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Another Day
New Member
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Posted: 14 July 2008 12:26 am |
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Hey everyone, starting tomorrow my body will have recovered from overexercising, so I want to start up my exercising schedule again and, this time, be able to calculate exactly how much of a caloric deficit I'm running up.
This what I want to know. Apparently there are multiple formulas for calculating your metabolic rate, and some measure Basal Metabolic Rates, while others measure Resting Metabolic Rates. Which formula do I use, and which type of Metabolic Rate do I pay attention to?
Here is what I want to know:
On any average day, how many calories should I expect my body to burn before I factor in exercise? I'm not asking this in a vacuum (as in, what if I was lying down in a test chamber not moving for 12 hours). I want to know, just on a normal day, how many calories a guy of my height / weight burns.
I then want to add in my exercise.
I don't know if this can all be cleanly calculated into my metabolic rate, but I space out my food into 6-7 meals per day to keep my thermogenic levels high, and I work out at night time, generally for 1 or 2 hours depending on the day.
I am 6'2, 225 lbs, male, college student.
I want to add the exercise calories burned myself, since that varies each day, I just want to know, before I add in the exercise, what is my body already burning. This way, I want to be able to track my weekly caloric intake, expenditure, and deficits and see how it correlates with my weight loss.
Thanks a ton for the help.
-AD
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Another Day
New Member
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Posted: 14 July 2008 06:14 am |
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I am seeing a lot of different types of math for how to calculate your caloric expenditures and deficits. They are all confusing me.
I calculated my supposed caloric deficits for week 1, and I am not sure if they are accurate.
My week 1 caloric deficit summary.
Math I used:
- Firstly, I calculated my Basal Metabolic rate using the Harris-Benedict formula.
BMR = 66 + (13.75 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) – (6.8 x age in yrs)
BMR = 66 + (13.75 x 225 lbs / 2.2) + (5 x 74" x 2.54) - (6.8 x 23)
BMR = 66 + 1406 + 939 - 156 = 2252 BMR
- Secondly, I calculated my Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
I went with Little or No Exercise, Desk Job.
TDEE = 1.2 x BMR
TDEE = 1.2 x 2256
TDEE = 2707 kcal/day
- Then, I calculated my expected weekly energy expenditures on my high exercise schedule.
Heavy Exercise, Sports 6 to 7 Times Per Week
TDEE = 1.725 x BMR
TDEE = 1.725 x 2256
TDEE = 3891 kcal/day
I want to know if the math adds up, especially the last part (#3). 3890 kcal/day TDEE seems a bit high to me. If anyone has a better idea on how to calculate my TDEE on my high exercise schedule, let me know.
This is my exercise schedule:
3 days cardio, 1 hour: 800 calories burned
3 days cardio, ½ hour: 450 calories burned, and weight-training, 1½ hours: 526 calories burned (estimated at "moderate" level)
I know that a simple BMR + amount exercised doesn't properly reflect the metabolic changes your body undergoes when you exercise frequently, but I thought someone might know a good way to combine the two for more accurate readings.
Thanks,
AD
Last edited on 14 July 2008 06:18 am by Another Day
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 14 July 2008 07:22 am |
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My notes:
1)
This website argues that RMR is more applicable to such calculations (see Calculating BMR and RMR); using the RMR calculator on this website (Male,23,6'2",225lb): unadjusted RMR is 2085; with a sedentary (1.2) multiplier it is 2502.
2)
2502/24 = 104. So when you are adding exercise calories to the 2502 figure, don't forget to also subtract 104 calories for every hour you exercise (to avoid counting calories burnt for the hour twice)
3)
You are currently overweight so I see nothing wrong with eating as low as your unadjusted RMR (around 2100) even when you exercise.
4)
Are you still at the stage where you're making strength gains? whilst some gains are to do with neurological adaptation, some gains will be increased muscle mass which might make it difficult to see fat loss on the scale
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Another Day
New Member
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Posted: 14 July 2008 01:23 pm |
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Thanks Nir,
1) I guess this is part of what confuses me, BMR is usually lower than RMR, but the BMR calculation I get off the other site is higher than RMR here. But it makes sense to me that the Harris-Benedict formula isn't fully accurate.
2) So for cardio days: 2502 + 800 - 104 = 3198
For weight-training days: 2502 + 450 + 526 - 208 = 3270
Do I go by this math? Simple activity + RMR? Or do I use the activity multiplier?
Moderately Active: 1.55 (Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week)
RMR x 1.55 = 3232 kcal/day
Very Active: 1.725 (Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week)
RMR x 1.725 = 3597 kcal/day
I'm just wondering what the most accurate method of tracking my TDEE would be.
3) Sounds good.
4) Yes. Well, I've been on a plateau for several weeks now. I've actually lost some strength, although I think this is mostly due to overexercising my body (I was on a 5days cardio, 3 days weight-lifting + cardio schedule for 90 days straight). Now that I've rested, I'm pretty sure I'll be making strength gains again. I see no reason the gains should stop.
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Javan
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 14 July 2008 01:56 pm |
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I tend to be anal about these things. I took the activity calculator and spent some time with Excel, and created a daily activity spreadsheet that I could use for calculating the burn rate for each activity that I typicaly perform, for the various weights I would be seeing on my quest...
Here is the list of activities that I perform daily:
Cleaning
Computer
Dressing
Driving
Eating
Food Prep
House Work
Reading
Shopping
Sleeping
Socializing
Television
Work (active)
Work (desk)
Then for exercise:
Biking (16-19 mph)
Biking (stationary, vigorous)
Rowing
Pilates
Skiing (Cross Country)
Skiing (downhill)
Stretching
Walking (+4 mph)
So, then I just assing the time I perform each activity and that gives me my daily burn rate, bonus for a day with exercise, etc...
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 14 July 2008 02:00 pm |
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for #1, I haven't seen this conflict, RMR always works out lower than BMR using the formulas we've been using here (Muffin for RMR; Harris-Benedict for BMR)
for #2, yes, I'd go with your calculations. Remember, the activity factors are only approximations: they are only right if you're actually burning the calories that are being wored out.
So, now that you have an idea of how many calories you're burning, how many calories are you planning to eat?
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Another Day
New Member
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Posted: 14 July 2008 07:27 pm |
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If I go by the simple math, I'm capping my caloric intake at 2200, although I'll probably cheat during weekends. Hopefully I'll lose 1.5 - 2lbs this week. We'll see how it goes.
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Another Day
New Member
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Posted: 15 July 2008 05:22 am |
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Okay, my math is up for the new week. For day 1, I have 3k TDEE, and 2k consumed, for a caloric deficit of 1001 kcal. I'm wondering if I'm eating too little for weight loss, to the point that it might slow my metabolism. I'm not sure, I guess we'll see if this works as we go along with it.
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 15 July 2008 06:30 am |
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| Well, the advice to not go below your unadjusted RMR (2085) is principally for lean people, let's say those in the 'normal' weight range; as you're overweight, I think 2000 is fine (but then again I wouldn't go much lower)
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