Do you really, really wanna know? Of course you do. It’s only the second-most popular question trainers get asked by their clients (the first being: “Did you say ‘Stop?’”) Therefore, because you demanded it, here it is…
So, you’re doing your boot camp classes regularly. That’s awesome. Keep it up. But even though you’re getting your exercise, you still need to watch what you put in your pie hole. To get a sense of what you’re eating, keep track for a month (you can use fitday.com or myfooddiary.com. Both online journals are free).
To get an approximate calculation of your daily caloric needs, multiply your weight in pounds by 14 if you’re doing regular activity (like boot camp 3x-4x a week). If you’re doing additional activity (5x-7x a week, moderate to high intensity) then multiply your weight by 15. And if you’re doing less exercise than mentioned above, multiply by 13.
So, let’s say Helga is 140 lbs and she goes to boot camp 3x a week. 140 x 14 = 1,960. This means that if Helga wants to maintain her 140 lbs then she can ingest 1,960 calories daily while attending her regular boot camp classes.
FYI: 3,500 calories = one pound of fat
Now, if Helga wanted to lose ten pounds at a rate of 1 pound per week, she would need to cut her daily caloric intake by 500 calories (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories = one pound of fat). Capiche?
This means that Helga would need to either eat only 1,460 calories a day (1,960 – 500 = 1,460) or continue eating 1,960 calories a day but add an additional daily exercise (45 minute run = 500 calories burned) to her workout regime in order to burn those 500 calories. And it would take her 10 weeks to do so at this rate (which is ideal as she will most likely be able to keep the weight off and maintain).
You can decide which method works best for you. Some people don’t have the time for more exercise in their daily routine so they cut the calories. Others (like myself) would prefer to do Burpees for an extra hour a day so they can keep ice cream and steak a regular part of their diet.
Just don’t obsess. Learn about your food intake, roughly how many calories you’re ingesting and proper portion sizes, etc., then do your best to maintain. All that time you spend filling in charts and measuring food you could be outside playing soccer. And remember, don’t deprive yourself. The key is balance and moderation. Once a week, indulge in a treat or a cocktail. It’s not evil and you’ll be less likely to binge (while enjoying life!)
