Calculating Baseline Calorie Requirements
My recent post on Healthy Eating seemed to get a fair amount
of interest, more so in the short section on BMR (Base Metabolic Rate).
Therefore I’ve decided to take this topic into more detail so you, the reader, can
understand how to calculate your BMR and cater it to your needs. However before
we start I’d like to get one or two points across.
Are all calories the same? Well yes and no. Yes because no matter where the calories have come from, if you are at a caloric surplus (more than needed to maintain body weight) you will gain weight. This goes for calories from any Macronutrient (Proteins, Fats & Carbohydrates) no matter how natural or refined the source of food is, for example let’s say your BMR is 2500 calories a day and you consume 2700 calories a day, you will inevitably gain weight. These calories could come from any type of food, fish, nuts, chocolate, sweets etc. As long as its above baseline requirements, you will gain weight.
However this brings us to the “No” answer. Sure you will gain weight from any calorie surplus but you can prime your body to favour synthesising lean mass or fat free mass instead of fat mass. I will not go to in depth on the topic Macronutrients as I will save that for a separate post, but for now let’s just say that protein & fats are harder to turn into energy then carbohydrates. This is because carbohydrates are our bodies first and fastest choice of energy, therefore influences how the body utilises and creates energy. You can also influence the bodies health through the type of calories you consume. The better choice of calories obviously being sources of natural unrefined foods. 2500 calories of vegetables is clearly a better option than 2500 calories of sweets. This is because natural food/calories contain nutrients and enzymes that help nourish and regulate the body’s natural functions to work efficiently, whereas refined foods/calories do the complete opposite and down regulate overall bodily functions making it perform and function in a negative detrimental process.
Are all calories the same? Well yes and no. Yes because no matter where the calories have come from, if you are at a caloric surplus (more than needed to maintain body weight) you will gain weight. This goes for calories from any Macronutrient (Proteins, Fats & Carbohydrates) no matter how natural or refined the source of food is, for example let’s say your BMR is 2500 calories a day and you consume 2700 calories a day, you will inevitably gain weight. These calories could come from any type of food, fish, nuts, chocolate, sweets etc. As long as its above baseline requirements, you will gain weight.
However this brings us to the “No” answer. Sure you will gain weight from any calorie surplus but you can prime your body to favour synthesising lean mass or fat free mass instead of fat mass. I will not go to in depth on the topic Macronutrients as I will save that for a separate post, but for now let’s just say that protein & fats are harder to turn into energy then carbohydrates. This is because carbohydrates are our bodies first and fastest choice of energy, therefore influences how the body utilises and creates energy. You can also influence the bodies health through the type of calories you consume. The better choice of calories obviously being sources of natural unrefined foods. 2500 calories of vegetables is clearly a better option than 2500 calories of sweets. This is because natural food/calories contain nutrients and enzymes that help nourish and regulate the body’s natural functions to work efficiently, whereas refined foods/calories do the complete opposite and down regulate overall bodily functions making it perform and function in a negative detrimental process.
This next section below is a couple of paragraphs taken from
the RikFit Macronutrient guide specifically for clients. It covers the topic of
calories and how to calculate them with a step by step guide.
Calories
Let’s start with what a calorie actually is. A calorie is a unit of energy, we must consume calories to provide us with energy to function in day to day life, the amounts and types of calories we consume can affect how our body looks, performs, feels, functions and much more. To find out how many calories we need, we must calculate our calorie intake for baseline requirements, this can be predicted for each individual by calculating your basal metabolic rate (BMR). BMR is an individual’s basic requirement of energy at rest. This energy should be adequate to maintain the body’s basic function without any movement. The Schofield Calculation is a fairly sound method to calculate BMR, simply search “Schofield calculation” online or use this method below:
Men:
Calories
Let’s start with what a calorie actually is. A calorie is a unit of energy, we must consume calories to provide us with energy to function in day to day life, the amounts and types of calories we consume can affect how our body looks, performs, feels, functions and much more. To find out how many calories we need, we must calculate our calorie intake for baseline requirements, this can be predicted for each individual by calculating your basal metabolic rate (BMR). BMR is an individual’s basic requirement of energy at rest. This energy should be adequate to maintain the body’s basic function without any movement. The Schofield Calculation is a fairly sound method to calculate BMR, simply search “Schofield calculation” online or use this method below:
Men:
Age
|
Equation (kcal/day)
|
SEE
|
< 3
|
59.512 × W - 30.4
|
70
|
3–10
|
22.706 × W + 504.3
|
67
|
10–18
|
17.686 × W + 658.2
|
105
|
18–30
|
15.057 × W + 692.2
|
153
|
30–60
|
11.472 × W + 873.1
|
167
|
> 60
|
11.711 × W + 587.7
|
164
|
Women:
Age
|
Equation (kcal/day)
|
SEE
|
< 3
|
58.317 × W - 31.1
|
59
|
3–10
|
20.315 × W + 485.9
|
70
|
10–18
|
13.384 × W + 692.6
|
111
|
18–30
|
14.818 × W + 486.6
|
119
|
30–60
|
8.126 × W + 845.6
|
111
|
> 60
|
9.082 × W + 658.5
|
108
|
Key:
W = Body weight in kilograms
SEE = Standard error of estimation
In addition to this calculation you may want to add on or account for your physical activity level:
In addition to this calculation you may want to add on or account for your physical activity level:
BMR x 1.4 inactive men and women
BMR x 1.6 moderately active women
BMR x 1.7 moderately active men
BMR x 1.8 very active women
BMR x 1.9 very active men
Calories & Goals
Now you have figured out how many calories you need to consume on a day to day basis to maintain your body weight, you now need to cater them calories to fit your goals. I am only going to brush on this section as I don’t want to go into too much detail.
If you are looking to gain weight, you will have to be at a calorie surplus. This means you will have to consume more calories on a day to day basis then you expend. A good rule is to gradually increase your calories over a long period of time to avoid fat gain.
If you are looking to lose weight, you will have to be at a calories deficit. This means you will have to consume less calories on a day to day basis then you expend. A good rule is to gradually decrease your calories over a longer period of time until you have found a happy medium where you can lose weight but not muscle mass, only fat mass.
Summary
After this section in the RikFit guide I then go into more detail on calories and braking them down into macronutrient percentages, but for now this should be more than enough to get you started. Seeing as myself or RikFit does not have a YouTube channel yet, I would advise following this link to check out Ben Coombers quick and easy explanation of how to calculate and manipulate calories to your needs and goals.
Calories & Goals
Now you have figured out how many calories you need to consume on a day to day basis to maintain your body weight, you now need to cater them calories to fit your goals. I am only going to brush on this section as I don’t want to go into too much detail.
If you are looking to gain weight, you will have to be at a calorie surplus. This means you will have to consume more calories on a day to day basis then you expend. A good rule is to gradually increase your calories over a long period of time to avoid fat gain.
If you are looking to lose weight, you will have to be at a calories deficit. This means you will have to consume less calories on a day to day basis then you expend. A good rule is to gradually decrease your calories over a longer period of time until you have found a happy medium where you can lose weight but not muscle mass, only fat mass.
Summary
After this section in the RikFit guide I then go into more detail on calories and braking them down into macronutrient percentages, but for now this should be more than enough to get you started. Seeing as myself or RikFit does not have a YouTube channel yet, I would advise following this link to check out Ben Coombers quick and easy explanation of how to calculate and manipulate calories to your needs and goals.
At RikFit I try to get clients calories as high as possible
whilst still minimising fat mass gain, manipulation of calories of course is
extremely important but just remember that consuming natural nutrient rich food
should always be your priority before you begin to calculate calories or
manipulate macro nutrients. I am a huge fan of creating a foundation to work
from that will aid in sustaining a healthy lifestyle, after this I can then
utilise extra tools such as calorie/macro manipulation to improve or optimise
overall health, performance, aesthetics and wellbeing.
To completely summaries:
To completely summaries:
- Calories are units of energy in food we consum.
- If you consume a calorie surplus you will gain weight.
- If you consume at a calorie deficit you will lose weight.
- Depending on the type of foods you consume will determine the effect of the calories on the body.
- Use BMR equation to calculate baseline requirements.
- Make sure you cater for excess energy expenditure.
- Set your calories to suit your goals but always remember that macronutrient percentages also play an important role in body composition and performance.
- Utilise gradual calorie increases to find out your calorie ceiling.
- Natural nutrient rich food should always the foundation to work from.
As usual I hope this post helped and was a good read,
calories can be a controversial subject with some individuals saying they mean
everything and others saying they mean nothing. Personally as you can tell I am
somewhere in the middle. Let me know if this post helped you out and if you
have any questions please fire away. Also if you would like to hear more about
macronutrients, calculation & manipulation, comment below and I will prepare
a blog soon on the topic.
Contact via:
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Email- RikFitDynamicCoaching@Gmail.com
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