The amount of energy you need depends on a number of factors, including your age, body size and gender, how active you are, and if you are recovering from illness or injury. Your energy intake is based on the amount of calories you consume. Getting the right amount of energy through your diet is key to ensuring you can fuel your training, without gaining weight. Things to consider, include:
- Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) – This is the amount of calories your body uses for its normal functions, before any exercise or physical exertion. There is a simple equation, available online, which will help you calculate your BMR.
- Physical Activity – How active you are will affect the amount of calories you need to consume each day. You can calculate your Physical Activity Level (PAL) and estimate your energy expenditure, using a simple table that can be found online.
- Shift work – If you work in shift patterns, you can find yourself eating irregularly. You should try to consume the same amount of calories as normal to prevent weight gain over time.
You don’t have to spend your life adding up every last calorie, but it is a good idea to know roughly how much you should eat or drink on an active day, compared to a sedentary day. Make sure you listen to your body and fuel it when you need energy.
To sustain physical training and to maintain your body weight your energy intake (food) should match your energy expenditure (activity).
The amount of energy you need depends on your age, your body size, your gender and how active you are.
Energy Requirements for the average person are 2500 kcal for makes and 2000 kcal for females.
Remember that during periods of high activity such as military training your energy needs will be higher than average. They can reach up to 3500-4000 kcal in Phase 1 training, however once this is finished your energy needs will reduce when you become less active.