Hi

Ok so aside from maybe a little overindulgence at the weekend, let’s look forward to the nutritional approach …

As a general statement, what’s eaten doesn’t really matter for both fat loss and building the muscle. Strange, right?

The key is a diet that’s varied, has the basic nutrients and as with most things, is balanced. Now, if you’ve an existing medical condition or allergy, please consult with a qualified medical practitioner before doing anything (exercise or change in diet) that may have a negative impact.

All that being said, the goal is to ensure that you take in sufficient energy. What’s consumed is either stored as fat or is used to power the body.  We know that the body needs proteins to both build and repair muscles and it uses carbs and fats for energy (aka calories on food packaging).  Putting this simply, if you eat more calories a day than you burn, your body is going to store that unused energy as fat.

Depending on your goal …

-       To build muscle target your daily/weekly calories intake to match the energy required to support your time in the gym.

-       To lose weight, reduce the volume of calories relative to the amount burnt per day / week.

Running machines and the like will give you an indication as to the number of calories burned whilst exercising with them; but, if you’re not working out in a gym or using more free weights and the like, the following will help to determine your likely calories requirement to keep your current weight (also known as the RMR – resting metabolic rate). To calculate the RMR here’s the formula …

            RMR = 10 x weight (Kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age + X (for women X = 0.161).

There are 2.2Lbs to 1 Kg, so, to convert your weight to Kg, divide your weight in pounds by 2.2.   This formula will give you a guide to the amount of calories you’d burn if you spent the entire day resting.

Adding in the “Harris Benedict Formula” to your RMR to establish the volume of calories you’ll need to support your current daily activities.  This is called the BMR. Multiply the BMR by one of the following to work out your target calories.  If you

have a sedentary life (little or no exercise) : BMR x 1.2

are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : BMR x 1.375

are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : BMR x 1.55

are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : BMR x 1.725

are extra active (very hard exercise/sports and physical job or 2x training) : BMR x 1.9

For example, a 19-year-old woman who is 5’5” and 130 pounds would plug her information into the calculator and find out that her BMR is 1366.8 calories. Then, since she is moderately active, exercising 3-5 days per week, she would multiply 1366.8 by 1.55, to equal 2118.5 calories a day. 

Now that you have an idea of how many calories your body burns in a day, you can calculate how many more you need to lose, match or gain weight.

So, if you’re looking to lose weight, lower your calories and if you’re looking to build muscle, match calories to those used.

Paul