If you do not already know it by now, your metabolism slows down after age 40. When this happens, eating the same number of calories each day that you ate in your youth will cause you to gain weight.
Now that you are over 40, this extra weight can cause all kinds of serious health concerns such as heart disease and diabetes.
The logical answer is to reduce the amount of calories you eat each day. However, everyone is unique. Some people are taller, some are more muscular. Some people are very active and others are not active at all.
Everybody has different physical needs, including how many calories you must consume to stay healthy.
Other resources may offer you a calorie range, but there are still problems with this method. If you guess the wrong amount, you may still gain weight.
On the other hand, if you guess a number that is too low you will not eat enough of the calories your body needs to function. If you consume too few calories, your body will start consuming your muscle mass for energy. You need this muscle mass to stay strong for the rest of your life.
In order to determine the amount of calories you should eat for your ideal weight, you should first calculate the amount of calories you need at your current weight.
The initial step is to calculate your BMR, or basal metabolic rate. This is how much your energy needs to function on a basic level.
To calculate your BMR, multiply your current weight in pounds by 4.35. Next, use your height in inches and multiply that by 4.7. Add these two numbers together. Then, multiply your age by the number 4.7. Take this sum and subtract the total of the first two equations. This new total will be your BMR.
Your next step is to calculate your current level of physical activity. If you consider yourself sedentary, your number is 1.2. If you are only minimally active, this number is 1.375. Your number will be 1.55 if you are moderately active.
Finally, highly active people will use 1.725 as their number. Multiply your activity number by your BMR number. This final total will be the number of calories your body needs to function at your current weight and current level of physical activity.
You can use this number to calculate your ideal caloric intake. Instead of using your current weight, enter your ideal weight into the formula.
Also, if you need to lose weight you should also increase your level of activity. Enter your new level of activity into the formula.
Remember, you should only change your activity number if you are actually changing your level of activity.
Once you change these numbers, you will have the ideal amount of calories you need to eat each day. This total will help you overcome your slowing metabolism.
It will help you combat the illnesses that plague men and women over 40 who are overweight or obese. This is literally a “magic” number that will help you maintain your youth and vitality.