Energy Balance is defined by a Stable Body Weight

After reading yesterdays comments I’m getting the impression that many people assume we can burn more calories in a day that we really do.

For most of the population our BMR/RMR accounts for almost all of their calories burned in a given day.

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate; the amount of calories you burn lying down doing nothing)…and I guess more accurately our RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate; which is the calories you burn sitting around vs lying around)

If you don’t partake in purposeful exercise (a workout) and don’t have a physically active job (most people don’t) then you’re just not burning that many calories in a day.

So if you’re RMR is 1900, and you don’t workout or have an active job, you probably only burn around 2000 calories per day.

If you do an average workout like most gym warriors for an hour or so 3-4 days per week, you’re only burning an extra 300-400 calories on those days…that still doesn’t help with the days that you’re not working out.

I think people just grossly overestimate how many calories they think they’re burning (to justify eating more)

The bottom line is this. If you’re goal is weight loss, and you’re not currently losing weight, then you’re eating too much.

John

Jonathan brought up a good question yesterday about BMR calculators and the activity factor that some BMR calculators add on.

Natures Lumber Jacks

BMR calculators are based on various known assumptions and measurements about your lean body mass and how many calories your lean body mass will burn. These calculators usually need your height and weight and sometimes your age and other things like your wrist or waist measurements.

You can get a decent estimate of your BMR if you used 3-4 calculators and take the average of these.

BUT, there is also an activity factor that some of them suggest. The problem with these activity factors is that they are based on very old research that used lumberjacks as their example for daily activity. Needless to say, a day of lumberjack work is a ton of activity and will burn way more calories than any workout you or I can do after work.

The point is the activity factor that these calculators use is not accurate or realistic to any workout you or I will probably be doing. In fact, assuming that you’re burning less calories in the gym than any calculator suggests is a good bet if weight loss is your goal.

Forget about activity factors and just assume that the total amount of calories you can burn in a day comes exclusively from your BMR. From there just assume any extra calories you burn in the gym will be a bonus.

When it comes to calorie burning and fat loss it will always serve you well to err on the side of less than more. In other words the following 3 assumptions will be the only way to use BMR calculators and food labels to your advantage:

1. Assume that your activity burns less calories than the cardio machines or calculators say

2. Assume your BMR is less than the calculators say

3. Assume that food labels are always underestimating the actual amount of calories in that food

Making these 3 assumptions will be the best way to keep you a step ahead in the calories in vs out game.

John

#2 – Eating below your daily metabolic rate of calories will cause you to lose muscle

Answer: FALSE

Unless you are severely calorie restricted for months on end there is virtually no danger of losing any significant amount of muscle mass.

Most people in an industrialized modern society that are actually interested in losing some weight will never have to worry about losing any muscle mass.

The only people at real risk for serious muscle wasting are people who are in fact starving to death. I’m assuming this doesn’t include you if you’re reading this blog right now,

You will never have to worry about losing muscle mass if you decide to follow a calorie restricted diet to lose some fat.

John