Thu, Feb-21-02, 07:34
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Senior Member
Posts: 11,512
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Plan: IF +LC
Stats: 287/165/165
BF:
Progress: 100%
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The guideline comes from human biology, flea. As Agony pointed out your body must perform certain necessary biological functions every day - this takes energy. BMR (basic metabolic rate) is the term that refers to these functions. Roughly 60-70% of your caloric intake goes go satisfy this every day; and it works out to be 10 - 12 times your CURRENT body weight. The 10-12 rule is therefore the minimum you need to keep things running smoothly - you can actually eat more (and should; as 10-12 only satisfies 60-70% of what you need energy wise)
That being said, everyone will be different. Some of us are more metabolically resistant and will require somewhat less - say 7-9 times our body weight a day. Many can get away with more, much more. 10 - 12 is a good baseline to start with; tweak from there.
The next time you're out surfing try doing a search for "BMR" or "Metabolism"; it is a very interesting subject.
Nat
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