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Whether you want to gain weight or loose weight, paying a little attention to your diet and calorie intake can provide valuable information. More importantly it gives you an instant insight into what types of food you consume and if you are consuming the right amount of the food groupings.
Let’s do a quick review of loosing weight. Here's the only thing you need to know: To loose weight you need to consume fewer calories than you use.
For those trying to gain weight simply flip that rule: To gain weight you need to consume more calories than you use.
That’s all there is to it. Of course it’s a simple representation so let’s dig a little deeper. Calculating Your Required Calorie Intake For men, with a moderate level of activity at least 2000 calories are required just for normal upkeep. More active men may need upwards of 3000 calories. To be more precise we can all calculate our own requirements. It’s a two step process. Firstly we must calculate our basal metabolic rate (BMR) - that is the amount of calories we require just to function. For men the formula is: 66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)
I'm going to provide my own data as a guinea test here. No sniggering. My own BMR is therefore: 66+(6.3 x 196) + (12.9 X 74) - (6.8 x 30) = 2051.40 calories.
So I need 2051 calories just to carry on functioning. Now we need to take account of our lifestyle. For inactive men, multiply your BMR by 20%. If you are slightly active multiply it by 30%. Average active (you exercise) by 40%. If you do physical work daily multiply by 40% and finally if you are on a chain gang in the desert multiply by 50%. Add this to your BMR total. Again for me the calculation would be(using 40%): (2051.40 / 100) *40 = 820.56
820.56 + 2051.40 = 2871.96 calories.
And there you have it. This is the amount of calories you require. If you plan to loose weight you can either consume less than this, or lead a more active life. For weight gainers, eat more or reduce your activity. Calculating how many calories you actually eat. This takes a bit of patience on your part. For a week, write down everything you eat along with the calorie content. You should also note the protein, fat, and carbohydrate content. In most cases the details are written on the packet. If it’s not blindingly obvious that you’re extra weight is coming from the three chocolate bars at lunch and the chips-with-anything meals at nighttime, then keep track of what you consume for a week. The calorie count is always written on the wrapping. After a week you should be able to spot easily where you are consuming too much, or consuming too much of the wrong food. After a week, add up your daily totals under the following headings: Calories Fats Carbohydrates Protein
Firstly if you calorie intake is over what you calculated above you will gain weight. If its under your on course to loose weight. When trying to loose weight a safe limit is somewhere around 1-2 pounds a week. Every 3,500 calories equates to roughly one pound. So to loose 1 pound a week you would need to cut your calorie intake by approx. 500 calories a day. Of course cutting back your calorie intake, combined with increased exercise is a guaranteed way to loose weight. One compliments the other and should always be done together for a truly beneficial weight loss program. We also need to cast an eye over what our calorie intake is composed of. There are three main sources - Fats, Carbohydrates and protein. To give ourselves the best start we should be eating mostly carbohydrates, fats and then protein. To calculate your percentages simply add up your fats carbohydrates and protein intake in grams. Now divide Protein by the total and multiple by 100. That is your percentage intake of protein. Do the same for fats and carbohydrates. How much of each should you be getting? The recommended daily intake of protein is 0.8 g/kg. For bodybuilders and athletes, protein intake can be 1.2-1.8 g/kg. For a general guideline the breakdown is as follows: 57% Carbohydrates
30% Fats
13% Protein
Let’s examine each in turn.  RELATED: View the Food pyramid for a handy reference guide
Carbohydrates
There are two basic types - Starchy (complex) carbohydrates and simple sugars. Simple sugars are found in cakes, sweets, jams, juices and cereals. We want to avoid this type as much as possible. Stick with the complex carbohydrates that you find in potatoes, rice, bread, wholegrain cereals, semi skimmed milk, yoghurt, fruit, vegetables, beans and pulses.
Fats
Come in two main groupings. Saturated and unsaturated. Or as I prefer to think of them, animal and vegetable fats. We want to avoid animal (saturated) fats and consume vegetable (unsaturated) fats. An easy way to distinguish between the two is animal fats are solid at room temperature and vegetable fats are normally fluid. There are of course exceptions! Examples of vegetable fats are Sunflower oil, oily fish and olive oil. Animal fats come in cheese, butter and bacon. Protein
Made up of complex amino acids, protein is essential for repairing and building muscles - which is why bodybuilder generally eat more of it. Great sources of protein include nuts, lentils, fish and eggs.  If you are exercising you will be tweaking these to suit your schedule. Particularly bodybuilders need far more protein and fewer fats for the ideal physique. But what is most important for all of us is to limit our intakes of each grouping to the recommended amount. By doing so, we ensure that our bodies are getting an appropriate amount of energy, and the correct type of energy.
Some extra's I like to add. Medication can affect weight gain and loss. If you are currently
taking medication, following the above may not be enough to help you reach your goal. You may
also suffer from medical conditions that require special attention. In all cases we recommend
see a qualified doctor before commencing on any diet or exercise program. We seriously do not
want you falling ill! |
