The only way to lose weight is to create a calorie deficit. Eat more energy (i.e. food) than your body burns and you’ll gain weight. Eat less or burn more calories through training and exercise and you’ll lose weight.
A simple formula for estimating how many calories you need to cut back on is that for every 3,500 calories that you don’t eat and/or that you burn up through exercise, you will lose 500g of fat. For example, to lose 500g of fat per week you would need to have a daily calorie deficit of 500 calories (500cals x 7 days = 3500 cals), which can be achieved through increasing calorie expenditure through aerobic training – running, cycling, treadmill, rowing etc, by reducing calorie intake through your diet, by using thermogenic stimulant based products or a combination.
This calorie deficit doesn’t necessarily mean 500 calories off the levels of calories you are currently eating. This reduction should be off your maintenance level of calories – or the level of calories required so that you are neither gaining weight nor losing weight. If you are currently gaining weight then you are eating more than your maintenance calorie level. Your maintenance calorie level can be found out quite simply either by keeping a food diary for a month and calculating the calories required to maintain your weight, or using a formula based on your weight and activity level.
A food diary is a vital component to any dieters success and makes it much simpler to measure what is working best for you. It is also a good way of keeping yourself on track as you are less likely to cheat on your diet when you are writing down everything that you are eating and drinking.
You can roughly work out your maintenance calorie intake is by multiplying your bodyweight (kg) by 20, and then multiply by your daily activity level of either
1.2-1.3 for Very Light (bed rest)
1.5-1.6 for Light (office work/watching TV)
1.6-1.7 for Moderate (some activity during the day, training, running etc)
1.9-2.1 for Heavy (labour type work/heavy lifting etc)
i.e. bodyweight 80kg x 20 x 1.6 = approx 2560 calories per day
If you use this calculation method, I still recommend that you use a food diary for at least a month, as this will give you a more exact amount of how many calories you require. It will also help show up any possible problems or areas for improvement in your diet, as well as providing a useful tool for looking back at further down the track.
Andrew Honoré – Endorphin Systems Ltd www.sportnutrition.co.nz
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Posted on May 2, 2011
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