A New Equation to Calculate the Calories Required to Lose Weight

[Turkish Juicer]

This was written by : Anoop T. Balachandran who has written several interesting articles...


It is always said that you need to burn 3500 calories to burn one found of fat. Hence the usual logic is to cut 500 calories per day and you will be losing 1 lb a week. This is called the 3500 calorie per pound rule.

But this never happens in reality.

Why is the 3500C reduction to lose 1lb rule wrong?

Assumption: This calculation is based on the assumption that you are losing 87% of fat. But when people lose weight, they lose muscle mass too.

Metabolic Slow Down: As you lose weight, you also lose some muscle. This loss in muscle causes a decrease in resting metabolic rate.

Calories burned: As you lose weight, your body burns less calories to do the same amount of activity.

Starting Composition: It is now known that people with greater initial body fat levels lose less muscle compared to people with lower initial body fat levels.
How is the new equation different from the old equation?

Old equation: For a 224lb guy, a 500 calorie deficit/week will result in 50lb weight loss in the first year.

New equation: Based on the new model, for a 224lb guy, the body weight will plateau after losing 56 lbs in 10 years. Out of the 56 lbs, you will lose 22lb in the first year and the 95% of the this 56lb in 3 years.

The old equation predicts greater than 100% weight loss than the new equation!

What is this new dynamic equation?

These complex equations have been integrated into a web-based program.

- Enter your current weight, height, age and activity level
- Enter your desired weight & duration you need to lose this weight
- Enter the increase in physical activity
- You will get the calories you should eat to reach this weight and the calories required to maintain this weight.
- There are a lot more features in the results, like body fatness, results in tabular form and so forth.

New equation to calculate calorie to lose weight

For example, I am 165lb and 68in tall. In the top-middle panel, I have my goal weight (140lb) and desired time interval to achieve the goal (150 days).Running the simulation shows the required changes of calorie intake to meet the goal and then maintain the weight change. The simulated bodyweight trajectory is graphically displayed in the lower panel. Users can also modify the physical activity tosee how combinations of diet and exercise can achieve the same goal.

Click http://bwsimulator.niddk.nih.gov/ to open the body weight simulator.

The New Equation Limitations

- There is a 5% error in calculating the basal energy requirements
- The adherence is assumed to be perfect
- Changes in energy intake which can effect changes in energy expenditure. For example, people eating more after they work out
- There are genetic factors which can change the weight lost or gained.

Practical Application

- The old equation is static and clearly overestimates the predicted weight loss
- The new equation takes into account the loss in muscle mass and the drop in energy expenditure with weight loss
- Though it has limitations, the new equation can predict the change in calories or activity needed to lose a certain amount of weight in a certain duration with a greater accuracy than it has ever been possible.

About the author: Author's name is Anoop T. Balachandran. He has a Master’s in Exercise Physiology from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and another Master’s in Human Performance from University of Florida Gainesville. He is an American Council of Exercise (ACE) certified personal trainer and NSCA Certifiied Strength & Conditioning Coach and also the NSCA Personal Trainer forum moderator.

[Turkish Juicer]

bump

[JohnnnyBlazzze]

I don't get it, it automatically determines my bf % based off my height and weight? I put in 190lbs and it automatically said my bf% was 21%. What if I was 190lbs and 12% bf?, but the simulator is telling me i'm 21%? I'm more interested in bf% lowering, not necessarily the amount of weight.

It says i need to get down to 135lbs to get to 10% bf...?

[Turkish Juicer]

You need to switch from ''automatic'' to ''input'' for manually entering your BF percentage.

This option is listed under the ''Enter Baseline Information'' on the left column.

I am not experiencing similar issues with the simulator, FYI.

[JohnnnyBlazzze]

You need to switch from ''automatic'' to ''input'' for manually entering your BF percentage.

This option is listed under the ''Enter Baseline Information'' on the left column.

I am not experiencing similar issues with the simulator, FYI.

Oh ya i got it now, pretty cool little tool. Almost mirrors my diet right now that i got from the stickies, this things way easier though lol.

[Turkish Juicer]

Glad to hear you figured it out.

I am loving this simulator ;-)

[anoopbal]

Glad you liked the article. Could you atleast put the link to the article where you copied it please.

I wrote that article on my site hence.

[jimmyinkedup]

Glad you liked the article. Could you atleast put the link to the article where you copied it please.

I wrote that article on my site hence.

Links of that type are not permitted here.
If it is copyright protected it could certainly be removed.
The respectable thing to do would be to at least reference and give you proper credit for writing it - which im sure Turkish would do, simply provide your name and the date you wrote it , however we do not link to outside sites.

[anoopbal]

Yes it is copyright protected. So it is better to remove it!

If he wanted to, he would have done it when he posted.So please remove it!

[jimmyinkedup]

It will be removed shortly.
I apologize for any inconvenience as well as the lack of proper credit and respect you and your writing should have recieved.

[anoopbal]

It's ok.thanks for the quick response.

[*Admin*]

Thank you jimmyinkedup for handling that matter it is appreciated...





anoopbal,

I have given you credit for writing the article... and the thread will stay intact... at the bottom of your artice you have a button telling others If they like it to share it... I believe that is what TurkishJuicer was doing with no malice or discredit given... he did not see a disclaimer stating it was copywritten or for that matter who had written the article...

We do not allow links to be posted here as many times someone can click on them and get a virus then they blame us...

You have some nice articles which I have taken the time to note... and will read later... Hope you enjoy your day!

Respect

*admin*

[Turkish Juicer]

Mr. Anoop T. Balachandran,

I have decided to share your article with the rest of the forum members by posting it here since I thought it could be very enlightening and helpful to many forum members who need to calculate their daily caloric intake for cutting purposes.

I would have shared a link to demonstrate respect for your intellectual property but I did not regarding the rules of this board, as I knew that I would be asked to remove the link since it directly leads to another website.

I have always cited sources of the articles I have shared here before, as one can witness by tracking my prior posts.

Call this a one time only mistake, and I give you my respect for this wonderful article.

TJ

PS: I am adding your bio to the post, to make sure readers are informed about who you are and your brief background.

[JohnnyVegas]

Great information. Thank you for allowing it to stay.

Note: anyone Googling Dr. Balachandran's name will find his blog.

[ThatAthlete82]

How come the only macro this simulator is capable of running is carbs?
Is protein and fat intake considered a non-issue?
How come sodium intake is stressed so much?