Resting? How it relates to weight loss.

  

Even when your body is at rest, it is working and expending energy.  Your lungs expand and contract, your heart beats, your food is digesting, your hormone glands are secreting and your liver is metabolizing nutrients.  In addition, your muscles are being gently used and your cells are sending electrical impulses back and forth.  In essence, your brain is signaling your body to function.  

All of these automatic body functions require energy.  That energy is provided by the calories that you eat on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.  Therefore, your body uses calories even at rest.  This is what is referred to as your Resting Energy Expenditure or REE.  This energy accounts for a massive 60 to 70% of your daily energy needs.  

So, if you are sitting still all day long, you still need a certain number of calories to survive.  If you add in activity such as exercise, house cleaning, computer work, walking the halls of work or anything else, then your body requires more than your REE to survive.  

By knowing what your REE is, you can determine the minimum caloric requirement you need to function and you can determine what a safe and healthy caloric intake you can use to lose weight or gain weight.  If your body requires 2000 calories at rest, and you then add in a 5 mile run which expends roughly 500 calories, then you must have 2500 calories a day to maintain your current weight. If you want to lose weight, then you can subtract some of the additional 500 calories to help in that process.  What you don’t want to do is go below the REE your body needs to survive.  By going below your REE, you are placing your body into a “starvation mode,” which can actually slow your metabolism rate.  This may help you lose weight in the short term, but in the long run it will only serve to help you gain more weight than you initially started with.

To determine your REE you must first figure your weight in kilograms.  There are 2.2 pounds in one Kg.  So to get your weight in Kgs. you should divide your weight by 2.2.  For example, if you weight 150lbs. then your weight in Kgs. is 68.2.  After that, figuring your REE is as simple as plugging the number in the appropriate equation below.

How many calories do you need when you’re resting?
Males
18-30 years	(15.3 x weight in Kg) + 679
31-60 years	(11.6 x weight in Kg) + 879
Older than 60	(13.5 x weight in Kg) + 487
Females
18-30 years	(14.7 x weight in Kg) + 496
31-60 years	(8.7 x weight in Kg) + 829
Older than 60 years	(10.5 x weight in Kg) + 596

The National Research Council, Recommended Dietary Allowances (Washington, D.C.: National  Academy Press, 1989)

Until next time, keep reaching for that healthy, happy life you deserve!





For more information on health and wellness or to take your FREE health assessment go to:
www.coachellen.idlife.com