This article is not going to win me any friends in the fraternity of personal trainers. It’s not really an article to be perfectly honest. It’s a lesson in numeracy.

In a time when we are awash with pseudoscientific claims from charlatans, alternative therapists who talk of bio-magnetic fields, ‘energy’, zones and checking out your shit to see if there’s life on Mars, I give you a very simple notion: energy in < energy out = weight loss.

It does not matter whether or not you eat 3000 calories of mung beans or pure unadulterated saturated fat. If you exceed your Total Daily Energy Expenditure then you WILL GAIN WEIGHT.

Unless you are doing lots of intense cardiovascular exercise (90 minutes in duration or more) then you don’t really need to worry too much about the finer points of buggering around with carbohydrate and protein intake, buts its sensible to keep fat to below 60 grams per day if your trying be leaner. But remember, fat helps you stay full, as does protein, so don’t get rid of them. You’ll end up hungry, with blood sugar levels going up and down like a Weston donkey, and in the end you’ll find it hard to stick to a diet of no fat. Fat is tasty, with 9 calories per gram, so respect it and start reading and interpreting labels. (I’ll write another article next month on just how to read the nutrition labels that require a PHD in interpretation.)

The human body is fabulous. Its self regulating, adaptable, self cleaning, and if you can figure out exactly how much energy in calories its needs to cope with what you do daily, then you can begin to tweak the figures to lose or gain weight. For long term loss and no short-term starvation, aim to lose about 1-2 lbs a week by cutting 500 calories a day. Any more than that and you’ll just be losing muscle, which will slow your metabolism and you’ll end up fatter. Lighter, but fatter. It’s a fact. It’s called ‘skinny fat’ which means you’re not healthy. I see it all the time – girls with no muscle, but skinny wobbly arms. (This is a vastly over simplified explanation but like your mum used to say ‘because it just is’).

So. Take a look at the following formulas. Its fairly idiot proof, but take some time to work it out properly and you’ll have the key to understanding how to fuel your body without going into a state of over-nutrition.
Once you’ve figured out how much energy you need you’ll just need to get into the habit of weighing your food and interpreting nutrition labels. For that, you’ll have to weight (guffaw) for next months article.

Till then, get out, move, live. You’re a long time dead.

How do you calculate your daily energy requirements in calories?

Basic energy requirements (BER) includes your basal metabolic rate (BMR) + extra energy requirements (EER).

To calculate BMR:

For every Kg of body weight 1.3 Calories is required every hour.

1.3 x 24 x bodyweight KG = BMR
(e.g A person weighing 50Kg would require 1.3 × 24hrs × 50Kg = 1560 Calories/day to maintain their current weight.)

To calculate EER:

For each hours training you require an additional 8.5 Calories for each Kg of body weight.
8.5 x training hours x bodyweight KG = EER
(e.g. For a two hour training session our 50Kg person would require 8.5 × 2hrs × 50Kg = 850 calories extra.)

BMR + EER = BER

Basic energy requirements MAINTAIN your current weight.

Calculate Daily Calorie Deficit For Fat Loss

The following are guidelines and tips to get your nutrition plan assembled for effective fat reduction to improve your PWR (power to weight ratio).

Determine your total caloric intake for (fat) mass reduction

Method one: multiply your weight in pounds by 11 and 12 and subtract 300 to 500 calories to obtain goal daily calorie intake range to promote healthy weight loss.

Example: 200 lbs times 11 (= 2200) minus 500 = 1700 200 lbs times 12 (= 2400) minus 500 = 1900 Calorie range = 1700 to 1900 calories

Method two: Reduce your BER figure by 10 – 20%

Both of these methods introduce a calorie deficit of up to 3000-4000 calories per week to lose between 1-2 lbs of weight. Should your activity level increase, you create a larger calories deficit. Adjust energy intake accordingly to avoid fatigue or excessive hunger.

Calories = Energy/Fuel

Like fuel for a car, the energy we need has to be blended. The blend that most people require is as follows:

40 - 70% Carbohydrates (sugar, sweets, bread, cakes)
15 - 25% Fats (dairy products, oil)
15 - 40% Protein (eggs, milk, meat, poultry, fish)

The energy yield per gram is as follows: Carbohydrate - 4 Calories, Fats - 9 Calories and Protein - 4 Calories.

What does a 50 kg athlete require in terms of carbohydrates, fats and protein?
Carbohydrates - 57% of 2410 = 1374 Calories - at 4 Calories/gram = 1374 ÷ 4 = 343 grams

Fats - 30% of 2410 = 723 Calories - at 9 Calories/gram = 723 ÷ 9 = 80 grams

Protein - 13% of 2410 = 313 Calories - at 4 Calories/gram = 313 ÷ 4 = 78 grams

Our 50kg athlete requires 343 grams of Carbohydrates, 80 grams of Fat and 78 grams of Protein.

Magazine Advertising in Bristol and Bath

Bristol & Bath.

BRISTOL & BATH // 18 MAY 2012

What's on...

Today

Saturday, 19 May 2012

Sunday, 20 May 2012

Monday, 21 May 2012

Tuesday, 22 May 2012

Wednesday, 23 May 2012

Thursday, 24 May 2012

Friday, 25 May 2012

Saturday, 26 May 2012

Sunday, 27 May 2012

Monday, 28 May 2012

Tuesday, 29 May 2012

Wednesday, 30 May 2012

Thursday, 31 May 2012

Nutrition Basics

20 July 2010

Secrets from exercise physiology: the scientific formula proven to guarantee weight loss.

Articles

Social

Eye Friends

Eye Magazine