Caloric Intake

[kristi]

Where do I find out how many calories a person should intake when working as hard as we do with Cathe? On Mondays and Wednesdays I do a 1 1/2 hr taekwondo class. It is intense. I don't want to undereat. Thanks!

[nkhansen1]

The way I calculate my calories is by using the Mifflin Method. A friend of mine is a trainer and nutritionist, and she goes over it in depth here:

Counting Calories: Round 3! | Trainer Momma

This is the method I've used for a long time, and it works very, very well both for weight loss and maintenance. This method works the best if you have a heart rate monitor. The other method I've used before is take your goal weight and times it by 10. Then add 300-400 for very active days, and 100-200 for moderate days. I personally like the Mifflin Method better. I've always had consistent results with it.

[kristi]

Thanks for your response! I've never heard of this method before. Will this formula work even if I don't own a heart rate monitor?

[Fit_mommy]

I have had success with this formula in the past...

Harris Benedict Equation

[nkhansen1]

Yes, it will give you a caloric number to shoot for depending on your activity level regardless of a monitor. The heart rate monitor makes it really precise because you can take your RMR x PAL factor results, subtract your weight loss calories, and then add in exactly how many calories you are burning during your workouts.

With my slow metabolism I have discovered that I need to always subtract 300-500 calories from my RMR x PAL results and then add back in my calories burned during exercise in order to maintain my weight. However, I've been tracking my calories like this for so long that I rarely wear my monitor anymore; I just use the RMR x PAL number. I use 1.3 for my PAL factor since my workout is the most strenuous part of my day. The rest of the day is rather sedentary at a desk or doing normal housework.

So my equation looks like this (I weigh about 130): RMR 1275 x PAL 1.3= 1657.5 calories/day for maintenance.

If I wanted to lose a few pounds, I would subtract 300-500 from 1657, and then add back in my workout calories from the reading on my monitor (to be very precise).

[nkhansen1]

Originally Posted by Fit_mommy

I have had success with this formula in the past...

Harris Benedict Equation

The Mifflin Method is an updated version of the Harris-Benedict equation with more science behind it. It's much more accurate, even though the numbers can be pretty close at times. My numbers were more than 300 off though with the Harris-Benedict as opposed to the Mifflin.

[kristi]

Thanks for all the help! Time for me to start crunching numbers.