Healthy Tips: Calorie Mathematics

*The following numbers are based on a fictitious average person who naturally burns 1200 calories/day


Math was never my strongest subject in school, although it was supposed to be because after all I’m Asian. But to my parents dismay, my best grades came in sciences instead. However, in an attempt to make my parents proud, I will use my basic math skills to try and explain weight loss and gain. If you can add and subtract, you can manage your weight. No points systems or cleansing required; all you need is simple arithmetic:

Caloric Input – Caloric Output = Calories Available for Storage (For weight loss to occur, this should be a negative number)

Here’s an example of weight gain:

2000 caloric input – 1200 average natural caloric output – 0 calorie output (no exercise) = 800 Calories available for storage. If you were to eat like this person, you would gain a pound or more a week.

Some additional pointers for managing your calorie input:

• By decreasing your intake by 500 calories/day you should lose a pound/week, and as Homer would say…Woo Hoo!! However, if your intake goes up by 500 calories/day, that’s a potential 52 pounds/year weight gain! Can you say moo moo dress?
• You should be eating at least 3 meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. If your average daily intake is 1200 calories to maintain weight, spread this out over your meals. 1200 calories / 3 meals = 400 calories per meal
• It takes approximately 45-60 minutes of activity to burn 500 calories. Of course, this is dependent on the activity you are performing as well as your current body type.

Personally, I base my input on how much physical activity I do. If I train for one hour, I will try to eat 500 more calories that day. However, if I can't train, I will eat just enough to maintain my weight, which is about 1500 calories. Now keep in mind that I have a high metabolism and a leaner body type, so adjust your own numbers according to your own build.