My Answer:

 Here are three phrases you need to become familiar with:

• Caloric Deficit-Meaning that you are in a negative amount of energy needs for yourbody.
• Caloric Surplus-Meaning that you are in an excess amount of energy needs for yourbody.
• Maintenance-Meaning you are taking in just the needed energy for your body.

Here is an example putting the above into practice:

Mariah Carey’s (My ex-girlfriend — it didn’t workout because of long-distance, lol) body in one day burns 2,000 calories. If Mariah is taking in 1,600 calories, then Mariah is in a caloric deficit because Mariah is taking in LESS than what Mariah’s body is expending in a day.

 

The next day Mariah’s body burns 2,000 calories. If Mariah is taking in 2,400 calories then Mariah is in a caloric surplus because Mariah is taking in MORE than what Mariah’s body is expending in a day.

 

The third day Mariah’s body burns 2,000 calories. If Mariah is taking in 2,000 calories then Mariah is at maintenance because Mariah is taking in the SAME amount that Mariah’s body is expending in a day.

So if you are in a caloric deficit you are going to lose weight, because you are expending

more energy than you are taking in. Your body is going to turn to stores of fat (or muscle—which is another subject) to make up for that energy deficit. The reverse is true for a surplus. Take in more energy, and – guess what – you are going to store more energy for future uses. This is where fat comes from, EXCESS ENERGY!

Figuring Out Your Daily Energy

How do you figure out what your energy needs are?

Glad you asked. There are a few ways. I have found the best results using the Harris Benedict Equation. It may seem a little complex but it’s really quite simple.

BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate which is your rested state of burned calories. What

this means is if you were in bed all day long and didn’t move this is the number of calories

your body needs to function properly. To calculate your BMR you use the following formula:

English BMR Formula

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) – ( 4.7 xage in years )

Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) – ( 6.8 x agein year ) 9

 

For example: Lets say Mariah weighs 210lbs, at 65 inches tall and 34 years of age. This is how it would look:

655 +(4.35 x 210)+(4.7 x 65)–(4.7 x 34) =

Then

655 + 913.5 + 305.5 – 159.8 =1,714.2

1,714.2 is her BMR, or the number this she would need at complete rest. Now, unless

Mariah is planning on staying in bed for the rest of her life; we need to add in activity. So right now she runs basic errands, no real exercise, doesn’t sing too much anymore, works a desk job, cooks a gourmet meal every night and watches some TV. Basically, she has a very low grade sedentary activity level. So looking below what would seem right?

 

BMR x 1.2 If you are sedentary-you do little or no exercise in a day

BMR x 1.375 If you are lightly active-light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week

BMR x 1.55 If you are moderately active-moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week

BMR x 1.725 If you are very active-hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week

BMR x 1.9 If you are extra active-very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training.

 

Obviously option number one would be correct. So now we multiply the number we got for

the BMR, 1,714.2, by the number 1.2, for the activity level. This leaves us with 2,057.04.

 

This number means that in a day this my Mariah burns roughly 2,057 calories. Now notice I said ROUGHLY.

 

Does this formula, or any formula, tell you the exact amount of calories you burn in a day?

No, of course not. It’s an estimate, but it’s a pretty good one and a great place to start. And

keep in mind the activity numbers are not set in stone. You can use them and change them

up anyway you need to for a closer estimate.

 

For example, let’s say you aren’t quite moderate in activity level, but not light either. Well

then you would split the difference and multiply your activity level by 1.44. Most people over

or under estimate their activity levels and end up way off base. This is where some common sense should take over and come into play.

 

If you have a desk job and sit most of the day, but exercise 5 days a week you would be right

at, or a little under, moderate activity. Most people will fall into light or moderate activity

levels.

Also the BMR + activity levels are just estimates. Watch how your fat loss is occurring. If

you aren’t making any change or are dropping too fast then lower, or raise your calories

based on your observations.

 

Using the Numbers for Fat Loss

Once you have your own numbers, you want to try and formulate a personal plan of caloric

intake for fat loss. Like everything else in the world, nothing is as simple as just punching in

a few numbers. That doesn’t mean you can’t make the most of those numbers and make

some real solid moves. Most people take the deficit too far. The rule of thumb is if you want to lose 1 pound a week, then you have to be in a deficit of 3,500 calories a week, or a 500 calorie deficit each day.

 

The more of a deficit you are in, the more pounds you will lose. However, being in a 3,500

calorie deficit does not mean all the calories being burned are coming from fat. To try and

assure that you are burning as much calories from fat as you can, you need to combine the

right diet and the right training with that deficit—that’s a later discussion. For now, let’s get back to that number we got from the BMR plus activity.

 

2,057 is how many calories Mariah burns in a day, including activity. Now we

want to create a caloric deficit to lose fat. How do we do that? Well, first we are going to

raise her activity level. Remember we want to burn the fat off NOT starve it off. So we start

out with raising her activity to light or moderate. If she raises the activity level to say 1.44 X

BMR (1714.2) then there is a jump to 2,468.44 calories a day. If she ate just at what her

previous maintenance was (2,057) she would be in a 400 calorie deficit. That is almost a

pound a week right there. But we want to take it further, so let’s cut down the calories by

1,000 to give a, roughly, 2 pounds a week fat loss. So instead there is a consumption of 1,500

calories a day while exercising 5 times a week. Now there is a rate of 2 pounds/week of fat loss.

 

The Trickiness of Lower/Higher Weight and BMR

You might be thinking, “Wait a second, if she is eating 1,500 calories a day and you told me

that your BMR is what you need at rest, isn’t that dangerous, isn’t that going to put her in

starvation mode?” I’m glad you asked the question.

 

The higher body weight you have, the higher your BMR is going to be because it is going to

take more energy to function. Higher body fat also means that you can safely eat in a larger

deficit and still be perfectly healthy and diminish that fat. You compensate by borrowing

down a reserve in your body fat. However, if you are less overweight this is going to change.

Here is an example:

If we take Mariah (she lost almost all of her fat, by working out at Trinity Fitness Studios*wink*, and is close to her desired weight) and she now weighs 135lbs, at 65 inches tall and is 34 years of age, she is going to have a BMR roughly of 1,387.95. That is a big difference isn’t it? –You should have seen her in her dress when we went out to dinner that night, lol. Stay Focused C.C.!! Let’s say now she has an activity level of 1.44. This gives a daily burn of roughly 2000 calories including activity. Now if she wanted to lose 2 pounds a week, by that number, she could only eat 1000 calories. Well that’s a NO-NO unless she’s on very a specific program, for short periods of time. The sooner you grasp that concept the happier you will be. Well, maybe not happier, but healthier at least.

 

Please leave a comment below and let me know if this helps.

Your Friend in Fitness—CC Matthews.com

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 11:16 am and is filed under Fat Loss Strategies, Fitness Advice, Mind/Motivation, Nutrition Tips & Strategies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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