Weight Loss Nuts and Bolts – Calories
August 26th, 2008
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by Mark Nutting · Filed Under: Fitness and Weight Loss
Let’s talk about calories. You can lose weight without counting calories, and we’ll discuss that, but I believe that you should understand the whats and whys of calories.
Daily Caloric Needs – DCN – How many calories you need to maintain weight (this is where we start) is made up of your Resting Metabolic Rate – RMR (the amount of calories you would burn if you slept all day), your Activity Level – AL (the amount of calories burned from additional movement and exercise), and the Thermogenic Effect of Food- TEF(the amount of calories that it takes to process the food that you eat.)
So, DCN = RMR+AL+TEF
Now, for weight loss, you reduce the DCN by 500 calories or 15% (whichever is less) Research shows that by reducing the calories just enough to initiate weight loss you keep your metabolism higher, your energy is higher, you feel better, you’re more likely to move around more, you burn more calories and lose more weight.
Your calories come from the macronutrients: protein- 4 calories/gram, carbohydrates-4 calories/gram, fat-9 calories/gram, and alcohol-7 calories/gram.
What percentage of your calories should come from each? General Healthy ranges are:
Carbohydrate range 45-60%
Protein range 15-25%
Fat range 20-29% – Saturated Fat <10% – Trans Fat as low as possible
Within these ranges research does show that a lower carb, higher protein diet is more effective for fat loss. I would additionall say to keep the saturated and trans fats as low as you can. They are the harmful fats. On the other hand, unsaturated fats are heathy and essential to have in our diets. Fish oil has actually been proven to aid fat loss.
Now if you actually want to figure this out those calories, here’s how you can do it:
DCN= RMR+AL+TEF
To figure out the RMR you can go to this BMR calculator (BMR is often used interchangably with RMR. Technically it’s not the same, but it’s close enough for our purposes here)
AL is a percentage of the RMR. It ranges from 0.25xRMR – 0.75xRMR(0.25 is for a couch potato and 0.75 for a high end athlete.) You pick where you believe you fall.
TEF is also a percentage of RMR. I’ve seen it range from 8-10% RMR. I tend to chose the more standard version of 10%.
So that’s your DCN. Now you can adjust it for weight loss.
Again, you don’t have to count calories. This is simply an FYI.
tells of the white author’s journey through the racially segregated south disguised as a black man. All of this is to help us to understand how others feel and to be better able to show them the care and consideration they deserve. What if we all tried a little harder to try to understand those in our lives: our families, co-workers, customers, and even strangers? Listening and understanding is a powerful tool that can change lives. 
by Daniel Goleman.
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