Weight loss boils down to pure economics. If calories burned are greater than calories consumed, you will lose weight. If calories burned are less than calories consumed than you will gain weight. There is no escaping it. Individual differences come into play when you have a lower metabolism, but the numbers still apply. A lower metabolism simply means you burn less calories under normal conditions, which makes you more susceptible to weight gain, but as long as you consume less calories than you burn, you can lose weight.
How to calculate caloric needs
First of all to calculate your daily requirements, you are going to need to do a little math using the Harry Benedict principle formula. Your first step will be to calculate you B.M.R, your basal metabolic rate (B.M.R) is the amount of energy your body needs to function.
B.M.R
The formula to calculate your basal metabolic rate is as follows;
Women:
655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)Men:
66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)
The formula only applies to adults
Daily Activity
You then need to take your daily activity into consideration, as this is also going to be a factor in discovering your daily calorie needs.
To calculate your activity the formula is;
If you are sedentary: B.M.R x 20 percent
If you are lightly active: B.M.R x 30 percent
If you are moderately active (You exercise most days a week.): B.M.R x 40 percent
If you are very active (You exercise intensely on a daily basis or for prolonged periods.): B.M.R x 50 percent
If you are extra active (You do hard labor or are in athletic training.): B.M.R x 60 percent
By adding the results of these 2 formulas together is going to give you the number of calories you can consume to maintain your weight.
To lose weight you ideally want to be aiming about 100-200 calories less than your daily maintenance. Don't go overboard and drastically reduce your calories under your requirements, as this will result in both muscle and water loss. Your goal should be to lose fat fast, while maintaining muscle.
While being able to calculate your daily requirements is the first step to results, it is not the only factor that goes into healthy weight loss. Many other factors play a important role such as; food, timing, sleep, rest, and many more. To achieve a greater understanding of weight loss I would suggest trying a weight loss guide, or a weight loss program. The truth about abs program is one of these great guides that details all the information needed to successfully lose weight, and provide you with the scientific knowledge to understand your body.
