Such a simple thing as calculating daily calorie intake is not so simple. Check yourself: maybe you made a mistake somewhere and your diet can work better.
It happens that we go on diets, go to the gym, exhaust ourselves with hunger strikes, but the body is in no hurry to part with its "strategic reserves". This situation suggests that it is time to seriously reconsider the principles of nutrition. Our expert Anna Borteychuk talks about the most common mistakes when choosing a diet and effective methods of weight correction.
Why are we losing weight
There are many approaches to treatment with food, but they all agree on one thing: nutrition, like any process, obeys the law of conservation of energy. If we consume more than we expend, unclaimed calories will be converted into extra weight. But if a person spends more than he eats, he will quickly lose weight. The body will get the missing energy from fat and muscle glycogen stores.
Calorie counting
To calculate the calorie content, you need to remember or write down the indicators of basic products, and then calculate the energy value of a particular dish. A little more difficult is the case with the preparation of the diet. This is done in several stages.
- First step: determining activity to calculate daily calorie intake.
With sedentary work and irregular training (1-2 times a week), about 25 kcal per 1 kg of weight is spent, with training 3 times a week - 30 kcal; with an active lifestyle and training 3-5 times a week - 35 kcal; for athletes - 40 or more kcal.
These are approximate figures that do not take into account many features of the body, such as height, muscle mass, genetics, hormonal imbalance, metabolic disorders, age, temperament, emotional activity and other indicators.
- Second step: determination of energy consumption
Use the formula: 655+(9.6 x body weight) + (1.8 x height in cm) – (4.7 x age in years)=basal metabolic rate.
If you play sports, you need to add the calorie consumption in training to the result. For those who want to lose weight, 20% must be subtracted from this value. It is with this calorie content that you will lose 3-5 kg per month. To gain mass, add 20%.
- Third stage: diet planning
You can get enough calories from chocolate bars and green salads, but for the body to function properly, you need to consume enough fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Their ideal ratio in the diet is B/F/U=30/20/50. You can also calculate the mass of each of them per day:
Proteins: for weight gain - 1.5-2 g of protein per 1 kg of weight, for weight loss - 1.8-2.5 g of protein per 1 kg (1 g of protein is 4 kcal);
Fat: about 1 g per 1 kg of weight (1 g of fat is 9 kcal);
Carbohydrates: is the difference between your daily calorie intake and the energy value of proteins and fats.
Since the daily calorie intake is individual and depends on many factors, you can’t take the figure “by eye” - if there is too little energy, weakness will appear, and if there is too much, the weight will not go away. And do not immediately reduce their number by half, hoping for a quick weight loss. The metabolism will slow down, the body will go into energy-saving mode and start accumulating fat as soon as possible.
Find the optimal scheme that will allow you to lose weight without effort and discomfort. And always be beautiful and he althy!