So what is meant by calorie intake.

This is how many calories you consume over a day/week. There is no set amount that suits all and to get it right many factors need to be taken into account such as your current weight, activity levels, gender, height and age.

If you consume more calories than you burn the excess will be stored as fat. Eating too little can slow down your metabolism meaning your energy levels will decline inducing tiredness, if you do this for too long you also risk malnutrition.

What is meant by calorie expenditure.

This is how many calories your body uses a day and this could fluctuate daily.

How to calculate your daily calorie expenditure.

Men =(10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) - (5 x age in yrs) + 5

Women = (10 x weight in Kg) + (6.25 height in cm) - (5 x age in yrs) -161

So for me this would be:

10 x 63 =630

6.25 x 162 = 1012

5 x 45 = 225

630 + 1012 - 225 -161 = 1256 This is my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) This is how many calories my body needs to sustain life.

Now we need to take in account activity levels

Sedentary (sat for long periods of the day with little or no exercise) =BMR x 1.2

Lightly Active (Light exercise/sport 1-3 days per week) =BMR x 1.375

Moderately active (physical job / Moderate exercise 3-4 days per week) =BMR x 1.55

Very Active (Hard physical job / hard exercise 5 days per week) =BMR x 1.725

Extra Active (Very hard physical job / hard exercise/sports 5+ days per week) =BMR x 1.9

So for me this would be 1256 x 1.55 = 1946 kcal per day

Overeating and struggling to lose weight.

There's several factors to consider here. If you're honest and consistent and your calorie intake is lower than your expenditure you will lose weight. Its only when people get certain factors not quite right or only stay consistent for 3-4 out of 7 days that it doesn't happen.

Calculating your calories efficiently. Use the calculations above to determine your daily calorie count then if you're wanting to lose weight you then need to deduct 500 calories per day. This should give you a good steady loss of 1-2lbs per week.

Ensure you are weighing your food to ensure you really know what the portion sizes look like. You may be quite surprised at first.

With things like rice and pasta until you can judge it with say 'one ladle amount' cook it separately at first so you know what it looks like in its cooked state. 

In the 'typical Nutrition Values' on the back of the packet you will see the amount of calories per '100g' so if you're having 200g don't forget to double it! After weighing your foods for a week you will have a good idea of what 30g looks like. You may also notice the healthier your food option the more you get to have!

Eat consistently. Eat throughout the day regularly to make sure your body's metabolism doesn't slow down. Starving yourself throughout the day then allowing yourself to consume all your calories in the evening doesn't work. Your body is likely to go into 'starvation mode' therefore storing the calories consumed because it doesn't have regulation and it needs calories to sustain life. Also on top of that binge eating in the evening also means you have a full tummy when you're about to go into your 'most reduced' calorie burn over a 24hr period (sleep)

Eat Healthy. This doesn't mean you now get to live on salads. Eat well home cooked meals. make sure your diet has protein (meat or meat substitute) Complex carbohydrates (potatoes, rice, bread, pasta) avoid simple carbohydrates (sugar, cakes, biscuits, sweets) Fats (healthy fats such as nuts, cheese, dairy, avocado, seeds) avoid unhealthy fats (chips, crisps, burgers, kebabs, pizza) Vegetables, fruit and drink plenty of water.

Try small changes each week rather than change everything at once as it could become too overwhelming.

• Maybe week 1 and 2 you need to master portion sizes and calorie counting for example.
• Week 3 you may decide to lose the evening snack (and only have a treat on a Saturday instead of every night).
• Week 4 try dropping a sugar in every cuppa or changing to sweeteners.
• Week 5 swap white rice for brown rice.

But once you've made the change the change stays forever!

Undereating and struggling to gain weight.

Eating consistently is the key to gaining or maintaining weight and ensuring your foods are of quality, such as protein, carbs and healthy fats. Struggling with an appetite especially first thing in the morning or not eating regularly throughout the day skipping meals is most likely to be the cause. Obviously if you are eating regularly and losing weight do get this checked out with your GP.

However if you're not eating regularly this could be down to bad habits (which your body has adjusted to) snacking at lunch rather than eating something suitable or not cooking an evening meal and again snacking.

In order to maintain a healthy body you need to fuel it. Without giving your body energy you may suffer from tiredness, low energy levels and poor brain function which could lead to sleepiness. You're also putting your body at risk of health complications having a negative effect on your immune system and more likely to be a higher risk to developing osteoporosis and some diseases.

Use the calculation above to work out how many calories you ideally should be consuming and aim to hit this as a minimal, add 500 calories per day for a steady weight gain.

Introduce healthy snacking between meals to give your body that extra intake this could be useful if you particularly suffer with fullness when eating. Healthy snacking could be anything other than crisps and chocolate! try things like boiled eggs, jerky, nuts, toast, cheese etc if you struggle to eat your calories then drink them try the protein shakes or meal replacement shakes but don't have them as a meal replacement have them as an extra.

Top Tips:

• Get to grips with serving size. Ensure you know how many calories your meals are containing
• Add all your daily calories together and be honest. Don't 'forget' to count the snacks and drinks
• Limit certain food groups (but don't exclude them) go lighter on the carbs if you're trying to lose weight
• Increase certain food groups, protein will help the feeling of satiety. Veg will help bulk out your meal size.
• Include as many colours in your meals as possible.
• Drink plenty throughout the day
• Eat regularly try not to skip meals