One of the most important yet often overlooked aspects of obtaining low body fat levels is your resting metabolic rate (RMR). Remember, the amount of calories you metabolize on a daily basis is a combinatino of those consumed to support your RMR, those consumed from your daily activities and exercise, and those consumed from the thermic effect of eating meals. Your RMR accounts for approximately 60-70% of the calories you expend on a daily basis, while your activities account for approximately 20-30%, and the thermic effect of food accounts for approximately 10%.Below, I’ve provided formulas for you to calculate your approximate daily caloric needs in order for you to have an idea of how many calories you need per day to maintain the same weight. You can then adjust appropriately in order to lose weight.
Daily Caloric Needs
Multiply your calculated RMR (below) by 1.3 (sedentary), 1.4 (moderately active), or 1.5 (very active). If you work out intensely 4-5 days/week or are active in sports or outdoor activities, use 1.5 as the multiplying factor.
RMR expressed in calories (kcal)/day
Height expressed in inches
Weight expressed in pounds
Age expressed in years
For men: RMR = 66 + (12.7 x height) + (6.27 x weight) – (6.8 x age)
For women: RMR = 655 + (4.57 x height) + (4.36 x weight) – (4.7 x age)
Example: A 190-lb male, 6’0” tall, 28 yrs old, very active
Daily caloric requirements for weight maintenance =
1.5 x (66 + (12.7 x 72) + (6.27 x 190) – (6.8 x 28)) = 2972 calories/day
This calculation can be done automaticaly by downloading the Metabolic Rate Calculator I put together in microsoft excel at http://www.box.net/shared/p7bb32yx80.
I highly recommend visiting http://weightburningsecretsrevealed.blogspot.com if you are going to attempt to lose weight. It has some very vital information regarding the subject if you are trying to go about it alone.
One program I found extremely helpful in my own weight loss journey was the weight burning furnace program. I won't go into it in too much detail but the site URL is http://weightburningfurnace.com.
Good luck!
