Calculating Calories

By Martin Bond, YSJ Active Development Officer

Consuming calories is a fundamental part of survival. Everyone needs a certain number of calories to maintain their current weight, this is known as Basal Metabolic Rate. As a rule, the heavier a person is, the more calories they will need to maintain this balance. The same is true for activity, the more active a person is, the more calories required.

You can calculate Basal Metabolic Rate using this online calculator. As an example:

• A 40-year-old male who is 180cm and weighs 85kg would require 1780kcal per day just to maintain their current weight.
• If this person is training at least three times a week, this would increase to 2448kcal needed to maintain their current weight.
• If a person is wanting to lose weight, they would need to consume less calories. I would recommend a deficit of no more than 500kcal per day. However, if this deficit significantly impairs training, you might want to consider a more gradual deficit of 250kcal per day.
• If you are wanting to lose weight, I would personally have a couple of maintenance days per week, so around 2500kcal using this example.

I hope this blog was useful, and best of luck with your training. If you have any questions, please contact Martin Bond, YSJActive Development Officer at m.bond@yorksj.ac.uk.

Next up, a quick blog on strength training for runners.