It’s All in the Math

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what has happened to us here in America where it comes to food. Many restaurants are putting calorie counts next to the food items on their menus now, and I love it because it helps me stay on “budget” with my counting. But it’s making me question how I’ve taught my children to eat, because before those counts were there, I would let them choose items that turn out to be not great choices.

Every nutrition label has a disclaimer on the bottom that looks like this: 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. It’s said that for how many years? So I decided to take some of the information I’ve been using to lose 3 lbs a week for the last 3 months and actually “do the math” where it comes to daily nutrition needs.

Height and weight and age are the main variables needed to calculate daily caloric needs. According to most studies, the average American man is 5’9″ tall and weighs approximately 195.5 lbs. If I take a nice median age of 35 years and calculate it out, an average American man’s daily caloric needs are 2,303 calories. The average American woman is 5’4″ tall and weighs in at approximately 168.5 lbs. Looking at the same age of 35, her daily caloric needs are only 1,820 calories. So based on that, sure, I can see where 2,000 is a good middle ground. That math adds up. I’m a math person, I like it when things add up.

But let’s walk through what seems like an “okay” day of food and watch the calories. Feel free to comment if you think these choices are off, but I watch what people eat so I’d say these are very conservative. For breakfast, let’s choose a 2-egg veggie omelette with cheese, some breakfast potatoes, and coffee with cream and sugar. That’s 555 calories. For lunch, a 6″ ham and cheese sub, a bag of chips, and a 12-oz coke. 810 calories. It’s a long afternoon so you grab a nice healthy greek yogurt at 130 calories. For dinner, how about some baked chicken, a baked potato with butter and sour cream, green beans, and a sweet tea. 620 calories. And you’ve eaten so well all day that you decide to treat yourself to some of that healthy Halo Top ice cream, and you even keep yourself from eating the whole thing and stop at half a pint, for 160 calories. That all adds up to 2,275 calories. Now if you’re an average American man, you’re good. But if you’re an average American woman, you’ve just eaten 455 calories over your “basal metabolic rate.” Do that every day for a week and you’re 3,185 calories over. And since 3,500 calories is a pound, you’ve just gained about a pound for the week.

Losing weight, gaining weight, and maintaining weight all comes down to calories. Period. Burn more than you consume and you’ll lose. Eat more than you burn and you’ll gain. It’s not about keto or juice fasts or “carbs are the devil.” It’s about calories. Plain and simple. It sucks to count them, and sure, everyone wants a quick and easy “fix” to help them lose. But if you want to lose and then keep it off, learn to manage your calorie budget. Apps like “Lose It” and “My Fitness Pal” make it pretty easy to keep track. Most restaurants list their nutrition facts for you. It takes away all the questions. For example, not only do I know what my weekly calorie deficit needs to be to lose weight, but I know how many calories I’ll need to eat once I get to my goal weight to maintain it. Not wondering makes this journey so much easier.

If you want to do the calculations for yourself, it’s easy. Here you go. And if you have any questions, I’d be glad to help.

BMR calculation for women:
=655.1 + (weight in kilograms X 9.6) + (height in centimeters X 1.8) – (age X 4.7)
Multiply the answer by 1.2 for normal activity.
Multiply the answer by 1.55 if you workout 3-5 times a week at high intensity.

BMR calculation for men:
=66.47 + (weight in kilograms X 13.7) + (height in centimeters X 5) – (age X 6.8)
Multiply the answer by 1.2 for normal activity.
Multiply the answer by 1.55 if you workout 3-5 times a week at high intensity.

If you want to lose 1 lb per week, have a weekly calorie deficit of 3,500 calories. (Daily deficit x 7.)
If you want to lose 2 lbs per week, have a weekly calorie deficit of 7,000 calories.
If you want to lose 3 lbs per week, have a weekly calorie deficit of 10,500 calories. (This is only recommended for those who have a lot of weight to lose.)