One of the questions I get a lot is how to calculate how many calories you should be eating for fat loss, and to get a flat stomach and six-pack abs.

There are a lot of formulas out on the internet, so how do you know which one is right?

Jayson Hunter, author of The Carb Rotation Diet, and I discussed this on our latest Q&A call which you can listen to below.

The information below is a summary of what we talked about on the call.

There are scientific and non scientific ways to calculate calories.

Scientific Method:

Men: BMR= 293 – 3.8(age) + (456.4 x height in meters) + (10.12 x weight in kg)

Women: BMR= 247 – (2.67 x age) + (401.5 x height in meters) + (8.6 x weight in kg)

1in = 0.0254 meters

1kg= 2.2lbs

How to use the RMR in Weight Loss/Maintenance Programs

RMR x 0.85 = 1-1.5 pounds weight loss per week (for obese individuals)

RMR x 1.0 = 0.5-0.75 pounds weight loss per week.

RMR x 1.3 = 0-0.5 pounds weight loss per week

RMR x 1.4-1.6 = weight maintenance for most people (low activity)

RMR x 1.6-1.9 = weight maintenance for moderately active people

RMR x 1.9-2.5 = weight maintenance for very active people (athletes)

Source: Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, Amino Acids (Macronutrients). Washington D.C.: The National Academies Press, 2002.

Non-Scientific Method

Estimating Calorie Needs for Men

Example: 200 pound (91 kg) Man

Multiply your current body weight in pounds times 11.

* In this example, you would multiply 200 number by 11: 200 * 11 = 2200 calories each day as a daily goal for fat loss

Now, I understand this is not exactly a scientific equation. It does correlate fairly well with many of the more comprehensive formulas available, though.

For most, the number you come up with will be a moderate Calorie reduction for you, but that’s what the goal is.


Estimating Calorie Needs Females

Example: 150 pound (68 kg) Female

Multiply current body weight in pounds by 11

• In this example, you would multiply 150 * 11:

150 * 11 = 1650 calories each day as a daily goal for fat loss

Calorie Recommendations for Obese Individuals

The above calculations are not appropriate for obese individuals, as the equations would significantly over-estimate calorie needs.

With most behavioral weight loss studies, we use 1200-1 800 calories/day—a pretty drastic reduction, but when folks are morbidly obese, they need to get that weight off so they can even function! For those men and women that are over 300 pounds, use the 1800 calories/day.

Now when I got my six-pack abs, I didn’t even count calories.

There is a way to get a flat stomach without having to count calories or log in your foods and Jayson and I discussed this as well.

Let me know what you think and what has worked for you.

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