How To Keep A Consistent Body Weight

For weight to stay stable, energy intake must match energy output. This energy is derived from the foods that we eat. The value for food energy is indicated in food calories (sometimes abbreviated as "kcal") or kilojoules (kJ). One kcal is equivalent to four.1868 kJ. The regular energy consumption for American men is about 2800 kcal/d and 1800 kcal/d for American women. Nonetheless, that estimate can vary depending on body type and activity level.*

Now, wouldn't it be good if you can determine your own daily caloric requirement? With just a simple play of numbers, you can basically compute how much food calories your body requires each day . In doing so, you could have an idea if you have eaten more or less than what you really needed.

Try these two easy methods for calculating your own daily caloric requirement.

#1 Determine your Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) or Basal Metabolic Rate. That is the number of calories you would use if you spent the entire day lying in bed.
For males: REE = 900 10(w)
For ladies: REE = 700 10(w)
where w is weight in kilograms

#2 The calculated REE is adjusted for physical activity degree. Multiply REE with these variables:
1.2 for non-activity (no exercise, sit at a workspace a lot of the day)
1.4 for reasonably active(exercise 3 or more days weekly for 30 minutes or more)
1.8 for very energetic individual (exercise 5 or more days weekly for 30 minutes or more)

The answer you get provides an estimate of how much calories you need to keep your current weight.

Here is an example: Coede is a 58 year-old doctor , 5'6" tall, and weighs 54 kilograms. He goes swimming three days a week.

REE = 900 10 (w)
= 900 10 (54)
= 1440
Then, multiply 1440 by 1.4, since his physical activity degree is categorized as moderately lively. The answer is 2,016.

So, to maintain our guy's current weight, he should eat a total of about 2,016 calories a day.

The question now is: How do you know the amount of calories existing in your food which you eat everyday ? The ideal way to keep track of how much calories are in the food that you eat is to look at the Nutrition Fact panel imprinted at the back of just about every food product packages. Add all the calories that you take in for the whole day and see if it is as close as possible to your daily caloric requirement. Bear in mind that only carbs, fat, proteins, polyols, organic acids, and ethanol consist of calories. One gram of fat contains 9 kcal/g, polyols have 7 kcal/g, carbohydrates possess 4 kcal/g, proteins have 4 kcal/g, and organic acids have less than 4 kcal/g. Everything else in food is non-caloric.

*Reference: Kasper, Dennis, et.al. (2005).
Nutritional Requirements and Dietary Assessment.
Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine 16th edition


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