If you are not a professional athlete, training does not affect body weight as much as is commonly believed, and proper nutrition provides a much greater effect on weight loss. You can organize it by counting calories.
Mifflin-Saint Jeor Formula
Developed in 2005 by American nutritionists led by Mifflin and St. Jeor, the formula allows you to calculate the required number of calories with high accuracy. This takes into account all the main factors: height, weight, age and gender. You can find out the required amount of energy per day using a simple formula:
- For men: BMR = (m × 10) + (h × 6.25) − (t × 5) + 5.
- For women: BMR = (m × 10) + (h × 6.25) - (t × 5) - 161.
In this case, m is weight, h is height, and t is age. For example, if you are a 36-year-old man with a height of 175 centimeters and a weight of 95 kilograms, your daily intake will be: (95 × 10) + (175 × 6.25) − (36 × 5) + 5 = 1868.75 kilocalories. The resulting number is multiplied by the activity factor. For a sedentary lifestyle, it is 1.2, which means the final figure is 2242.5 kilocalories.
Harris-Benedict formula
One of the earliest calorie counting methods is considered to be a formula developed in 1919 in Washington by James Arthur Harris and Francis Gano Benedict. It allows you to determine how much energy you need to maintain weight and lose weight, and takes into account active metabolism (AMR) and basal metabolism (BMR). Basal is calculated first:
- Men (over 20): BMR = 66.4730 + (13.7516 × m) + (5.0033 × h) − (6.7550 × t).
- For women (over 20): BMR = 655.0955 + (9.5634 × m) + (1.8496 × h) − (4.6756 × t).
Having received the desired BMR, you can calculate the active metabolism - AMR: by multiplying by a factor. For a sedentary lifestyle, it is 1.2, for moderate activity - 1.375, for high activity - 1.725, and for athletes - 1.9.
Katch-McArdle Formula
A simpler way to calculate calories was proposed by researchers Katch and McArdle, who paid attention only to the mass of adipose tissue and lean body mass. The method has become especially useful for athletes, and for people leading an active lifestyle.
- BMR = (21.6 × LBM) + 370 where:
LBM - body weight without fat. In turn, LBM is calculated as:
- (m × (100 − % fat)) / 100.
The Ketch-McArdle formula does not take into account the age and gender of a person, and cannot be applied to overweight people. Its main purpose is to select a diet for professional athletes.
Harris-Benedict formula (revised)
Developed in 1919 by James Harris and Francis Benedict, the formula was revised in 1984.
- For men: BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 × m) + (4.799 × h) − (5.677 × t).
- For women: BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 × m) + (3.098 × h) − (4.330 × t).
Today, both options are used, but the modified one is considered more accurate.
Schofield formula
Advanced calorie counting was published in 1985 by researcher V. N. Schofield, who based his work on the results of Mifflin-St. Jeor. Tables were compiled for different age intervals, taking into account gender and body weight. So, for men aged 18-30, the formula looks like this:
- BMR = 63 × w + 2896, with standard error of estimate (SM) = 641.
For women aged 18 to 30, BMR is calculated differently:
- BMR = 62 × w + 2036, with standard error of estimate (SM) = 497.
Similar formulas are presented for both sexes with age intervals. The results obtained are multiplied by the activity coefficient: from 1.3 to 2.4.
It is important to understand that it is much easier not to consume excess calories than to try to burn them during training. For example, if you take a run at a speed of 8 km / h, then you need something like:
- 20 minutes - to burn calories from 1 half-liter bottle of beer.
- 28 minutes to burn calories from 1 cheeseburger.
- 41 minutes to burn calories from 1 liter of Coca-Cola or Pepsi.
- 43 minutes to burn the calories from an 85g pack of Lays chips.
- 50 minutes to burn calories from a Snickers Super bar.
It is also important to monitor the amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in the diet. Ideally, protein should be 30-35%, fat 10-15%, and carbohydrates 50-60%. The percentage of BJU, as a rule, is indicated on product packages.
And the required number of calories extracted from food is calculated using online calculators or the formulas listed above. They allow you to determine with high accuracy how much energy you need per day: taking into account age, height, gender, weight, and other parameters. Watch your diet and be healthy!
