although adopting a vegan diet can be a
great way to initiate weight loss and improve your general health dramatically,
it can also be just as unhealthy as a non-vegan diet without consideration of
some basic facts!
to determine your estimated energy
requirement (eer) - the amount of energy you should consume per day - you can
refer to the nhmrc's 'nutrient reference values for australia and new zealand'
(which can be downloaded from the nhmrc's website at www.nhmrc.gov.au). the table on page 20 can be
used to determine the eer based on height and weight, and an estimated BMR
(basal metabolic rate*) . the bmr is then referenced against a person's
physical activity level ('pal') (from 1.2 [bed rest] to 2.2 [professional athlete])
to identify your eer you must first
measure your height (m) and weight (kg) (these measurements can also be used to
determine your body mass index [bmi] - which equals weight (kg) divided by your
height squared (m2).
once you have determined your height,
locate this value on the first vertical column according to your age group.
next to this measurement will be a weight (given in kg) based on a bmi of
22 (which falls within the acceptable/healthy range of the bmi
scale). bmi does not, however, take muscle mass into consideration and has
been labelled as an inaccurate measurement of true body fat mass.
 |
| nhmrc's nutrient reference values for australia and new zealand (nhmrc, 2005) |
moving horizontally across the table from
the height (ensuring you are referring to the correct section based on your
gender) you must now determine your physical activity level.
i have a desk job and, although i try to
make it to the gym everyday to every second day for a reasonable workout, i
would therefore consider my pal to be 1.4 as the largest portion of my days
involves long periods of sitting. if perhaps you hold a more active role, and
were therefore required to be moving around or standing for a considerable
period of your day, you may consider your pal to fall between 1.6 and 1.8 on
the scale.
the intersecting point on the table is the
eer based on your height and pal. using my height and pal the table suggests
that i should be consuming roughly 8,000kJ/day (1,912 kilocalories^/day -
commonly referred to just as 'calories') in order to balance my energy intake with
output. I would, however, like to lose some weight and can therefore use the
weight column (in place of the height column) to identify an eer that would
enable me to achieve this goal.
without adjusting my pal and moving across
the table from my desired weight, the table suggests my eer to be approximately
7,500kJ/day (1,793 kilocalories^/day).
as a general guide, the nhmrc's eer table
is a simple and effective way to identify an eer and make recommendations of an
appropriate eer for weight maintenance as well as an eer suited to promoting
weight loss. it is always important to consult your doctor before making any
radical changes to your diet to ensure your weight loss goals are realistic and
you continue to access the required vitamins, minerals and essential nutrients
without compromising your health.
* basal metabolic rate (bmr) = the energy
required in order to maintain the normal functions of your body
^ 1 kilojoule = 0.239005736
kilocalories
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