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Calorie_counter
!xf4elShL76
It takes 3704 calories per day to maintain my weight with a moderate activity level. Great, but I want to lose weight. This is done through calorie deficits. They say that the
absolute maximum (for extreme cases of 20lbs or more) is 30%. 15% is the norm, and 20% is the most you should aim for unless you can grab and kiss fistfuls of fat from your gut.
It is a simple calculation. Take me, at a calorie deficit of 25%:
Daily calorie target: 3704 * (1 - .25) = 2778 calories.
And there you have it. To further subdivide this into meals, we here on /fit/ usually agree on 5 meals per day. That amounts to 556 calories per meal, which is an allowance that
you'll probably have trouble meeting, if you're anything like me. I am never wanting for food if I stick to these quotas, and you're not likely to, either. Also, many people say
that meal tapering -- eating more in the morning and less at night -- has merit. If you want to, just hack off a hundred or two calories from your last meal and put 'em onto your
first meal.
Sit tight, there's still a bit more to the story. A very important part, even. You MUST strive to achieve a certain macro-nutrient balance if you want to truly optimize your
weight loss. Macro-nutrients are fats, carbs, and proteins, and they are where the calories from food come from. Sadly, most nutrient labels are listed in grams, so that means a
little more converting. Here are their conversion rates:
1g fat = 9 calories 1g protein = 4 calories 1g carbohydrates = 4 calories
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