Calorie Calculation
Calorie counting is a tricky area. Many believe in it, oppose it, and consider it unsustainable. I don’t.
There is nothing else that will suit the vast majority of people. I’ve tried eating “on intuition”, eating only as much as my body requires. Well, I’m a little hungry wolf when I’m not controlled. If I don’t set limits, I can’t control my appetite. If I knew how much food my body needed, I wouldn’t have lived the previous part of my life overweight. Padaboom.
One more controversial thing I’d like to bring up is BMI. Again, there is no other that is so universally applicable, even if imperfect. Just as a reminder, when I started my lifestyle change on 1 January 2019, I already had a BMI of over 40, i.e. I was very, very, very obese.
BMI Nutritional status 18,5 - 24,9 Ideal weight 25,0 - 29,9 Overweight 30,0 - 34,9 Class I obesity 35,0 - 39,9 Class II obesity over 40 Class III severe obesity
Most calorie calculators start with your current weight and how many calories you need to reach that weight. Then, they try to determine calorie data from that. That is, when you lose weight, you have to recalculate your weight. When you gain weight, you have to recalculate again. But why?!
Instead, I started from the fact that I have a target BMI that I want to achieve. I calculated how many kilograms that is and counted calories for that weight. I was trying to kill two birds with one stone: get used to eating at a healthy level for me and lose weight simultaneously.
My calculator starts from the Revised Harris-Benedict equation, which calculates RMR:
RMR females:
(7.38 * weight in kg) + (607 * height in meters) - (2.31 * age in years) + 43
RMR males:
(9.65 * weight in kg) + (573 * height in metres) - (5.08 * age in years) + 260;
RMR, Resting Metabolic Rate, is the amount of kcal the body consumes at rest. This includes basic daily physical activity such as toileting or light movements. Think of it as sedentary work at home during Covid.
You can enter a lot of data into this calculator; the only thing you don’t have to enter is your weight, which is just included to see your current BMI. The data in the calculator is populated with my 2019 data.
For optimal BMI, enter the BMI you want to achieve. For example, 23 is already very good; I decided to bring my BMI down to 20-21 in the last couple of months because it’s ideal for long-distance running.
I put the calorie deficit percentage deduction in the calculator to help you even if you’re already at the weight you wanted to be. Looking at the blue zones - notable for having a much higher average life expectancy than other areas - people living there are in a constant calorie deficit. Blue zone residents eat about 20-30% less daily than the generally recommended daily calorie intake. Many other factors make people in blue zones live longer, but only this aspect counts in the calorie count.
Weekly active calories are the amount of calories your smartwatch/phone notices in a week. It’s not precise, but it’s a good starting point. As you start to move, this is a value to keep an eye on and adjust your daily calories accordingly.
You can also enter your weekly weight loss target; I recommend half a kilo at most. Losing weight slowly is more sustainable, and you may not even need to set a weight loss goal at first if simply moving more gets you going.
Enter the “calorie deficit” percentage or “weekly weight loss” in kilograms with a minus sign to gain weight.
UPDATED BMI and Daily Calorie Consumption CalculatorIf you have filled in the values, the calculator will update the result independently, but if not, there is a “Calculate!” button to set your calorie goal. In the cell with the purple background, you will find your actual BMI and target weight; these are indicative values.
The result is calculated separately for men and women based on the equation. I include the decrease/increase items, resulting in the dark pink and dark blue cells.
This calorie amount is not set in stone. It depends on many factors, such as how much food and how your gut processes it, so take these numbers as a basis for experimentation! Good luck!
My food diary is available online: you can check MyFitnessPal public profile.
The series includes:
- Fat Burning Heart Rate Calculation
- Calorie Calculation