Lifestyle
Marisa HeinzeMay 12, 2022
How to consume 16,105 kcal in a week!
Sounds a lot? But it is actually quite possible for most of us! This is the number of kilocalories you burn in a week if you weigh 100 kg, are normally active and exercise twice a week - even walking counts! In the following article, we will explain in more detail why this calorie consumption is realistic for a week and how you can achieve it.
Factor 1: Rest for a week
We start with most influential factor for calorie consumption: your basic metabolic rate. There are a number of formulas and some measurements to calculate the basoc metabolic rate – or, the number of calories consumed when resting. When you test fit people, you usually find that the basic metabolic rate is about 1 kcal per kg of body weight per hour.
Consequently, if you are very fit and weigh 100 kg, your resting metabolic rate is 100 kcal per hour, 24 hours a day. That's a total of 2400 kcal per day. If you are less fit, the figure is more like 0.8 kcal per kg of body weight per hour - or 80 kcal per hour for a body weight of 80 kg, which totals 1920 kcal per day.
For the purpose of this article, we will use the latter calculation and the lower basic metabolic rate to 1920 kcal per day. With this basaic metabolic rate, the calorie consumption for a week is accordingly 13,440 kcal. The great thing about resting metabolism is that it runs all the time.
Factor 2: Activity consumption for one week
It is recommended to walk about 10,000 steps a day. Let's limit our expectations a little and consider the effect of 7000 steps per day (including Saturday and Sunday!). We have calculated that each step is about 60 cm (this depends on leg length, speed, etc., but it is fairly accurate). This means that if you take 7000 steps a day, you will cover an estimated distance of 4.2 km.
We know that for every kilometre you walk, you burn about 0.7 kcal per kg of body weight. So, if you weigh 100 kg and walked 4.2 km, the total calories burned from the 7000 steps is 295 kcal. If you walk 7000 steps every day, the total calories burned for a week of daily activity is a whopping 2065 kcal.
Factor 3: Exercise sessions - two per week
To get your heart pumping, we incorporate 2 effective cardio workouts, each lasting 45 minutes. You can run outside or on a treadmill for these sessions, and also incorporate running backwards to get your heart rate up and working hard.
The workouts look like this:
- Steadily increase your running pace for 8 minutes to warm up.
- Then run or jog as fast as you can for 2 minutes before slowing down and going steady for 90 seconds (active rest).
- Now jog as fast as you can (flat or uphill) for 2 minutes before walking steadily again for 90 seconds.
- Complete a total of 8 x 2 minutes at maximum running speed with 90 seconds of active rest before finishing the workout with 5 minutes of cool-down.
At a weight of 100 kg, each of these sessions will result in a consumption of about 300 kcal, depending on the pace and any backward movement. If you do two weekly sessions, the total calories burned from the workouts are 600 extra kcal per week.
The Result
And just like that we come to the promised total of a calorie consumption of 16,105 kcal per week: 13,440 kcal (basal metabolic rate) + 2,065 kcal (7,000 daily steps) + 600 kcal (from active training).
Of course, if you move more, either in everyday life or during training, the number will be even higher. Likewise, if you are fit enough, there may be reason to believe that your resting metabolic rate per hour will be higher than stated. This will also give you a few extra calories burned per week!
A few tips for increased calorie consumption:
- Don't stay sedentary - get up every day and walk at least 7000 steps. Park your car further away or take the stairs instead of the lift. Every step counts!
- Exercise at least 2x a week - for extra calorie consumption. Whether it's with the above running session, in the gym or at home, try to build a routine and boost your fitness with 2-3 weekly workouts.
- Increase your basic metabolic rate - this can only be done with strength training! The more muscle mass you have, the higher your basic metabolic rate and the more calories you can burn at rest. Weightlifting is therefore worthwhile!
Assumptions for calorie calculations:
- Resting metabolic rate is calculated using the formula 0.8 kcal/kg/hour. If you weigh 100 kg, the basal metabolic rate is 80 kcal per hour.
- Activity expenditure is calculated based on a stride length of 60 cm per stride and a calorie expenditure of 0.7 kcal/km/kg body weight. If you weigh 100 kg and walk 1 km, this gives a calorie expenditure of 70 kcal.
- Exercise expenditure is based on the same calorie expenditure per kilometre walked as daily activity.
Conclusion: How to consume calories per week
It is easier than you think to achieve a high calorie consumption per week. The key factors that influence our calorie consumption are our basic metabolic rate, our daily activity and our additional fitness activities. The fitter a person and the more muscle mass one has, the higher our basic metabolic rate. Everyday activity and your exercise sessions help to burn extra calories and are also beneficial for your fitness and health. Thus, you are in control of your calorie consumption!