Working out calorie intake

NumeroUno

Hi all,
Anyone know a quick and easy way to work out daily calorie intake as i have no idea what im eating a day, all i know is its alot of food.

Nick500

Just check the nutritional information on the back of each packet of food, and add up the calories that way.

PScarb

as suggested use the labels on the back of the food you buy then load it into www.fitday.com this will give you your daily cals..

if you buy food without nutritional information on it then you can bet you shouldn't be eating it

fiona

Is there a certain amount of calories a person should eat so that the muscle is not used for energy?

I clicked on fitday. Thx.

chalk

There is a certain amount of calories we each need to eat each day. To work out how many, we use a formula to give your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Basal Metabolic Rate is the mimimal caloric requirement needed to sustain life in a resting individual. This is the amount of energy your body would burn if you slept all day (24 hours).

For you lazy ones who just want to work out your BMR.....skip to the link at the bottom of the page.


Let's look at some factors that affect BMR:

Age: In youth, the BMR is higher; age brings less lean body mass and slows the BMR.

Height: Tall, thin people have higher BMR's.

Growth: Children and pregnant women have higher BMR's.

Body Composition: The more lean tissue, the higher the BMR. The more fat tissue, the lower the BMR.

Fever: Fevers can raise the BMR.

Stress: Stress hormones can raise the BMR.

Environmental Temperature: Both the heat and cold raise the BMR.

Fasting/Starvation: Fasting/starvation hormones lower the BMR.

Malnutrition: Malnutrition lowers the BMR.

Thyroxin: The thyroid hormone thyroxin is a key BMR regulator; the more thyroxin produced, the higher the BMR.


Let's now talk about ways to measure BMR:

1. General Calculation: BMR = your body weight in lbs x 10 kcal/lb

Ex. Joe weighs 150 lbs

BMR = 150 x 10 kcal/lb = 1,500 kcals

2. The Harris-Benedict Equation:

Males: 66 + (13.7 x W) + (5 x H) - (6.8 x A)

Females: 655 + (9.6 x W) + (1.7 x H) - (4.7 x A)

where W = actual weight in kg (weight in lb/2.2 lb/ kg)

H = height in cm (height in inches x 2.54 cm/in)

A = age in years

Ex. Joe weighs 150 lbs, stands 5'6", and is 21 years old

150 lbs/2.2 lb/kg = 68 kg

5'6" = 66 inches x 2.54 cm = 168 cm

BMR = 66 + (13.7 x 68) + (5 x 168) - (6.8 x 21)

BMR = 66 + 932 + 840 - 143 = 1695 kcals per day

NB. for some reason there's a cool face where an 8 should be. Couldn't delete it.


****Just to note, these values are approximations. We can see that we came up with 1,500 and 1,695 kcals per day with two different approaches to figuring out BMR. I would stick to the Harris-Benedict Equation if I were you. I believe it is more accurate!****

Automatic BMR calculator
:arrow: http://www.room42.com/nutrition/basal.shtml

Nick500

Fiona it depends on the muscle mass of the person, but generally its the 'maintenance' level of calories that maintains the amount of muscle mass that you have. But the most important consideration is that protein is sufficient as part of the calories. Personally I believe 1.5 grams per bodyweight LB is sufficient, split over 6 - 8 meals. For me that works out around 300 grams.