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Although you cannot change your genetic makeup, you do have some manner of control over energy intake and expenditure. Many people get hung up on trying to achieve the perfect combination of carbohydrate, fat, and protein and neglect the basic tenet of calorie balance. In a comprehensive review of literature, however, researchers concluded that energy restriction (lowering calorie intake) was the only variable that correlated with weight loss (J Am
Diet Assoc. 2001; 101:411–420).
It seems so straightforward on paper, doesn’t it? In reality, things may not be so simple. In other studies in which subjects voluntarily consume far more calories than they would under normal conditions they do gain weight but not nearly as much as the numbers indicate. In other words, their bodies adjust to the higher calorie intake and begin burning calories like it’s going out of style! In much the same way, when people restrict calories to a level dramatically lower than usual (as they commonly do when trying to lose weight), their bodies adjust by burning calories more slowly. Do they lose weight? Yes, but probably not as much as a straight numbers analysis would predict. The bottom line is that your body will go to great lengths to remain at a stable weight, regardless of your actual calorie intake. So what’s the take-home message? If you want to change your weight and your life for good, focus on the habits, attitudes, and situations that influence the calories you consume and burn instead of on the calories themselves. It certainly doesn’t hurt to be aware of the calorie content of the foods you commonly eat, especially those you consume outside the home, but don’t get caught in a numbers game.
There are ways of measuring energy expenditure directly, but most are costly and time consuming. You can get a rough estimate of your daily calorie needs by walking through the following steps instead. The total calories you burn each day can be broken into three main compartments—basal calorie needs, calories for physical activity, and calories for the thermic effect of food. Basal calories cover your energy needs at rest and keep vital organs such as your brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver functioning. The majority (about 60%) of your total daily calorie needs fulfill your basal energy requirements. You can estimate your basal calorie needs by multiplying your healthy body weight in pounds by 10:
Healthy body weight (lbs.) ??10 = Basal calorie needs
Example:
Sandra currently weighs 175 lbs. and has determined that her comfortable, healthy weight is around 160 lbs. She walks for 30 minutes two to three times a week and has a sedentary job:
160 lbs ??10 = 1,600 calories for basal needs
Most people also need calories for daily activity—if not for exercise, then for showering, getting dressed, taking care of children, or going to work. If you are sedentary or only minimally active, the calories you need for physical activity compose about 30% or less of your total daily needs. Very active individuals may spend up to 50% or more of their total daily calories on physical activity! Add calories for physical activity to your total daily needs by multiplying your basal calories by one of the following factors:
? 1.2 if you are sedentary
? 1.3 if you are lightly active (easy walking, swimming, or biking a few times a week; or your job involves light activity)
? 1.4 if you are moderately active (planned exercise most days of the week at a fairly challenging intensity)
? 1.5 or more if you are very active (intense exercise most days of the week or a physically demanding job—for example, construction worker)
Basal calorie needs ??activity factor = basal calories + calories for physical
activity
Example, continued:
1,600 calories X 1.3 = 2,080 calories for basal needs and physical activity
The final compartment of energy expenditure is the thermic effect of food. These are the calories your body uses to process the food you eat. This forms only a small percentage (10 or less) of your total daily calorie needs. Add thermic effect of food calories to the total by multiplying your answer from earlier by 1.1:
(Basal calories + calories for physical activity) X 1.1 = Total Daily Calorie
Needs
Example, continued:
2,080 calories X 1.1 = 2,288 calories per day for weight maintenance
If Sandra wanted to lose weight gradually and healthfully, she could increase her physical activity and reduce her calorie intake to around 2,000 calories per day.
Are you tired of math? Don’t sweat it. As you learned early in this section, it is counterproductive to focus exclusively on calories while improving your lifestyle. Your body does an amazing job of balancing the energy it burns with the amount you consume through food. Focus instead on improving the nutritional value of the calories you consume, and that will leave plenty of room for enjoying some foods purely for pleasure!

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