Eat donuts and lose weight: all about calories

There are scientific definitions for calories, but for our purposes, a calorie is a unit of measure of the energy our body uses for all vital processes. Essentially calories = energy, energy is needed to survive. Determining how many calories you need depends on your goals. The calculations are provided below.

Summary of total daily energy expenditure

Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) refers to the number of calories consumed in a typical day. This value is derived by three factors:

• Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) – The number of calories burned to maintain your vital bodily functions: pumping blood, breathing, and maintaining temperature. This represents approximately 70% of your TDEE.
• Thermal Effect of Food (TEF): the number of calories burned when digesting and processing food. This represents about 6-10% of your TDEE.
• Energy used during physical activity: the number of calories burned from any physical activity (walking, exercising, shopping) at any time when you are not resting. This represents approximately 20% of your TDEE.

Note: These percentages are for average people. Medical conditions can play a role in slowing or speeding up RMR. Also, the energy used during physical activity can vary dramatically. For example, if you are training for an Ironman, your energy expended during exercise will be drastically greater than that of someone taking their dogs for a mile at night for exercise.

Estimation of total daily energy expenditure

There are several ways to estimate your TDEE. Most of them involve multiplying your weight by a variable of “amount of physical activity.”

For example (From: FitDay):

• For sedentary people: Weight (pounds) x 14 = cal / day est.
• For moderately active people: Weight (lbs) x 17 = cal / day est.
• For active people: Weight (lbs) x 20 = cal / day est.

Where did they get these “amount of physical activity” variables? These are based on the idea that your resting metabolic rate (RMR) equals your weight (pounds) times 10. Then your activity level (another variable) is added.

Example:

Let’s take a 180 pound man. Find your RMR: 10 x 180 = 1800 calories. He’s pretty sedentary – he works in an office all day, drives home, takes his dog for a walk, cooks dinner, and falls asleep on the couch almost every day. So, we will take the variable “Sedentary people” of 14. Ten of the 14 are to estimate their RMR, leaving us with four. 4 x 180 = 720 calories. So 1800 (RMR) + 720 (Physical Activity) = 2,520 calories to maintain your current weight at your current level of activity. Or simply; 14 x 180 = 2,520 calories.

Understanding HOW these “physical activity” variables are calculated is good knowledge.

How accurate is this?

Two things: the RMR will vary from person to person. Based on lean muscle, age, genetics, supplements, etc., some people have a higher or lower RMR than others. The variable, 10, is an average.

Second, no matter where you look or which agency publishes the “physical activity” variables, there will be slight differences. It also depends on the person doing the calculations. For instance; You may think of yourself as being very active, while in reality you are only moderately active. It is a matter of perception.

How can I be more precise?

For a more accurate description of the amount of physical activity you participate in, you need to keep track of your calories burned. The key here is to make sure that whatever method you use, your weight is entered accurately. Weight is one of the most important factors in determining calories burned. These methods are not 100% perfect, but they can more accurately determine your level of physical activity. This can be done in many ways:

• GPS watch: use when walking, running, cycling, etc.
• Gym Equipment – Many cardio machines in the gym will calculate calories burned.
• Calorie Calculator – They will take your (weight) x (time) x (activity variable) to calculate the calories expended. HealthStatus offers a fairly inclusive calculator.

Applying this is easy. We will still calculate the RMR by multiplying your weight (pounds) by 10. Then add in all the calories you have burned through physical activity. For instance; 180 pound male = 1,800 RMR. After work, he goes to the gym where he runs for 30 minutes on the treadmill, lifts weights, and then shoots for 30 minutes. Burns about 982 calories. So 1,800 + 982 = 2,782 calories per day to maintain your current weight with so much physical activity. If you decided to give up your time at the gym and instead spend it on the couch, obviously your daily maintenance calories would be lower.

Weight loss / gain

Now that you understand how to maintain weight using caloric calculations, it’s time to investigate weight loss or weight gain.

Given these facts:

• One pound equals 3,500 calories
• It is relatively safe to lose / gain a pound or two per week. (This is for the average person, there are always exceptions, i.e. morbid obesity)

If someone wants to lose a pound per week, then they will have to restrict their weekly caloric intake to 3,500 calories, or 500 calories / day (3,500 calories in a pound / 7 days in a week).

Let’s use our 180 pound male above. You want to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks, or one pound a week. Currently, your maintenance calories are 2,782 / day, and to reduce 3,500 calories a week, we will cut 500 calories / day for a total of 2,282 calories / day to lose one pound / week.

If you wanted to gain weight, you would do the opposite: 2,782 calories / day + 500 calories = 3,282 calories per day to gain one pound per week.

Note that as body weight increases or decreases, the RMR will also change; the number of calories burned during physical activity will also change (the lighter you are, the less you have to move and the fewer calories you burn).

When the man reaches his goal of 170 pounds, his new RMR will be 1700 and all his exercise will only burn 928 calories at his new weight. Which means your new TDEE / Maintenance Calories are at 2628.

Be prepared to adapt, as every body is different. Some people, if they cut 500 calories / day from their diet, they will lose weight incredibly fast. In this case, they may only need to reduce their daily caloric intake by 250. Remember, it is relatively safe to lose / gain a pound or two per week. Or 500 cal / day may not be enough; they may need to reduce / add 750 cal / day to achieve one to two pounds per week. One would have to pay attention to what is REALLY going on in their body and adapt.

Good / bad calories

Are there such things as good calories and bad calories? Some people believe that not all calories are equal, that calories from protein are not the same as calories from carbohydrates and fat. For example, fiber is a carbohydrate and technically contains 4 calories per 1 gram; however, the human body cannot digest fiber, so those calories “really” don’t count.

These calories are so difficult to count and their values ​​are almost negligible, so the general rule of thumb is:

A calorie is a calorie.

No matter where the calories come from, whether it’s carbohydrates, protein, or fat, it’s still a calorie. With this in mind, yes, one can lose weight by eating only fat. As long as the total number of calories is less than the maintenance calories, they will lose weight. The same goes for carbohydrates and proteins.

While one can lose / gain weight by eating any of the fats, carbohydrates, and proteins that they want, as long as they are below or above their maintenance calories, it is still a bad idea to eat only donuts.

Let’s say our 180-pound man is still trying to lose 10 pounds, but he wants to do it while eating only Dunkin ‘Donuts’ Glazed Donuts. Can do it? Yes. A glazed donut has 180 calories, 8 g of fat, 25 g of carbohydrates and 3 g of protein. Knowing that you need to consume 2,282 cal / day to lose one pound a week, we will divide that by 180 cal / donut to see how many donuts you will need to eat in one day. 2,282 / 180 = 12.68 donuts / day. You can eat just a dozen glazed donuts a day and STILL lose a pound a week!

Of course, this is an extreme example and only refers to weight loss. It will be difficult to find someone who recommends this type of diet. Why? Because it just isn’t healthy. It lacks vital nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals. A human body needs a certain percentage of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to function properly. Finding out one’s specific percentages, based on your goals, is called finding one’s nutritional macros. This will be discussed in great detail in a later section.

Counting Calories

To help you count calories, it is recommended to use a program. One of the most popular programs is FitDay. They offer free and paid services, as well as a great PC program that I personally use and highly recommend.

The problem with calorie counting is that if you don’t enter your food intake right away, you’ll forget about it!

What is an empty calorie?

They are calories that come from solid fats and / or sugars that provide practically no nutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc.) to food. Some examples include sodas, cakes, cookies, cakes, cheese, and ice cream. Sure, they taste great, but they don’t add much nutritional value.

What are cheat / meal days?

Cheat / meal days are used when dieting, you give up your dietary restrictions and get rid of them. These are usually once a week and are based on the theory that you need to calm your emotional cravings for certain foods, as well as jump-start your metabolism and provide extra energy. When you consume many more calories than normal, your body goes into hyperactive mode to burn them.