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This is Day 3 of Live a Healthier Life in 21 Days Challenge, Jan 2012 run. Subscribe to the free newsletter for lifetime access of personal development articles and future challenge announcements like this one.

Whether you have weight loss goals, or weight gain goals, or you're simply someone who is passionate about living a healthy life, you should know your daily energy expenditure, so you consume in line with your energy needs.

Some of you may already be familiar with Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which stands for the minimum caloric requirement to sustain life in an individual. It doesn't account for the exercises/activities you do. Total Daily Energy Expenditure (or TDEE) is the total number of calories you burn in an average day, including all the activities you do. It takes into account our activity level, and is a closer measure to the calories we burn on an average day. Basically

TDEE = BMR (Calories burned when you do absolutely nothing) + Calories burned from activities (This is a calorie expenditure that occurs on top of your BMR)

Consuming lesser calories than TDEE will lead to a weight loss. On the other hand, consuming more calories will lead to a weight gain. Consuming the same calories will lead to maintenance of your current weight.

To figure out how many calories you should consume a day to achieve your weight goals, we need to first know your TDEE. Hence, today's task is on calculating your TDEE!

Step 1: Calculate Your TDEE

1) Calculate your BMR. Use this BMR counter. This is the energy requirements just to sustain your body.
2) Multiply #1 by 1.2. This is the calories you burn a day, when you have light activity.
3) Add your calorie output via exercise. Use this activity counter to know how many calories you're burning with your exercises. Sum up your calorie output with the answer from #2 and you'll get your TDEE for the day.

For example, if your BMR is 1400 and you went jogging today and burned 300 calories, your total energy expenditure will be 1400x1.2 + 300=1680 + 300 = 1980 calories for the day.

Step 2: Calculate your calories intake per day to achieve your weight goal

If you want to maintain your weight, simply eat in line with your TDEE from Step #1.

To lose/gain weight, you've to consume lesser/more calories than your energy expended every day (exercise not withstanding). It's generally recommended not to set a calories difference bigger than 500. So if your TDEE is 1700 and you want to lose weight, you should have a calorie intake between 1200 to <1700 calories.

By setting your ideal weight and the date you want to achieve this ideal weight, you can then work backwards and calculate your calories intake a day.

1. Calculate the difference between your ideal weight and current weight. If your ideal weight is 60kg and your current weight is 63kg, the difference is 3kg or 6.6lbs (1kg = 2.2lbs).
2. Multiply answer #1 by 3500. This is the total calories you need to lose. To lose 1 lb, you need to have a calorie deficit of 3500 calories. Example: If you have a 6.6lbs difference, that will be 6.6 (pounds) x 3500 (calories per pound)= 23100 calories.
3. Divide answer #2 by # of days to achieve ideal weight. When do you want to achieve your ideal weight? If you want to achieve your ideal weight by end of Feb (it's Jan 3 now), that's 56 days left. Then, divide answer #2 by the number of days left. Example: 23100 / 56 = 413 calories per day.
   
   What this means is you need to eat 462 less calories (vs. your TDEE) or burn 462 more calories (via exercising) to achieve your ideal weight of 60kg by end Feb.
   

Now that you know your TDEE and the daily caloric intake needed to achieve your weight goals, tomorrow we will work on designing your ideal meal plans to make that happen. These will be the ideal meal plans you are going to strive to adhere to for the rest of your 21DHL journey. Stay tuned!

Day 3 of Your 21-Day Healthy Living Plan

What are your tasks listed for today? Do them with excellence and report them in your 21DHL Journal.

Also, read your group mates' 21DHL journals and cheer them along! Pick a few members' journals and make it a point to post meaningful replies there.

Update Your 21DHL Journals

Once you are done for the day, update your 21DHL Journal. You are also welcome to update your 21DHL Journal multiple times throughout the day. Post all your results for today's task and your 21-Day Healthy Living Plan directly in your journal.

If you have any questions specific to today's task, post them here.

There is a typo above under step 2.

Quote:To lose 1 lb, you need to have a calorie deficit of 3500 lbs.

I think is should say
"To lose 1 lb, you need to have a deficit of 3500 calories"

edited after initial post...
Actually I did some more reading and it looks like the rule of thumb of a 3500 calorie deficit to loose a pound of fat is an oversimplification. First there is a pretty wide range of caloric values. According to one source,

Quote:one pound of fat could contain anywhere between 2,843 and 3,752 calories. Given that it is currently held that one pound is 3,500 calories we could (according to this formula) inadvertently gain six stone every year at the low end of the calculation and lose almost two stone in the same year if one pound is 3,752 calories.

and according to another source, weight loss has a strong dependence on the individual's lean body mass.

Quote:If you have a high initial body fat percentage, then you are going to lose more fat relative to lean, so you will need a larger deficit to lose the same amount of weight as compared to a lean person. That means that eating at a lower calorie level will work better for you than for a relatively lean individual.

I'm not an expert on this topic by any means, and while I agree that a calorie deficit is needed to loose weight; however, I remain skeptical about using the 3,500 calorie per pound formula to predict progress.

Anyone else have an opinion on this?

servus
ChuckA
Getting younger in 2012

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Thanks for the heads up, Chuck! I just corrected it.

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
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Although this required to many calculations it was really helpful Celes. Thank you

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(01-03-2012 08:51 AM)ChuckA Wrote:  I'm not an expert on this topic by any means, and while I agree that a calorie deficit is needed to loose weight; however, I remain skeptical about using the 3,500 calorie per pound formula to predict progress.

Anyone else have an opinion on this?

Hey Chuck! I agree with you that it's merely a simplification. Though I have, on 2 separate occasions, religiously followed the 3500 calorie = 1 pound rule (once in 2008-2009, where I measured calories *every single day* for the whole year, and another time for 2 months after my fast in 2010, where I measured calories again for the 2 months), and found that my loss in weight before/after the period was *exactly* equivalent to the deficit in calories I had not consumed or had burned off (via exercise). So it is largely helpful as a directional guide for weight loss/gain, and short of getting a personal body measurement/body composition test of some sorts, I suppose it is the closest reference we can use in planning weight loss goals.

(01-03-2012 11:58 PM)Andria Yiasmin Wrote:  Although this required to many calculations it was really helpful Celes. Thank you

No problem - Glad you found it helpful, Andria!

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

Thanks for the instructions on how to do this calculation. That is helpful!

My TDEE is 2783 calories a day. My ideal weight is 165 to 170 lbs. So if I lose 2 lbs a week I would reach my goal May 19. Just in time for summer.

I went through todays assignment in spreadsheet but normally I like to use LoseIt.com for all these calculations. I love it for keeping track of calories when I eat or exercise. Generally I am able to achieve my goals when I stay within my calorie limit.

Celes said that keeping track of your calories can feel like you are on a leash. There is definitely some truth to that. Counting calories and trying to stay within a set limit can be very tedious and frustrating. I would say it's good to do though at least for a limited period of time. You might never realize the effects of food or exercise on your body until you keep track of certain metrics like calorie or fat intake.

My TDEE is 1840. I have 45 lbs to lose. I need to burn or eat less than 875 calories to hit my goal weight by July 1, 2012!