The Problem With Online Calorie Calculators
Why you’re not losing weight as quickly and effectively as you should be.
When it comes to weight loss there are literally thousands of results that will appear after a related search term is entered on Google, claiming to have the answer to your weight loss nightmare. Some will advocate a particular diet such as keto or may advise the 16:8 fasting method.
All of these suggestions have merit in their own way. The keto diet for example simply puts you into a caloric deficit by drastically reducing one of your three macronutrient groups. A calorie deficit is THE only way to lose weight regardless of what you may be led to believe.
The one thing that links all of these methods is the humble calorie. But where did it come from? And how do you figure out your magic number?
Between 1819 and 1824, it is said that a French physicist by the name of Nicholas Clément introduced the term calories to his Parisian students. It is believed that the word entered the English language in the mid to late 1860s defined as:
“The heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water from 0 to 1°C”.
So a calorie is simply a unit of energy that our bodies utilize for daily function. Now, you may be surprised to learn that despite the ubiquity of calorie counting in today’s society, this unit of measurement is a relatively recent phenomenon and the idea of counting calories for health purposes is even newer.
With that said, the boom of health-conscious people all over the world has led to a myriad of misleading information.
Enter the online calorie calculator.
Calorie calculators are based on data previously collected on various general populations of people and they predict the energy needs of an individual based on certain variables such as height, weight, age, and activity levels.
The important thing here is to understand that a calorie calculator cannot determine with 100% accuracy the calorie or macro amounts required for an individual, there are simply too many variables involved.
With its own particular equation, a calculator will take the data that you have entered and spit out a number.
That number can be anywhere between 200–500 calories higher or lower than your maintenance calorie needs. It doesn’t seem a huge amount but this error can cause a person to actually gain weight or stay as they are, causing confusion and frustration.
So how is this problem fixed?
The best thing that a calorie calculator can do is to give you a starting point from which to start your weight loss journey. With this starting number, it’s possible to find your maintenance calorie number and from there a calorie deficit can be established.
Let’s say that your number comes out at 2,500 calories for weight loss. You would track and count your calories and ensure that you hit that number for at least 2–3 weeks. At the end of that period, you would step on the scale to see if there’s a change in weight.
It is also strongly advised that you also measure 3–4 areas on the body such as waist, thighs, hips, and chest as it’s common to lose inches but not weight on the scale.
If your weight or measurements are the same then it would be safe to assume that you’re very close to your maintenance calories. Once you have established your maintenance calories then a deficit can be put in place and body-fat will begin to dissipate.
Having the knowledge and the confidence to trust in this process will undoubtedly see you reach your goals.
Many online ‘influencers’ and ‘fitness gurus’ will claim to have an easier way, a brand new concept, but a calorie deficit to promote weight loss is simply a biological fact.
Do calorie calculators have their place in the world of weight-loss?
Yes, they do, but they should all be accompanied with the information necessary for a member of the general public to make informed and educated choices.
Weight-loss is and always will be an argued subject, open to misinterpretation and, unfortunately, used by many to con good people out of their money.
I think that if people are honest with themselves about what they eat and how much, then it would make the process that much easier.
Eat less
Move more.
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