Nutrition part 3 Calories - What's the story?
- Richard Humberstone
- Jun 2, 2020
- 4 min read
Firstly, let me start by saying this is a subject I'm quite conflicted on. Counting calories is not an exact science, and it's not as accurate as people may lead you to believe. For the most part, it's frustrating and confusing for the average person wanting to improve their health and fitness. I recommend that you use it as a guideline and not gospel.
Simply, calories (Kcal) are used to show how much energy is in the food and drink we ingest. We need calories for every single bodily function from thinking to breathing to running after the bus. Everything we do we need calories, so they are a pretty big deal. Although like everything that's a big deal there's a lot of information out there and a lot of the time contradicting information. I will give it a shot at breaking it down for you so you can understand and not have to worry about it.
The food and drink we ingest are broken down into macronutrients. Each macronutrient contains a set amount of calories per gram.
- Carbohydrates (4 calories per gram) - Proteins (4 calories per gram) - Fats (9 calories per gram)
To learn more, read my blog about the importance of macronutrients, click the link below.
Like I mentioned above, calories are in everything we ingest. Even though alcohol isn't a macronutrient, it contains 7 calories per gram. To learn more, read my blog on alcohol, click the link below.
A calorie is a calorie
There is a saying "A calorie is a calorie." What does that even mean? Basically, it means that it doesn't matter what you eat as a calorie will always be a calorie. This is one of the most ridiculous and uneducated statements out there.
Let's say you have two identical twins on a diet consisting of 2,500 calories and both start on the same training program for 8 weeks with a strength and fitness test after. Twin one's calories consist of chocolate, fast food fizzy drinks and twin two's calories consist of a genetic-based macronutrient diet. At the end of the 8 weeks, I guarantee they look entirely different, have totally different body compositions and totally different test results. 100% the second twin on the genetic macronutrient diet will win hands down.
See, it's not just about the number of calories you have; it's what's in the calories you're consuming. If you're wondering what I mean by genetic macronutrient diet don't fear, there will be a blog on this soon.
How many calories?
Before determining how many calories you need, we need to talk about BMR. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is how many calories your body needs to survive if you did nothing but laid in bed all day. Once we can estimate your BMR, we can calculate how many calories your body needs to perform your day to day activities.
You may have heard men need 2500 Kcal and women 2000 Kcal daily. Now, I'm not one for these general guidelines and recommendations as everyone is different and will have different requirements. So it is crucial to find out what your individual requirements are. There are many factors to determine your total calorie needs from your age, weight, height and gender.
When it comes to weight loss or weight gain, it is simple mathematics. If you consume more calories than your body uses you gain weight, eat fewer calories than than than your body uses you lose weight.
Lucky for me, there were two way smarter men who figured this out. James Arthur Harris and Francis Gano Benedict created the Harris-Benedict formula in 1919 and with thanks to them as they made my job much easier. Click the link below for the BMR calculator
I've used myself, for example, in this picture. I entered the required information and pressed the calculate BMR button and as you can see it has calculated I have an estimated BMR of 1834.4. Ok so now I know this number I can determine how many calories I need to perform my day to day lifestyle. To do this, we then use the Harris-Benedict equation.
Now using your BMR 1834.4 in my case and multiply this by how active you are. For me currently, that is moderately active 3-5 times a week (1.55), and that equates to 2843.16, and there we have it. I need to consume 2834.16 calories daily to maintain my current weight of 80kg.
Now you have your required estimated calories you can go proceed to work to your goals whether it be for weight loss or weight gain. More to come on this topic in a future blog.
Final thoughts
Calorie counting is useful and can help people with an understanding of what is in the foods and drinks they're consuming and also portion control. However, it can be a slippery slope, and people can fall deep into the rabbit hole. The reason why this can be negative is that as I previously mentioned, it's not entirely accurate. If you do want to track your calories, Myfitnesspal is a great option. It can count your calories and also a breakdown of macronutrients. It has a website and even an app.
Feel free to share this blog with your friends and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss a blog and you're more than welcome to message me any questions you have.
Comments