Counting calories is one of those weight loss methods that has lost favor over the years. And no wonder: counting calories is by no means glamorous or fun. But counting calories is a proven, time-tested way to lose weight. If you have tried all the fad diets, the expensive (or inexpensive) weight loss machines, expensive prescription weight drugs or the scary herbal supplements, and still find that you are not losing any weight, you will find that counting calories is actually a refreshing way to approach the battle of the bulge.

What’s the Deal with Counting Calories?

If you have never tried counting calories as a means of achieving your weight loss goals, perhaps you are wondering what it is all about. Counting calories is actually a proven method for losing weight. Essentially, counting calories ensures that you burn off more calories than you consume in a day. This is the basic process of losing weight. Although it may sound scientific and technical, it is actually quite a simple equation. If you consume more calories than you burn up in a day, those extra calories will be naturally stored up in your body, and may eventually become fat. If you burn up more calories than you consume in a day, your body will need eventually need to reach into those pesky fat cells for some energy nutrients, and you will begin to lose weight.

Figuring Out Your Personal Calorie Equation

The first thing you need to do if you are interested in losing weight by counting calories, is to figure out how many calories you need to consume each day in order to maintain your current weight. Fortunately, dieticians have already done this work for us, and we know now that most women need approximately 2,000 calories a day in order to maintain their natural weight. For men, this figure is more like 2,500. Of course, these figures will vary according to several factors, including your natural built, your height, your muscle content and other genetic variables. But these figures can be helpful for devising your calorie weight loss plan, especially if you are of average height and build.

Instructions to Calculate Your Daily Calorie Needs

For this you will need a calculator.

Method for men:

1. Calculate Result1 = 6.23 * your weight in pounds
2. Calculate Result2 = 12.7 * your height in inches
3. Calculate Result3 = 6.8 * your age in years
4. Calculate Result1 + Result2 + Result3 + 66

Method for women:

1. Calculate Result1 = 4.35 * your weight in pounds
2. Calculate Result2 = 4.7 * your height in inches
3. Calculate Result3 = 4.7 * your age in years
4. Calculate Result1 + Result2 + Result3 + 655

Now for both women and men:

The result you have just calculated is your BMR. It is your basal metabolic rate. In english it means that it is the number of calories you burn by just sitting there.

Now to get your daily calorie needs you have to multiply your BMR by a burning factor depending on how much exercise you practice.

Determine the value of your burning factor:

Now your daily calorie needs is BMR * Burning Factor

If you’re getting confused send me an email with your sex, your weight in pounds, your height in inches and your age and I will calculate your daily calorie needs for you.

How to Lose Weight by Counting Calories

So you have figured out your personal calorie equation, now it’s time to figure out how to lose those pesky pounds. Fortunately for us again, dieticians and research studies have done a lot of the legwork for us again. The basic caloric equation for losing weight is that you need to burn more calories each day than you consume. A helpful formula is that if you consume 500 less calories each day than you need, you will lose approximately one pound each week. If you consume 1,000 calories less each day, you will lose weight at a rate of approximately two pounds each week. Why is this possible? Because when you reduce your caloric intake, your body is forced to turn fat stores into caloric energy. In other words, your body needs calories, and if it isn’t getting them from you, it will find them from somewhere else—like your fat stores.

Creating a Healthy Caloric Deficit

Your goal in counting calories is to create a healthy caloric deficit that maximizes weight loss without causing you to be strained or as if you are sacrificing yourself. If you constantly feel hungry or strained, chances are you will not be able to retain a healthy and sensible weight loss program. For healthy weight loss, consume foods that are filling, fresh and healthy. Balance out your weight loss program by slowly integrating more movement into your life. If you need a guide and want to lose weight in the healthiest and most permanent possible way, you should follow the program of my book: Portions for Life. It works!