How Many Calories A Day?

The last thing I want to talk about is calories. It’s important to understand that no matter how healthy you are eating, if you eat more calories a day then you’re burning then you will gain weight. The only way to lose weight is to create a calorie deficit where you are burning more calories a day than you are consuming.

The reason why most people continue to gain weight is they don’t know two things:

1. How many calories they need in a day to lose weight 2. How many calories they are actually eating in a day.

If you want to lose weight, this is very important to get a handle on. So to figure out how many calories you need we are going to use something called the Harris Benedict formula. It multiplies your BMR (basal metabolic rate) by your current activity level. So first we need to get your BMR:

1. FIRST CALCULATE YOUR BMR:

Use pounds for weight, inches for height, and years for age

BMR for men = 66 + (6.2 x weight) + (12.7 x height) - (6.76 x age) BMR for women = 655.1 + (4.35 x weight) + (4.7 x height) - (4.7 x age)

So for example, a 40-year-old, 150 pound, 5 foot 3-inch-tall woman would be: 655.1 + (4.35 x 150) + (4.7 x 63) - (4.7x40) = 1,415.7.

2. THEN MULTIPLY THE BMR BY THE ACTIVITY LEVEL:

1.2 = sedentary (little to no exercise) 1.375 = lightly active (light exercise 1-3 days per week) 1.55 = moderately active (moderate exercise 3-5 days per week) 1.725 = very active (hard exercise 6-7 days per week) 1.9 = extra active (very hard exercise/training or physical job)

So the same 150-pound woman who is “sedentary” would burn this many calories: 1415.7 (BMR) x 1.2 (activity level) = 1698.84 (calories/day to maintain current weight)

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So now that you have your daily calorie expenditure you simply create a calorie deficit for weight loss. So for example, if the woman in the previous example eats roughly 1700 calories per day she will neither gain or lose any weight. She will be eating exactly what she is burning. But, if she eats anything over 1700 calories, she will gain weight. And likewise, if she eats under 1700 calories she will lose weight.

Now the next thing to know is that 1 pound = 3500 calories. So if you want to burn off a pound, you will need to create a 3500 calorie deficit. You obviously can’t do that in one day but you can do that over a few days, weeks or months. For example if the woman above consume 1200 calories per day she would be creating a 500 calorie deficit per day. So she would lose 1 pound per week (500 x 7 = 3500).

Now that may not seem like a lot but remember we calculated her activity level as “sedentary”. If we just add a small amount of activity like going for a walk 1-3 times per week now we’re at the next activity level in the formula which takes her daily calorie needs up to almost 2,000 so at 1200 calories per day she has a 800 calorie deficit which means she can lose almost 1 pound every 4 days. So you can see how cutting back on your calories and adding a small amount of activity can drastically change how much weight you can lose.

The Smoothie Diet program is based on roughly 1500 calories per day. That is where I start with all my clients. I usually don’t suggest going down to anything less than 1200 calories and even that is a bit too low. Going too low with your calories can be dangerous and cause a dramatic drop in energy levels. 1500 calories is the perfect starting place for the majority of people.

All Calories Are Not Equal

One final word about calories. A calorie is not a calorie. 500 calories of packaged processed food is not the same as 500 calories of real whole foods. Chemical laden packaged processed food lacks any nutritional value so while you are filling up on calories, your body is not getting any of the nutrients it needs. This is why many people get sick all the time, have no energy and look a lot older than they actually are! Their bodies are simply not getting the nutrients they needs. Stick to whole REAL foods and you’re on you way to a slimmer, healthier, younger looking you!

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Meet Your Greens

Over the next 3 weeks you will be using a number of different greens. Some are more mellow than others. Spinach is the most beginner-friendly green for smoothies while Arugula is probably the strongest green on the list.

Spinach Romaine Kale

Spinach is most people’s go-to green for smoothies. The delicate taste is barely noticeable when mixed with very little fruit. Romaine is another great “beginner” green. Romaine has a lot of nutrients and has a mellow flavor that blends well in smoothies. Kale is a power green packed full of nutrients. It’s slightly bitter taste is balanced out by stronger tasting fruits and ingredients.

Chard Bok Choy Arugula

Chard comes in different varieties. Green chard is the one used here and has an earthy flavor to it. Swiss chard can also be used but has a slightly stronger flavor. Not many people think of adding Bok Choy to smoothies but it’s a great source of nutrients and has a very mellow taste so it’s barely noticeable in smoothies. Arugula has a strong peppery taste that needs to be balanced out by sweeter tasting fruits. I recommend using baby Aurugula if you can find it because it has a more mild taste.

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