the calorie to burn

To calculate how many kilojoules or calories you burn off in a day, and therefore how many you should be eating, you multiply your weight in pounds by 10 to get the number of calories you burn. If you are metrically minded, multiply our weight in kilograms by 92.4 to find your kilojoules expenditure. This is roughly how much energy you burn a day at rest, also known as your basal metabolic rate:

weight in pounds x 10 = calories burnt in a day

weight in kilos x 92.4 = kilojoules burnt in a day

Of course most of us don't spend all day lying on the sofa doing nothing - we move. Therefore, depending on how active you are, you need to multiply that figure further:

• If you have a sedentary job (office work) multiply it by 1.3
• If you have a moderately active job (shop worker, home maker) multiply it by 1.4
• If you have a fairly active job (postperson, traffic warden) multiply it by 1.5
• If you have a very active job (builder, fitness trainer, courier) multiply it by 1.7

This gives the total amount of energy you burn on an average day. You should therefore be eating 2,100 kJ (500 kcal) less than this to lose 0.5 kg (1 lb) of weight a week. Fore example, if you weigh 70 k9 (154 lb) and work in a shop, the calculations as follows:

IN CALORIES

154 x 10 x 1.4 = 2,156 kcal per day burnt

2,156 - 500 = I,656 kcal per day to eat on a diet

IN KILOJOULES

70 x 92.4 x 1.4 = 9,055 kJ per day burnt

9,055 - 2,100 = 6,955 kJ per day to eat on a diet

What If I Don't Need To Lose Weight?

If you worked out your body mass index (BMl) and found you were a healthy weight, losing fat won't help your cellulite- and in fact may cause you to lose lean muscle which could make the problem worse (muscle supports the fat layer keeping it firmer and mores table).

However, following the suggested foods and menu plans is still important as it will help you fight fluid and free-radical damage, but you need to increase the calories. The menu plans provide around 6,300 kJ (1,500k cal) a day. If you don't need to lose weight, increase your portion sizes or add another snack so that your intake is equal to the amount you burn off each day.