Saturday, May 14, 2011

Do the Math

The basic tenants of weight loss are to burn more energy than you consume. But how do you know if you are burning more? The calculation to see how much energy you burn in a day without any exercise (otherwise known as your basal metabolic rate or BMR) in women can be found by doing this simple calculation: 655 + (4.35 x weight in lbs) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years). That seems complicated but it's really not. Remember, calculate the brackets first! I punched the numbers and my BMR came out to 1744.1. Therefore, in theory, to lose weight I need to consume less than that in a day. According to all the sites I googled, in order to lose a pound, you need to burn 3500 calories a week or 500 calories per day. So in order to lose 2.5 lbs/week, I need to consume 500 calories less than normal and burn 700 calories a day through exercise, that is, if I'm doing the math right but math was never my strong suit so hopefully this all makes sense. Currently I am eating a 1500 calorie/day diet; however, it seems that since my BMR is approx. 1740 that I really need to be consuming a 1240 calorie (500 calories less than what I need) diet in order to lose 1lb. That doesn't seem like enough food to me but maybe that's because I love food! Perhaps I should up the ante in my exercise so that I can keep my food calories? Hmmm...I'm not sure. What has worked for you guys?

-J
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  1. JaneMay 17, 2011 at 2:29 PM

    My cousin, and nutritionist in the making, reminded me that there is an extra calculation that I am missing. Once you have your BMR times it by how active you are and you get your daily caloric needs:

    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 a week) :BMR x 1.725

    If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) := BMR x 1.9

    Then subtract 500 from that number and you will lose 1lb.

    So, it looks like my daily caloric intake is pretty bang on! -J

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