lose
those calories. A combination of the two will ensure
you are cutting fat and not muscle. Remember, it is
possible to lose weight but be retain just as much fat
as you had before! And also remember:
Lose
between 1 and 2 pounds of weight, Maximum, per week!
Any more and you're losing lean muscle muscle and water.
That means that you need to cut and burn 7,000 calories
per week.
As
a general rule, to lose weight (cut) you should cut
500 calories from your current daily intake. This is
assuming, of course, you are not currently eating in
starvation mode. If you are not consuming enough food
(per the maintenance schedule discussed above, then
you actually need to slowly increase your caloric
intake to lose weight. Strange but true!
One
last word from me: a great way to add to the caloric
deficit is to incorporate High-Intensity Interval Training
(HIIT) which you can learn about by clicking
here.
On
a final note: The American College of Sports Medicine
(ACSM) recommends that calorie levels never drop below
1200 calories per day for women or 1800 per day for
men. Even these calorie levels are quite low.
To
Gain Weight (bulking phases):
First,
establish your maintenance level by using one of the
formulas above. Once you have done this, it is easy
to learn how to gain weight: simply increase your calorie-intake
above your weight maintenance level. As a general rule,
eating an extra 500 calories per day will cause you
to gain one pound a week.
Eat
sensibly, exercise regularly to gain lean body weight,
not fat. Exercising regularly will ensure you are building
muscle! Of course, with every bulking phase, you will
gain a little fat, so don't get discouraged.
