Ask one hundred random people on the street what the right amount of daily calories to lose weight is, and you will get one hundred different answers. The sad thing is, if you asked one hundred random fitness experts the same question, there is a very good chance that you would get the same level of varied answers. Even among the fitness community, there seems to be no real consensus on optimal daily calorie intake for weight loss. Weight loss plans propose varying calorie intake amount that vary as wildly as 500 to 2500. How can an average person, with no education in weight loss or nutritional sciences, be expected to make an educated decision?
Well, there are a few guidelines that can help in the process of deciding what the perfect amount of calories is for you to lose weight at a reasonable pace.
First of all, calculate your basal metabolism rate. This means how many calories your body burns every day just by doing every day body tasks like keeping your heart beating, breathing, and digesting. For this, you will actually have to do a little math, so whip out your calculators, boys and girls!
Here is the formula for men - 12.7 times height plus 66 plus 6.3 times lean body mass minus 6.8 times age.
Here is the formula for women - 4.7 times height plus 655 plus 4.3 times lean body mass minus 4.7 times age.
Once you know what your basal metabolic rate is, you can figure out what your daily calorie need is. You don't want to cut the intake drastically below your basal metabolism rate, because you don't want to put your body into starvation mode. Also, you need to consider the activity aspect of calorie burning - how much exercise is worked into your weight loss plan?
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