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Are You Mismanaging Your Calorie Budget?

 

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If you struggle to maintain or lose weight, try imagining your calories as dollars. Once you know how to calculate your calorie budget you can figure out how to manage your funds.

 

The math is easy. Women “earn” approximately 10 calories per pound, men “earn” around 11. Marilyn is a 150 pound woman:
 

 

   Current Weight
x Calories per Pound		       150
     x 10
= Maintenance Budget  = 1500


Her Physical Activity is like her part-time job! Add PA calories to the "earnings":
 

   Maintenance Budget
+ Physical Activity            		     1500
   + 300
= Approximate Daily Calorie Budget   = 1800


How will she spend it?

Her nutritional needs are the big ticket items on the daily budget; fruits and veggies, whole grains, and lean proteins. These are the mortgage, car payment, and electric bill. (Using HMR Meal Replacements makes it easy to keep these costs low and measurable!)

What do the nutritional basics cost (on average)?
 

   6 Servings of Fruits/Veggies      450
+ 2 HMR Entrees or
   Measured Portions of Lean Proteins & Whole Grains		  +  500
+ 3 HMR Shakes or
   Low-Fat Dairy		  +  360
= Nutritional Expenses  = 1310


That leaves about 490 calories left in a discretionary spending account.

Those calories can be used for regular expenses (like morning coffee with low-fat or soy milk), saved for special occasions (like a piece of birthday cake), or not spent at all that day (to assist with weight loss!).

When it comes to food we make 3 common mistakes:
 

  1. We spend more than we think - generally underestimating the caloric content of foods.
  2. We think we earn more than we do - generally overestimating the amount we burn during physical activity.
  3. We think that if we’ve overeaten during one meal, we can just keep eating and start fresh tomorrow. That’s like blowing the budget on an expensive dress and then buying a hat, shoes and bag to match!
     

Chronic mismanagement leads to weight gain over time. Overspending 100 calories a day may add up to 10 pounds a year. Spend an extra 1,000 every weekend, and you could be 15 pounds heavier on your next birthday! Keeping good food and activity records is one of the best ways to successfully manage your weekly calorie budget, and the scale will tell you if your math is off.

As you lose weight, you’ll have to learn to live on a tighter calorie budget. Weight loss can be like leaving a tedious high paying job but finally getting to do the work you love. You might have less to spend, but the benefits are great!
 

 

by luv2run on 02/18/2013 | Share Story With a Friend

tags: Weight-Loss, HMR, Diet Tools, motivation, planning, strategies

About the Author

Alison Hatfield

Alison came to HMR as a Health Educator in 2005. Since then, she's worked in Sales, Legal, Marketing, & IT. Some say she’s worn many hats, but she’s better known at the office for her shoe collection! Her love of shoes is surpassed by her passion for health & she feels fortunate to have found a home at HMR.

Comments (4) Post a comment
Really loved this article. Very practical and great analogy!
by aprilHMR on 03/06/2013
Magoo18, Great job you are doing to stay on your plan if you are losing 2-3 lbs per week. You do however, ask a good question. The 10/11 or “multiplier” is not so black and white but is an estimate to help you look at a calorie budget overall. Individually calorie needs shift lower or higher depending on your weight, height and age. As we age we have less lean tissue and our energy needs drop. When someone’s weight is at 300 lbs, they have less metabolically active tissue than someone at 150 lbs so their energy needs are likely under 3000 Calories per day. That said, it can be a starting point for energy estimates to help you look at overall energy needs when you enter phase 2. This is especially important as you look to keep any sort of records for intake and activity calories burned. The research quoted in the blog is clear that most folks overestimate activity and underestimate food calories. Working with a health coach to keep low calorie foods in your meal plans and keep activity levels high will help you to determine where your calorie budget is likely to be. Time and experience with records will help you to find your right energy balance when you reach phase 2. Keep up the great work!
by ChristineWeithman on 02/19/2013
I love it! I have a math brain, and am very budget conscious.....so I can totally relate to this!
by ErinPajak on 02/19/2013
Sooo Someone twice that size can eat 3000+ a day?. I have been trying to figure out how many calories I should be eating and when I signed up they said about 1200 a day but I find that I am closer t 1500 yet I am loosing 2-3 lbs a week.
by Magoo18 on 02/18/2013