Are you making sure to calculate your calories correctly? It is important that you do not consume more calories than what your body actually needs to burn fat. Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser really has some good tips from her website and below is just one of them. She has come up with a way to calculate your total number of calories burned in a day specifically for each individual. Just plug your numbers into her formulas below and WHAMO!!! You get a target number especially just for you!!!

BURN, BABY, BURN
By Jillian Michaels trainer of Biggest Loser

Calculating your Total Energy Expenditure (TEE) How hot do you burn?

The number of calories you burn in a day is known as your total energy expenditure (TEE). Rates vary from person to person, so it's crucial that you take the time to learn yours. Once you know your TEE, you will be able to balance your caloric intake and expenditure in a totally efficient way as you work toward your weight loss goal.
Your TEE takes into account three factors, so be prepared to do three calculations to get your final number. Let’s focus on the first one —

1)Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).

Your BMR is the number of calories your body burns in a day when operating at absolute minimum capacity. Basically, imagine sitting on the couch all day. (Is this a little too easy for you to imagine? Don't worry — we'll fix that!) Your BMR, then, is the number of calories your body burns just to maintain your heartbeat, digestion, respiration, tissue repair and other organ functions. That's it.
BMR is influenced by a number of factors, including age, weight, height, gender, environmental temperature, and diet and exercise habits. Because of these varying factors, it's hard to pin down your BMR to the precise calorie, but we can get pretty close. Here are some formulas for figuring out your BMR. Get out your calculator and plug your numbers into whichever formula applies to you.
MALE: 66 + (6.3 × body weight in pounds) + (12.9 × height in inches) − (6.8 × age in years)
FEMALE: 655 + (4.3 × weight in pounds) + (4.7 × height in inches) − (4.7 × age in years)
Keep that calculator handy. Your basal metabolic rate accounts for only about 75 percent of your total daily caloric expenditure.

Looking At Your Calculations Now that you've learned a new skill, let me guess — you've just calculated the BMR for your spouse, your kid, and your best friend, right? If you did, you probably noticed a difference in BMR from one person to the next. Here are two explanations: Younger people have higher rates of cellular activity, so your teenager's BMR is probably higher than yours. In addition, men generally have higher BMRs than women because their bodies usually contain a greater percentage of calorie-burning lean muscle tissue. Make sure you include all that when you deliver your calculations at the dinner table tonight.


2) Daily Activity Level

The second thing you need to know is your physical activity level. Determine which one of these descriptions best fits your day-to-day routine, then give yourself the appropriate score.
a. Sedentary Physical Activity Level

Do you have a desk job or do some other kind of work that keeps you in your chair for most of the day? If the answer is yes, your score is 1.1.
b. Light Physical Activity Level

Are you on your feet and walking around for at least half the day? Stay-at-home moms, salespeople, and doctors fall into this category. If this is you, your score is 1.2.
c. Moderate Physical Activity Level

If you're on the move pretty much all day, with a few limited periods of being sedentary, this is the level for you. People in this category include gardeners, carpenters, and mail carriers. If you're in this category, your score is 1.3.
d. High Physical Activity Level

Does your job require being constantly on the move, and does it entail significant amounts of manual labor? Construction workers, farm workers, and movers are among those who land in this category. If you're in this group, your score is 1.4.

It's Not Just About Weight Loss You're probably starting to wonder, What's with all the math? Bear with me on this one. Finding out the number of calories you burn each day isn't just a scientific approach to weight loss, it's also about optimal health. Think about it. If you don't know your TEE, you run the risk of consuming too many or possibly too few calories. Both alternatives can be harmful: Too many calories and you'll store the excess as fat; too few and your body will go into starvation mode, locking in your existing fat.

3) Determining Your Calorie Burn

Now we'll investigate exercise expenditure, the last piece of the total energy expenditure (TEE) formula, and put it into place to calculate your overall calorie needs and expenditures.
The third and final element you need to calculate your TEE is the number of calories you burn from exercise on an average day. The number of calories you burn during any exercise session depends on a few things, primarily your body weight.
Use the chart below to help you determine the number of calories you burn from exercise on an average day according to your weight, the type of exercise you do, and its duration. Write the number down.

Now get the three numbers you've come up with from above. Simply multiply your BMR by your daily activity score, and then add your exercise expenditure. Whatever you get from this final calculation is your magic number.

Monitor Correctly

Don't let the machine do the work for you. A great way NOT to figure out how many calories you burn during exercise is to go by the monitor on the treadmill, elliptical machine, or exercise bike. Exercise machines won't take your body's quirks into account and are generally inaccurate. If you want more than an estimate, use a heart rate monitor. It's the most effective way to calculate the calories you've burned during workouts. Once you've programmed it with your personal information, it will give you a much more accurate count of the calories you burn, as you burn them.

This should help you to figure exactly how many calories you should be consuming with your Beachbody program or other exercise regimen that you may be using to burn that unwanted fat!!

If you want to get started with a Beachbody program, contact me for help on deciding which one of the various workouts would be right for you.

Coach Judy

Independant Beachbody Coach
www.beachbodycoach.com/judyt5000
coachjudyt@beachbodycoach.com
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