To calculate your BMI using the metric system: Divide your weight (kg) ÷ height (m)^2. Example if you are 1. 70 meters (5. 6 ft) and weight 61. 235 kg then you would calculate your BMI as follows: 61. 235 ÷ 1. 70^2 = 21. 188. To calculate your BMI using the English system: Divide your [weight (pounds) ÷ height (inches)^2] X 703. Example if you are 5'7" and weigh 135 pounds then you would calculate your BMI as follows: [135 ÷ 67^2] X 703 = 21. 188.
You should aim for an ideal weight that results in your BMI getting or staying within the 18. 5-24. 9.
To calculate your BMR using the following formula [3] X Research source : 655 + (4. 3 x weight in pounds) + (4. 7 x height in inches) – (4. 7 x age in years) Example: A 5'7", 135 pound, 30-year-old woman’s BMR would be 655 + (4. 3 x 135 pounds) + (4. 7 x 67) – (4. 7 x 30) = 1408. 5.
Example: If you, like the above women, had a BMR of 1408. 5 and lived an active lifestyle then you would need to multiply your BMR by 1. 4. If you did this, you would find that you burn approximately 1972 calories per day.
Example: If you, like the above women, burned approximately 1972 calories per day then you would want to eat between 1380 (2695 x 0. 70) and 1676 (2695 x 0. 85) calories per day. The larger your deficit, closer to 30% (1380 calories/day), the quicker your diet will be but the harder it will be to maintain. The smaller your deficit, closer to 15% (1676 calories/day), the easier your diet will be to maintain but your weight loss will be slower.
If you do not eat enough protein when dieting you will lose muscle mass as well as fat. Therefore, if you want be smaller and toned, not smaller and saggy, make sure to eat enough protein while in a calorie deficit. To calculate how many grams of protein you need a day, multiply your weight by 0. 5-0. 77. Example: If you weigh 135 pounds, you would need to multiply your weight by 0. 5 to calculate your lowest protein need as 68 grams of protein/day. To calculate your highest protein need, multiple 135 pounds by 0. 77 to find you need up to 104 grams of protein per day. To convert protein grams to protein calories, know that there are 4 calories per gram of protein. Therefore to convert grams to calories, simply multiply by 4. Example: If you are 135 pounds you should eat between 68 x 4 = 272 calories and 104 x 4 = 419 calories of protein per day.
To calculate how many calories of fat you should eat in a day, multiple 0. 20 and 0. 35 by your calories goal. Example: If you are planning a 1676 calorie diet multiply 1676 x 0. 20 to get 335 calories, and 1676 x 0. 35 to get 587 calories. From this you now know that if you are planning a 1676 calories per day diet, you should get between 335-587 of these calories from fat. To calculate how many grams of fat you should consume, know that there are 9 calories in a gram of fat. Therefore to convert calories to grams, simply divide by 9. Example: From the example above, you now know that if you are planning a 1676 calorie per day diet, you should get between 339-593 of these calories from fat. 335 calories ÷ 9 = 37 grams, 587 calories ÷ 9 = 65 grams. So if you are planning a 1676 calories per day diet you should eat between 37-65 grams of fat per day.
Example: If you are a 135 pound, 30-year-old active woman who is planning 1676 calories per day. From the “Calculate how much protein you need in a day” step you know that you need 272-419 of your calories from protein in a day. From the “Calculate how much fat you need in a day” step you know you need 335-587 calories from fat in a day. Therefore the remaining calories up to 1676 will be from carbohydrates. To calculate the minimum number of carbohydrate calories you are allowed, subtract your highest protein and fat needs, 419 calories from protein and 587 calories from fat, from your daily calorie allotment of 1676 calorie per day (1676 - 419 - 587) to get 670 carbohydrate calories per day. To calculate the maximum number of carbohydrate calories you are allowed, subtract your lowest protein and fat needs, 272 calories from protein and 335 calories from fat, from your daily calorie allotment of 1676 calorie per day (1676 - 272 - 335) to get 1069 carbohydrate calories per day. To change carbohydrate calories to grams, know that there are 4 calories per carbohydrate gram. Therefore to convert calories to grams, simply divide by 4. Example: If you are having a low carb day (higher fat, protein day) and are allowed 670 calories of carbohydrates per day, you would be allowed 670 ÷ 4 = 167. 5 grams of carbohydrates in a day.
As you record your food and drink intake, also record your mood. You will be looking for patterns. Do you eat when sad, bored, stressed? If you find that you do eat when emotional, keep this in mind when starting your diet. You do not want to mindlessly fall back into old emotional habits.
It is important to know your macronutrient intake because you want to restrict the right kind of calories to stay healthy on a diet.
This takes some time, play around with menu ideas and calculate the calorie and macronutrient content. Find a diet that fits your taste and lifestyle but is within the nutrition guidelines.
Good protein sources include skinless chicken breast, ground turkey, bison, egg whites, Greek yogurt, and tofu. Good fat sources include almonds, peanuts, flax seeds, chia seeds, fish, egg yolks, and olive oil. Good carbohydrate sources include unprocessed carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, brown rice, fruit, oatmeal, bran, wheat germ, Bulgarian wheat, beans, and vegetables.
First, processed food is usually high in calories and low in nutrients. Second, processed carbohydrates usually have high glycemic indexes, which means they cause insulin spikes that can promote weight gain - not what you want when trying to lose body fat. Third, processed food usually does not contain much fiber, which can leave you feeling hungry.
Do not estimate portion sizes; use measuring cups/spoons, or better yet weight everything.
Do not be afraid of “bulking up” by weight training. Women have up to 40X less testosterone than men [5] X Research source . The bulky women seen in bodybuilding competitions take hormone replacements and train for years to get that way. Instead weight training for normal women (not taking supplements) will result not in lots of mass, but in a toned shapely figure. So do not be afraid to lift heavy! To maximize your weight training focus on compound movements, deadlifts, squats, bench press, military press and pull ups. As you get more advanced start incorporating isolation exercises like bicep curls, tricep extensions, glut bridges, etc. If you have not weight trained before, be prepared to be very sore the first week. Like all new exercise, introduce it slowly to let your body adapt and avoid injury.
Do not get caught in the vicious cardio/diet cycle. The cardio/diet cycle is when you exercise to burn off calories, but this makes you hungrier, which makes you eat more, forcing you to exercise more, making you even hungrier, etc. Keep cardiovascular exercise to under 2-3 hours a week unless actively training for a fitness goal. Doing more cardiovascular exercise than this can actually inhibit fat loss by raising cortisol levels [6] X Research source . To avoid this problem, control your calorie deficit in the kitchen, not on the treadmill. Some cardiovascular exercise you might consider including are: A light 2 mile (3. 2 km) jog before breakfast a few days a week. 20 minutes on the stairmill after weightlifting. High intensity interval training a few days a week.
Example #1: If you burn 1972 calories a day (as calculated from the “Calculate total calories burned per day” step) and decided on a 15% deficit for a caloric goal of 1676 (from step “Calculate your calorie goal”) then you would have a deficit of 1972 - 1676 = 296 calories per day. Example #2: If you burn 1972 calories a day (as calculated from the “Calculate total calories burned per day” step) and decided on a 30% deficit for a caloric goal of 1380 (from step “Calculate your calorie goal”) then you would have a deficit of 1972 - 1380 = 592 calories per day.
To calculate your rate of fat loss, multiple your daily caloric deficit (from step “Calculate your daily caloric deficit”) by 7. Then divide the resulting number by 3,500. This will tell you how many pounds of fat you can expect to lose per week. Example #1: If you have a daily caloric deficit of 296 calories you would need to multiply 296 by 7 to get 2,072. Now divide 2,072 by 3,500 to calculate how much fat you will lose per week, 0. 59 or a little over a half pound per week. Example #1: If you have a daily caloric deficit of 592 calories you would need to multiply 592 by 7 to get 4,144. Now divide 4,144 by 3,500 to calculate how much fat you will lose per week, 1. 182 or a little over a pound per week. From these above examples you can see that a larger deficit results in more fat loss per week. However, keep in mind that a larger deficit is harder to maintain and may lead to binging.
A cheat meal does not mean that you get to eat an entire pizza and a carton of ice cream in one sitting. But it is an opportunity to eat something that is not on your diet. So have two slices of pizza and a reasonable bowl of ice cream. Have your cheat meal guilt free, after all it is a planned part of your diet, then immediately get back on your diet for the next meal. A regular and reasonable cheat meal may even help boost your metabolism [8] X Research source .
Keep in mind that as you lose weight you may want to recalculate your macronutrient and caloric needs. Do not be afraid of incorporating new meals into your diet, as long as you still follow you calories and macronutrient guidelines for the day. If you are not losing weight on a 15-30% deficit, look to your food logging. Be careful to measure, or better yet weigh, everything and record the correct portion sizes when calculating calories and macronutrients consumed.
