Diet Makeover! (Continued) day 2

Calories in VS calories out!!! This is a hotly debated topic, there are those out that will tell you if you take in less calories than you burn then you will lose weight. Then there are others out there that will say this theory is a complete misconception, they will tell you it’s all about the macronutrients, their ratios and timing. Well I have news for all of you, it’s both!!! Although generally speaking if you consume less calories than you burn you will lose weight, however if your macronutrients are not in check that weight loss will be short lived as your body could go into a catabolic state as well as slow your metabolism down.

So where do you go from here? The first thing you want to do is use the Harris Benedict equation to calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), next factor in your daily activity level and this will give you the amount of calories you need to consume to maintain your current weight, decrease that by 500 calories a day, and your weight loss will be about 1 lb per week (+/- 500 calories a day = 3500 a week, it takes about +/- 3500 calories to gain or lose 1 lb of body weight). Now that you know the amount of calories you need to lose 1 lb a week, this is when we will factor in macronutrients and their ratios. The ratio I recommend starting out with is 40% protein, 35% carbohydrates, and 25% fat, and once you see how your body responds to this you can tweak these percentages to what works best for your body. So for example if the amount of calories you needed to lose weight was 1500 you want 40% protein, 35% carbohydrates, and 25% fat, (keep in mind that protein and carbohydrates are 4 calories a gram, and fat is 9 calories a gram). So 40% of 1500 = 600 calories, divide that by 4 calories per gram = 150g protein, next carbohydrates, 35% of 1500 = 525 calories, divide that by 4 calories per gram = 131.25g carbohydrates, and finally fat, 25% of 1500 = 375 calories, divide that by 9 calories per gram =41.6g fat. So your new diet will be 1500 calories a day consisting of 150g protein, 131.25g carbohydrates, and 41.6g fat. I know it sounds somewhat complicated but it’s really not, just Google the Harris Benedict equation and it will walk you through the entire process. Just keep in mind you want your carbohydrate sources to be complex carbohydrate, and your fat sources to be healthy fats.