Eat Donuts and Lose Weight: All About Calories

There are scientific definitions for calories, but for our purposes, a calorie is a unit of measure for the energy our bodies use for all life processes. Essentially, calories = energy, you need energy to survive. Determining how many calories you need depends on your goals. The calculations are provided below.

Overview of Total Daily Energy Expenditure

Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) refers to the number of calories consumed in a typical day. This value is obtained using three factors:

• Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): The number of calories burned to maintain your vital bodily functions: pumping blood, breathing, and maintaining temperature. This represents about 70% of your TDEE.
• Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): The number of calories burned by digesting and processing food. This represents about 6-10% of your TDEE.
• Energy used during physical activity: The number of calories burned while doing any physical activity (walking, exercising, shopping) at any time that you are not resting. This represents about 20% of your TDEE.

Note: These percentages are for average people. Medical conditions can play a role in slowing down or speeding up the RMR. Also, the energy used during physical activity can vary dramatically. For example, if you’re training for an Ironman, your energy expended during exercise will be drastically higher than someone who takes their dogs for a mile walk at night for exercise.

Estimation of total daily energy expenditure

There are several ways to estimate your TDEE. Most of them involve multiplying your weight by a variable “amount of physical activity.”

For example (From: FitDay):

• For sedentary people: Weight (lbs) x 14 = est cal/day
• For moderately active people: Weight (lbs) x 17 = est cal/day
• For active people: Weight (lbs) x 20 = est cal/day

Where did they get these “amount of physical activity” variables? These are based on the idea that your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is equal to your weight (pounds) multiplied by 10. Then, your activity level (another variable) is added.

Example:

Take a 180 pound man. Find your RMR: 10 x 180 = 1800 calories. He is quite sedentary: he works in an office all day, drives home, takes his dog for a walk, cooks dinner and falls asleep on the couch, almost every day. So, we’ll take the “Sedentary People” variable of 14. Ten of the 14 are for estimating his RMR, leaving us with four. 4×180 = 720 calories. So, 1800 (RMR) + 720 (Physical Activity) = 2520 calories to maintain your current weight with your current level of activity. Or simply; 14 x 180 = 2520 calories.

Understanding HOW these “physical activity” variables are calculated is good knowledge.

How accurate is this?

Two things: RMR will vary from person to person. Depending on lean muscle mass, age, genetics, supplements, etc., some people have a higher or lower RMR than others. The variable, 10, is an average.

Second, no matter where you look or which agency publishes the “physical activity” variables, there will be slight differences. It also depends on the person doing the calculations. For example; You may think you are very active, while in reality you are only moderately active. It is a matter of perception.

How can I be more precise?

To get a more accurate description of how much physical activity you’re getting, you need to track your calories burned. The key here is to make sure that no matter what method you use, your weight is entered accurately. Weight is one of the most important factors in determining calories burned. These methods are not 100% perfect, but they can more accurately determine your level of physical activity. This can be done in several ways:

• GPS watch: use it while walking, running, cycling, etc.
• Gym Equipment – ​​Many cardio machines in the gym will calculate calories burned.
• Calorie Calculator: It will take your (weight) x (time) x (activity variable) to calculate calories expended. HealthStatus offers a fairly inclusive calculator.

Applying this is easy. We’ll still calculate the RMR by multiplying your weight (lbs) by 10. Then add all the calories you’ve burned through physical activity. For example; 180 lbs. man = 1800 RMR. After work, he goes to the gym where he runs for 30 minutes on the treadmill, lifts weights, and then plays hoops for 30 minutes. It burns about 982 calories. So, 1,800 + 982 = 2,782 calories per day to maintain your current weight with this much physical activity. If you decided to forgo your time in the gym and spend it on the couch, obviously your daily maintenance calories would be lower.

Weight loss/gain

Now that you understand how one maintains their weight through caloric calculations, it’s time to investigate how to lose or gain weight.

Given these facts:

• One pound is equal to 3,500 calories.
• It is relatively safe to lose/gain one to two pounds per week. (This is for the average person, there are always exceptions, ie morbidly obese)

If someone wants to lose a pound a week, they will need to restrict their weekly caloric intake by 3,500 calories or 500 calories a day (3,500 calories in a pound/7 days a week).

Let’s use our 180lb male from above. He wants to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks, or one pound a week. Currently, your maintenance calories are at 2,782 calories per day, and to cut 3,500 calories per week, we’ll take away 500 calories per day for a total of 2,282 calories per day to lose one pound per week.

If you wanted to gain weight, you would do the opposite: 2,782 calories/day + 500 calories = 3,282 calories/day to gain one pound per week.

Note that as body weight decreases or increases, the RMR will also change; the number of calories burned during physical activity will also change (the lighter you are, the less you have to move and the fewer calories you burn).

When the man reaches his goal of 170 pounds, his new RMR will be 1700, and all his exercise will only burn 928 calories at his new weight. Which means his new maintenance calories/TDEE is 2628.

Be prepared to adjust, as every body is different. Some people, if they cut 500 calories a day from their diet, they will lose weight incredibly fast. In this case, they may only need to reduce their daily caloric intake by 250. Remember, it’s relatively safe to lose/gain a pound or two per week. Or 500 cal/day may not be enough; they may need to reduce/add 750 cal/day to get to one or two pounds per week. One would have to pay attention to what is REALLY happening to their body and adjust.

good/bad calories

Are there such things as good calories and bad calories? Some people believe that not all calories are created equal, that calories from protein are not the same as calories from carbohydrates and fats. For example, fiber is a carbohydrate and technically contains 4 calories per 1 gram; however, the human body cannot digest fiber, so those calories “really” don’t count.

These calories are so difficult to count and their values ​​are almost negligible, so the general rule of thumb is:

A calorie is a calorie.

No matter where the calorie comes from, whether it’s carbohydrates, protein, or fat, it’s still a calorie. With this in mind, yes, one can lose weight by eating only fat. As long as your total number of calories is less than your maintenance calories, you will lose weight. The same goes for carbohydrates and proteins.

While one can lose/gain weight by eating whatever fats, carbs, and proteins you want, as long as it’s below or above your maintenance calories, it’s still a bad idea to just eat donuts.

Let’s say our 180-pound man is still trying to lose 10 pounds, but wants to do it while eating only glazed donuts from Dunkin’ Donuts. Can he do it? Yes. A glazed donut has 180 calories, 8g fat, 25g carbs, 3g protein. Knowing that he needs to consume 2,282 cal/day to lose a pound per week, we’ll divide that by 180 cal/donut to see how many donuts he’ll need to eat in a day. 2,282/180 = 12.68 donuts/day. He can eat almost a dozen glazed donuts a day and STILL lose a pound a week!

Of course, this is an extreme example and only refers to weight loss. It will be difficult to find someone who will recommend this type of diet. Why? Because it’s just not healthy. It lacks vital nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals. A human body needs a certain percentage of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to function properly. Finding out one’s specific percentages, based on your goals is called finding one’s Nutrition Macros. This will be discussed in great detail in a later section.

count calories

To help count calories, it is recommended to use a program. One of the most popular programs is FitDay. They offer free and paid services, as well as excellent PC software that I personally use and highly recommend.

The problem with counting calories is that if you don’t enter your food intake right away, you’ll forget about it!

What is an empty calorie?

They are calories that come from solid fats and/or sugars that practically do not provide nutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc.) to the food. Some examples include soft drinks, cakes, cookies, pies, cheese, and ice cream. Sure, they taste great, but they don’t provide much nutritional value.

What are Cheat Days/Meals?

Cheat days/meals are used when dieting, waiving dietary restrictions, and “going off.” They tend to be once a week based on the theory that you need to calm your emotional cravings for certain foods, as well as kick-start your metabolism and provide extra energy. When you consume many more calories than normal, your body goes into hyperactive mode to burn them.