Tuesday, November 13, 2007

How To Calculate Your Caloric Needs

How To Calculate Your Caloric Needs
Calories have made quite the name for themselves over the
years. Some experts recommend you count them often and
some say it doesn't matter. Ultimately, calories are what
help your body function properly and give you energy.
Ironically, calories can also help you pack on the pounds.
With everything, there has to be some sort of balance.

If you're looking to lose weight, maintain your weight, or
decrease your weight there is a quick solution for
calculating your individual caloric needs. The holidays
are just around the corner so if you don't want to wake up
New Years Day and say "Oh my gosh I've gained 20 pounds!"
then keep reading.

In order to figure out how many calories you're eating
every day to maintain your current weight:

Multiply your current weight by 12, which will equal the
number of calories needed daily to maintain your current
weight.

Equation for maintaining weight: (current weight) X 12 =
(number of calories)

As an example lets say you weigh 150 pounds, what you would
want to do is multiply the 150 by 12, which will equal
1,800 calories.

So then the 1,800 calories is the number of calories you
need every day to maintain your 150 pounds. If you weigh
125 pounds, the equation would be 125 X 12 = 1,500 cal,
which means that a 125-pound person only requires 1,500
calories a day to maintain her 125 pound weight.

You still with me?

Lets take a look at it now from a weight loss standpoint.
Keep in mind that decreasing your calories alone will not
get you the desired results you must include some sort of
exercise into your lifestyle.

A simple technique for losing weight is to reduce your
caloric intake by 250 calories a day and burn 250 calories
per day from exercise. When all is said and done you're
able to lose 500 calories a day.

Recall that 3,500 calories make up 1 pound of fat. So if
you stuck with losing 500 calories a day you'll be able to
lose 1 pound of fat per week with very little effort.

Here's the equation: You're taking in 250 less calories per
day and increasing your physical exercise to burn 250
calories per day. This equals to 500 calories lost per day,
multiplied by 7 days per week = 3,500 calories.

500 cal X 7 days = a decrease of 3500 cal and a loss of 1
pound.

If you wanted to gain weight in a healthy manner you would
want to increase your caloric intake. Add an extra 500
calories into your eating plan and within a week you'll
gain a pound.

Keep in mind that you should still exercise and consume
nutritious foods rather than gobbling down crap that will
make you gain weight and make you unhealthy.

Remember to take your time and don't have the instant
gratification mindset. Slowly making your caloric
adjustments is the safest and most effective way to lose
weight and maintain your weight loss forever.

The reason is because slow and steady weight loss
conditions your body to make permanent changes in your
eating habits, and regular physical exercise conditions
your body to expect consistent physical activity every day.


----------------------------------------------------
Marci Lall is a Womens Weight Loss & Body Sculpting
Specialist. visit his website to get his FREE report "16
tips on how to get maximum weight loss and fitness results
in minimum time"

http://www.lallpt.com

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