Now lets look at an in depth example for calculating your daily calories that you need in order to lose weight safely. If you haven’t done so, read part 1 of this section. Part 2 is quite long and you should take the time to work through your own requirements, but first take a look at the example. Once you have you have read through it, then calculate your own daily caloric requirements using the exact same process below. Once you have done this once, everything else will become easier. Just get this part done.
Example
Female (Jane)
Weight: 62 kg
Height: 165 cm
Age: 25
Activity Level: Moderately Active (moderately exercises 3-5 times per week)
Step 1) Calculate BMR for women:
BMR = 655 + (9.6 X bodyweight in kg) + (1.8 X height in cm) - (4.7 X age in years)
= 655 + (9.6 X 62) + (1.8 X 165) – (4.7 X 25)
= 655 + 595 + 297 – 118
= 1429
Step 2) Multiply BMR by Activity Multiplier
Total Caloric Intake = BMR X Activity Multiplier
= 1429 X 1.55
= 2215 Calories/Day
We can now see that Jane’s caloric intake should be approximately 2215 calories per day in order to maintain her weight. In order to lose weight we know that we must create a caloric deficit, so that means that she should be consuming about 20% less calories than the maintenance requirement. She should also be consuming this many calories on a daily basis from a variety of healthy foods comprising of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, lean meats, legumes, unsaturated fats, etc.
Step 3)
Final Calories = (Weight Maintenance Calories) - 20%
= 2215 – (2215 X (0.20))
= 2215 - 443
= 1772 Calories
Therefore Jane should be consuming approximately 1772 calories per day in order to lose weight safely. It’s not necessary to be exact on the numbers calculated, but to be as close as possible, since these figures are fairly accurate.
Now that we know her caloric intake per day in order for her to lose weight safely, we need to calculate what types of calories Jane should be consuming daily. Neglecting to eat the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats will not allow her to fully maximize her potential for optimal weight loss and health. As stated before, the right ratio should be approximately 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates, and 20% fats. Let’s now calculate Jane’s requirements per day for each of these ratios. To understand how we calculate this a bit better we need to know a few things. Carbohydrates and protein contain 4 calories per gram, while fats contain 9 calories per gram. Fats contain more energy than either carbohydrates or proteins; therefore they are considered to be more calorie-dense foods. This is another reason why we need to consume less fat than the other macronutrients.
Step 4) Macronutrient Daily Requirements
Calories from carbohydrates = 1772 X 40%
= 1772 X (0.40)
= 709 Calories
Grams per day from carbohydrates = 709/4
= 177 grams
Calories from protein = 177 grams (since the ratio and density is the same as carbohydrates 40% and 4 cal/gram respectively)
Calories from fats = 1772 X 20%
= 1772 X (0.20)
= 354 Calories
Grams per day from fat = 354/9
= 39 grams
Jane’s daily requirements for carbohydrates, proteins and fats are 177 grams, 177 grams and 39 grams respectively.
Since Jane should be eating 6 small meals per day as opposed to 3 larger meals, we can now calculate how many grams of each macronutrient Jane should be consuming:
Step 5) Macronutrient requirement per meal
Carbohydrates = 177 grams/6 meal
= 30 grams/meal
Protein = 30 grams/meal
Fats = 39grams/6 meal
= 6.5 grams/meal
Therefore, approximately 30 grams of Jane’s meal should come from carbohydrates and proteins each, and 6.5 grams from fat. Jane should be consuming 6 of these nutrient rich meals everyday spaced about 2-3 hours apart, in order to ensure an adequate supply of energy throughout the day.
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