Calculated Cals

Fatloss08

hi all

newbie here

Age Men
10-18 (body weight (kg) * 17.5) + 651
19-30 (bw (kg) * 15.3) + 679
31-60 (bw (kg) * 11.6) + 879

Age Women
10-18 (bw (kg) * 12.2) + 746
19-30 (bw (kg) * 14.7) + 496
31-60 (bw (kg) * 8.7) + 829

e.g for me, a 72kg 26 yo female its (72*14.7) +496 = 1554

2) Then calculate your lifestyle daily energy needs:

Activity level
mostly seated or standing RMR * 1.4
regular walking or equivalent RMR * 1.7
generally physically active RMR * 2.0

again for me its 1554 * 1.4 = 2176

3) Then estimate your daily exercise expenditure by working out how much exercise you do a week and divide by seven for an average daily value:
Weekly I do 4 hours of weights = approx 1536 cals
2 hours low intensity cardio = 600 cals
2 hours high intensity cario = 1200 cals
Total = 3336 / 7 = 477 cals

So add that to my daily energy needs.. 2176 + 477 = 2653

My maintenance calorie needs every day are 2653 cals/ day.

For weight loss: I need to reduce my calories by about 15% a day:
2653 * 0.85 = 2255 cals/ day


is this correct what im doing , based on 135 kg man sitting at desk all day and no excercise

135 x 15.3 + 679 = 2744.5 Kcals x 1.4 ( mostly sitting ) = 3842Kcals

so if i eat 3842kcals a day i'll stay the same weight ??

just seems alot

cheers

fatloss08

will be posting up a blog with stats on monday

Supercell

Are you :-

e.g for me, a 72kg 26 yo female its (72*14.7) +496 = 1554

or

is this correct what im doing , based on 135 kg man

The calculations are rather different, if its the 135kg, then yep the large calorie amount seems about right, but if you're that weight and sedentary, you should be eating considerably less and probably seeing a doctor first.

Fatloss08

yes im that weight and sitting most of the time

so the kcals is correct ?? was thinking of reducing it to 3000 and going the gym 3 days a week

consulted a doc last week and he says i should be a rugby player he said i was in good health but losing weight and would be better

Supercell

I'm no expert but that seems like a good plan.
Drop too far and the body goes into starvation mode (starts eating muscle and any extra food goes into the fat reserves..not good), drop a little and eat 6 meals a day and you should loose the fat steadily and at the same time get stronger (i.e. eventually look good nakked! ).

Fatloss08

they say drop it by 15 % but thats just 600 kcals so may aswell drop it by another 5 %

im gonna take measurements everyweek

xebec

It's not just about dropping the total cals, it's also important that you are getting the calories from the correct places. I see you've been reading the stickies, there's plenty of info in them about how much protein/carbs/fats etc, if you need specific help with your diet post more detail here.

Pherekydes

Have a look at this calculator.

According to the above formula, I require 3242 cals/day. According to the linked calculator, I need 2394.

The OP needs 3842 above but using the linked calculator he needs about 2700. I'm sure you'll agree this difference is quite significant. With one you'd expect to lose or gain weight if you stuck to the calories required by the other.

I was using fitday to track calorie consumption and found that if I stuck close to the 3200 mark I would slowly gain weight. My weight would only drop if I dropped the cals down around the 2000-2200 mark.

One problem with any calorie calculation is the possible skewing effect of body fat. If your body fat is below 10% then it's not going to make a massive difference, but, if like the OP or myself, your body fat is over 20%, then you could be consuming 20% too many calories.

I would be of the opinion that you should calculate your calorie consumption based on your lean body mass, especially if your body fat percentage is high.

Fatloss08

see now im confused which to use

how do i determine lean body mass etc ???

g'em

Don't worry too much about lean mass for now - you'll need callipers to figure it out properly so for now use the mirror and your clothes as your best progress detectors.

Eat protein at every meal (eat one or more source of lean meat, fish or dairy per meal), eat 5+ servings of veg a day, keep your good fats up (a handful of nuts a day) eat little often and keep your carbs (bread, rice, pasta) to a minimum.

Edit: sorry, I totally misread the OP, I haven't slept in 36 hours and jet-lag is a b*tch

3800 cals is quite reasonable for someone your size, and dropping 15% of that (3200) should be plenty for you to see results. Be patient, take it a bit at a time and you'll find it easier to keep the weight off in the long run.

Fatloss08

so gem ur saying i should eat 2500 a day then ??? and try get protein at everymeal

Fatloss08

if this is the case

it goes againt what u have in ur diet stickie

i should hav 3800 for mantenance and lower by 15 % for weightloss

g'em

Fatloss08 wrote: »

so gem ur saying i should eat 2500 a day then ??? and try get protein at everymeal

See my edit. As I said, a bit of patience...

Fatloss08

ahhh sorry didnt see that apologies

but what about that other cal counter that said i needed 2400 ????? im confused

g'em

A 135kg man eating 2400 cals per day is akin to induced starvation 8 cals per lb of bodyweight?? Jeebus, 10cals/lb is considered extreme dieting.

I'm not sure how you're getting 2400 cals from either of them though?

Honestly, start with ~ 3200 and see how you go, trust me, there's plenty of work managing that to get started with

Fatloss08

thanks gem

only trouble im having is trying to get food values in kcals

g'em

There's gazillions of on-line food diaries/ calorie counters (just Google calorie count). They're all slightly different but anything that rings alarm bells you can double and triple check against other sites. Most foods also have good nutritional info on them too and once you've done it for a while and gotten used to portion sizes you can stop analysing every calorie and eat in tune with your body's needs

rubadub

Slow coach wrote: »

Have a look at this calculator.

This calculator is for women. The average woman of a given weight will need less calories than a man each day. This is since women have a naturally higher level of body fat, and lower muscle mass. Muscle needs more calories to be kept going than fat, this illustrates why putting on a muscle is a great way to lose fat, it increases your calorie needs.

These guides are all estimates of course.

The mens calculator is on the same page linked on the left. My cals are 2311 as a man, and 1990 as a woman- using the same height/weight etc.

only trouble im having is trying to get food values in kcals

Most packs these days will have kcal per 100g. You have to workout what portion you are having i.e. weight it, then multiply. Beware since portion sizes quoted on food packs are usually tiny- so they appear low calorie, and/or so it appears like you get lots of servings in the pack. For this reason it is best to weigh. Get a small digital scales, around €20 in argos. After a while you will be able to eyeball portion sizes.

Reading nutritional info on packs will open your eyes to the calories you are taking in. You might be very surprised at some products, i.e. stuff you thought would be low in kcals is high, and vice versa. e.g. 1 single pack of supernoodles has around the same calories as 3-4 medium chicken fillets.

Pherekydes

rubadub wrote: »

This calculator is for women.

I do apologise. I'm losing it. It still only gives me 2800 for maintenance, well below the 3200 suggested in the stickies.

If a man the same height and weight as a woman requires more calories then doesn't this bear out my point about lean body mass maintenance? Especially for those with a higher body fat percentage?

Just a thought. I'll head to bed and get some much needed sleep.