Counting Calories for Weight Loss


healthy weight-lossAs the awareness for staying healthy and fit increases day by day, more and more people are looking towards ways to achieve healthy weight loss, and the most important step in doing so is to count your calories and create a deficit or increase to achieve your target healthy weight. No matter how much time you spend at the gym, if you consume more calories than you burn, you'll never lose weight. But as daunting as it may sound, there's a formula to measure how many calories you should eat based on your BMR(Basic Metabolic Rate), and its advisable to choose a good diet and fitness plan based on this figure so that your weight-loss plan is more meaningful and successful. (img credit)

What is BMR(Basic Metabolic Rate) and how to Calculate it?
BMR is the amount of energy your body needs to function. We use about 60% of the calories we consume each day for basic bodily functions, and this number is based on your height, weight, age and sex. There's a general formula that can be used for adults to calculate your BMR:

Adult Women
BMR= 655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

Adult Men
BMR= 66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

Activity Factor
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job)

Maintenance Calorie Level = BMR x Activity Factor

Calorie Deficit to Lose Weight = 15%-20% of Maintenance Calorie Level

How Many Calories Do I need?
Depending on your physique and work, the above number indicates the amount of calories you can eat every day to maintain your current weight and work demands. In order to lose or gain weight, you'll need to take in fewer or more calories than this number. Keep re-assesing your new BMR as you see a change in your weight, then re-calculate your calorie target accordingly. But remember, there's always a minimum calorie threshold that you should meet so your body can function without feeling weak. Dropping down to a very low calorie intake can make you anorexic! You will lose weight very fast, but that is NOT Recommended. Do not cut back to fewer than 1,200 daily calories for women or 1800 calories for men without medical supervision, as it can lead to serious health problems. There are several online calorie-counting tools to estimate how many calories are there in your food. Use these or consult a nutritionist to get a rought estimate of your daily intake and decide how to plan your diet to meet the calorie target.

Creating a Calorie Deficit for Healthy Weight Loss
The basic law says that 3,500 calories is equivalent to one pound. So, if you create a deficit of 500 calories a day, you should be able to lose about one pound per week. But this deficit can be created by a combination of cutting back on food and burning the remaining calories by working out (such as cut back 250 calories in food & burn an extra 250 calories in the gym). However, keep in mind that Muscle weighs more than Fat. So when you do strength-training, you may see that your weight increases, but that's actually your fat being converted into muscle, which is good, nothing to worry about. Even when your weight increases, you'll lose inches and be more toned than before.

Example:
Your BMR is 1339 calories per day
Your activity level is moderately active (work out 3-4 times per week)
Your activity factor is 1.55
Your MCL = 1.55 X 1339 = 2075 calories/day
Target Calories for weight loss = 2075 - (15% of 2075) = 1764

The easiest ways to cut calories from your food is by using simple substitutions. Leave out the condiments, use skimmed-milk instead of whole, wheat-grain instead of all-purpose flour, eliminate all white foods(cakes, cookies, muffins), cut back on sugar and sodas, and stuff yourself with vegetables,fruits and lean meat. Space your meals correctly, and you won't even feel like you are dieting!

Rapid Weight Loss is not Healthy Weight Loss
A healthy weight loss goal is to lose 0.5 to 2 pounds per week. Losing more than 2 pounds per week will mean the weight is less likely to stay off permanently. Its easy to stop eating for a week and see your weight drop 5 pounds drastically, but as soon as you start eating again, those pounds will come back, much faster than you expect, and you'll have more fat in your body, which in turn will be harder to burn! So stick with a target of losing maximum 2 pounds (or 1000 calories deficit daily) a week. As you can see, this by itself is a difficult goal to achieve! But keep a diary of your progress, re-evaluate your goals every month, and change your calorie target accordingly.

Achieving healthy weight-loss by counting and cutting back on calories is not something that should scare you. Just by understanding how the calorie-counting works, and then defining your diet and exercise regime accordingly can help you maintain a healthy body, and you'll feel happy and satisfied as your weight loss will be permanent. Hope these tips guide you in achieving your target weight-loss!

Disclaimer: Please consult your doctor or nutritionist before changing your diet or starting a new exercise regime.

Similar Articles:
Replace Sodas with Fresh Juices and get Slimmer
Foods that Fight Bad Cholesterol
How to Combine Cardio with Strength-Training


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37 comments :

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

Do you know how depressing it is when I see just how few calories I need-and that's just to maintain my overweight-ness. (Is that a word?)

I think I'd do better if it weren't for that half a bag of Moose Munch I just ate!

AnuZi said...

hmmm a well informed entry but I was sad to see how few calories I need to take in :o( And the sad thing is that even a small glass of light juice is like 90 calories!! bahhh Can't I just go back to my college days?

Anonymous said...

I wish there was a magic tonic for weight-loss!:) but thanks for this article, it made me remember that its not hard to achieve this, once you pput your mind to it!

~amy

Sreelu said...

Hey I think it should be 660 for men ,must be a typo. Forwarding this to my parents it very useful

Mansi said...

Sreelu - no, the formula for BMR is correct; its not a typo. I verified it and I have also added an example for more clarity. I hope this helps your parents!:)

and folks, yeah counting calories can be depressive at first, but when you see the results, learn to keep that excess weight off, and appreciate looking at yourself in the mirror, it won't be that bad, trust me on this!!:)

Suganya said...

Hi... That was a very useful information to read....

Simply...Gluten-free said...

hmmm, I'm on vacation right now and I don't think I can count that high! Diet time when I get home...

Indian Food Rocks said...

Mansi, being from Bombay, BMR has a totally different meaning for me! :-D

FH said...

Great post! I need some diet now after all cooking I have been doing! :D

Kajal@aapplemint said...

i like the pic with the measure tape and dumbell ! and nice post !!!
i'm a health freak too , try to stay away frm the fried stuff and work out 3ice a week.
only the sugar consumption messes it all uo .. :D
damn !!!

Anjali Damerla said...

very informative post, Mansi.

EC said...

Thanks a ton for this very useful post on reducing weight...will surely try it out

Rupa said...

Hey Mansi..Thanks for this article..very informative..will start counting calories from this moment :)

kamala said...

Great information Mansi.I have bookmarked it

Mansi said...

I was not expecting so many of you to appreciate this!! but I'm glad my friends and readers are aware of their health, and that something I share here can be useful to you all:)

thanks for the feedback!

Uma said...

wonderful post with useful (so much needed for me) information. Thanks, Mansi!

Unknown said...

I'm right with everyone else who was flabbergasted at how little we really need to eat! I came across a really interesting article to that end. It's about a guy who didn't eat for 20 years! Here's the link:
http://eats.com/eats-editorials/foodie-news/a-new-trend-for-summer-straight-from-the-far-east-20080507244/

ranji said...

very useful info mansi!!!thank u so much for sharing..

Sangeeth said...

Hi, This is a very useful information you have posted. You know everytime I eat something I thik of the calories I intake and what I shud burn to stay healthy.Its a tiring thought. But eat healthy to stay healthy right?

Anonymous said...

Very useful information. Thanks for sharing. I always admire your blog...Great!!

J said...

Nice article! Counting calories can be a little saddening...!!

Siri said...

very informative post Mansi..:) and well illustrated..:D Thanks.

Siri

Anonymous said...

Very informative post. Thanks.

Mamatha

Swati Raman Garg said...

hehe i like that pic... very informative post..i hope i start implementing it...:)

Katie Zeller said...

It is really so simple and straightforward... I can never understand why so many people persist in thinking that they can eat more calories than they need as long as it's all protein, or all carb, or all whatever....
My personal style is not to reduce calorie intake but increase calorie output... I'd rather exercise than wuit eating ;-))

Admin said...

Nice post and very informative really.

check also: Weight lose through hypnosis

Jessy said...

Where did you get the information for working out the BMR from?
This post was very interesting, but I'd like to know where the information comes from before I pass it on to others!
:)

Mansi said...

Jessy - for one, I've used it myself and lost more than 20 pounds, so I know its true:) but here's the formula on About and this site. The calories are calculated using the Harris-Benedict equation based on your activity level.

hope this helps!:)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for getting the numbers in there for me...I always forget how to calculate how many calories one would need per day.

Anonymous said...

Fat and muscle are two different things. As you become active and lose weight, the fat shrinks and the muscle gets stronger. The more strength training you add, the more muscle tone you'll develop. With the balance of fat loss and muscle growth, it's easy to be fooled into thinking that fat becomes muscle. However they both serve different purposes and could never be one and the same.

Fat never turns into muscle.

Danny S said...

BMR = Basal metabolic rate - not "basic" metabolic rate.DJS

Anonymous said...

This blog have helpful content and information. Is there any formula to control diet and keep muscle tone with fitness? For more log on
Personal Trainer- www.just4ufit.com

nocalorie said...

A no calories diet never worked for me, to lose weight. However, healthy food and exercise is the perfect solution for this.

Anonymous said...

Hey I think it should be 660 for men ,must be a typo. Forwarding this to my parents it very useful Weight Loss Pills

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