So everyone has heard of a calorie and most of us know what it is. However, for many people, the complications arise when it comes to implementing intake for weight loss (and in lesser cases for weight gain). Now let's clear this up.
So, what IS a calorie?
A calorie is a unit of energy, it is the amount of energy required to heat up 1g of water by 1 degree Celsius. Fundamentally a calorie is the same regardless of the source, but the source is what impacts health outcomes.
Calories are actually very small units of energy, 1 Kcal (Kilocalorie) = 1000 calories; so when looking at food labels you will see 'Kcal' as this is technically accurate. Everyone, however, casually says calorie when we actually mean 1000 calories, but it is understood (e.g. if we say '100 calories' per serving, that is technically 100,000 calories).
How many do you need?
Everybody (literally every body) is different, so first find out your estimated BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). If you were to completely rest over a 24 hour period this is the minimum amount of calories you would need to maintain normal bodily function.
This is important to know so you can later calculate the required daily calorie intake for your specific goal.
You can easily search for an online calculator to workout you BMR, but if you would like to try it yourself here is the formula:
For Men | 10x weight (kg) + (6.25 x height (cm)) - (5 x age) + 5
For Women | 10x weight (kg) + (6.25 x height (cm)) - (5 x age) - 161
Mifflin-St. Jeor formula
Following on from this formula you can now calculate your estimated daily caloric requirements based on your Physical Activity Level (PAL):
Sedentary (little or no exercise) = BMR x 1.2
Lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) = BMR x 1.375
Moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) = BMR x 1.55
Very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) = BMR x 1.725
Extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) = BMR x 1.9
Harris-Benedict formula
Keep in mind that both formulas are estimates only, however, they are very close for most people and offer a good starting point from which to experiment with calorie intake.
Note: 1. it is a good idea to recalculate your BMR (and therefore caloric requirements) after an increase or decrease of around 5 kilos (particularly lean mass), because intake is greatly affected by weight.
Maintenance, Deficit & Surplus
Let us cover caloric balance (Maintenance, Deficit & Surplus). Now there are different foods that are more or less tactical depending on your goal but I will discuss that in a later post, for now I shall address calories purely as units of energy.... in vs out.
Here are options you have:
Maintenance - The amount of calories you need in a day (24 hours) after accounting for daily activity in order to maintain current body weight (BMR x PA
Deficit - Anything lower than maintenance calories. This is how fat/weight loss occurs, typically between 300kcal-500kcal less to see noticeable changes and sustain for extended periods
Surplus - Anything higher than maintenance calories. This is how fat/weight gain occurs, most often implemented for muscle gain alongside sufficient protein intake. Typically 200kcal-300kcal over to see noticeable changes whilst minimising fat gain (although at least some fat gain is inevitable)
I would also recommend tracking calories.....WAIT DON'T HATE ME YET!! You don't have to do it forever, but definitely try it for at least a few weeks.
It is a super useful tool to help you see the calories you actually consume in a typical day, as well as keeping your intake sustainable by preventing you from going too high or too low in a surplus or deficit respectively.
Hopefully that's cleared things up and you now have a better understanding of calorie fundamentals, know what they are and work out your individual requirements.
Keep an eye out for further posts on health and fitness, and if you feel you need an extra helping hand feel free to reach out.
Thanks for reading :)
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