how many calories a day should I eat? to lose weight
How many calories per day eat to lose weight? Man and Woman Calculator
Do you want to know how many calories a day you need to consume (to lose weight)? You will find below a basic metabolism calculator (we speak of BMR in English: Basal Metabolic Rate).
You can use your basic metabolism to calculate your daily calorie needs. The basic metabolism corresponds to the calories that your body burns at rest to ensure the vital processes. For example, breathing, pulse, blood circulation and all other processes that take place even when the body is at rest.
Most sites use the Harris-Benedict method, which I don’t recommend: according to various studies, the Mifflin St Jeor formula seems to be the most accurate.
Enter the target below for your BMR calculation. I will provide you with valuable information to help you achieve this goal, including concrete advice on your daily calorie intake.
Below are the recommended daily calorie intakes for men and women. Note that these are averages and therefore not very precise values, no one being average.
You will also learn what calories are exactly and whether to count calories or not.
How many calories per day?
In general, a healthy woman needs an average of 2,000 calories and a man needs 2,500 calories per day. The big problem is that the average does not apply to most people. Calculate your daily caloric needs using our calculator.
How many calories a day – woman?
Generally, a healthy woman needs 2,000 a day on average. The big problem is that the average does not apply to most women. Calculate your daily caloric needs using our calculator.
How many calories per day – man?
As a general rule, a healthy man needs 2,500 per day on average. The big problem is that the average does not apply to most men. Calculate your daily caloric needs using our calculator.
How many calories do you need to burn per day to lose weight?
If you want to burn 1 pound of body fat, you will need to spend about 7,700 calories (kcal). If you eat 500 calories less than you spend each day, you will theoretically lose 1 pound every two weeks.
So, you need to know how many calories a day you burn before you can calculate how long it will take you to lose weight. It also has to be said that calories are only part of the equation when it comes to losing weight. Discover the 5 reasons why counting calories is useless.
What is a calorie, exactly?
Calories are the energy in food. They can come from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. They are the fuel you need to run.
There is a lot of confusion on the Internet as to what exactly is a calorie. Here is the correct definition:
1 (kilo) calorie is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a gram of pure water by 1 degree Celsius
Note: When we talk about calories, we usually talk about kilocalories (kcal). Saying that a packet of crisps contains 200 calories is the same as saying that it contains 200 kilocalories (often referred to as kcal).
How many calories burn to lose 1 kg of fat?
To respond quickly:
1 kilo of body fat = ± 7700 kcal
In theory, if you consume 500 calories less than you spend each day, you will lose 1 pound every two weeks.
But isn’t 1 kilo of body fat worth 9,000 kcal rather than 7,700 kcal (because 1 kg of fat is worth 9,000 kcal)? Is it effective to reduce your calorie intake by 500 calories per day for weight loss?
Is daily calorie intake related to being overweight?
Some diet gurus claim that daily calorie intake has nothing to do with being overweight. This is an absurd statement that I will not make here.
Studies clearly show that if you eat too many calories, your weight and BMI will increase.
So just reduce your daily calorie intake to lose weight?
Well, it’s not that simple …
In my opinion, any dietitian who says to you: “To lose weight, simply reduce your daily calorie intake” does not understand everything.
Some people are relentless in counting calories when calories are just one aspect of losing weight.
Counting calories can be misleading and turn into an obsession … A practice that leads to many failed weight loss attempts.
There are five reasons for not foolishly counting calories. Here they are :
- Reason # 1: Calories are deceptive for you and your health
- Reason # 2: Not all calories are created equal (eh?!)
- Reason # 3: Low-calorie products can make you fat
- Reason # 4: The number of calories indicates nothing of their absorption by the body
- Reason # 5: Thin people don’t count calories
Discover the 5 reasons why counting calories is absolutely useless.
How many calories do fats, proteins, and carbohydrates contain?
If we look at the three macronutrients, lipids, proteins and carbohydrates, we find that they do not contain the same number of calories per gram.
Here are the calories per macronutrient:
- Proteins: ± 4 kcal per 1 gram
- Carbohydrates: ± 4 kcal per 1 gram
- Fat: ± 9 kcal per 1 gram
Looking at these numbers, it’s easy to say, “I’m giving up on fat.” This is a very common mistake.
I even recommend eating more fat. I mean good fats, high in omega 3 fatty acids. These have the following advantages:
- They reduce the level of cortisol and therefore stress (source)
- They stimulate fat burning and therefore lower your body fat (source)
- They calm hunger (source)
Our western societies consume too many carbohydrates. It is advisable to replace part of it by consuming more good fats.
How to do it? To find out, read my article on the low-carb diet.
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Did you know that research shows that dieting leads to weight gain in 1 in 3 people?
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Here is an overview of what you will find in my successful slimming recipe book:
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Daily and weekly ready-made menus + shopping lists
How do you know if you are eating too much or not enough? Determine your energy needs to find out how many calories you should eat to lose weight in a healthy way. Also, discover the best ways to lose weight sustainably.
How to calculate the number of calories to consume to lose weight?
How to determine the best calorie goal to keep a healthy weight or lose weight? To determine your energy needs, multiply your current weight in pounds by 10 and you will have the number of calories that you should aim for.
For example, if you weigh 180 pounds and want to lose weight, 1,800 calories would be the goal. (To go from kilograms to pounds, multiply by 2.2. To go from kilograms to pounds, multiply by 0.453). Before you start, here are 50 facts doctors should know about weight loss.
What is the most realistic goal for successfully losing weight effectively?
A goal of 1,400 calories is suitable for women who are slim or want to lose weight; a goal of 1,800 calories is suitable for tall women, normal men and those heavier wanting to lose weight; a target of 2,200 calories for very heavy or very active men.
How to calculate your body mass index (BMI)?
According to Health Canada, to calculate your body mass index, use the following formula:
- BMI = weight (kg) / height (m) 2
- The BMI of a person with a healthy weight should be between 18.5 and 24.9. A person with a BMI of less than 18.5 is considered to be underweight.
- Above a BMI of 25, a person is considered to be overweight and obese if he has a BMI of 30 and more.
Draconian diets are not the best option for losing weight
Going for too drastic a reduction in calories or a protein diet, for example, is not a good way to lose weight effectively and sustainably.
This kind of diet is not only ineffective but can also be harmful to your health. Depriving your body of several essential needs can indeed cause nutritional deficiencies and major digestive system disorders. So be sure to consult health, nutrition, and physical activity professional when you want to lose weight to find out what is best for you.
What are the best strategies for successfully losing weight effectively?
Specialists will tell you, to lose weight, there is no miracle cure. You have to be determined, you have to exercise daily and you have to watch your diet.
Set goals that are realistic for losing weight effectively
The important thing if you want to lose weight and keep it off is not to be discouraged. It is therefore essential not to set goals that you will not be able to meet.
So, start by changing only one aspect of your lifestyle at a time. For example, choose to walk to work for the first week. The following week, reduce the portions of your meals. Follow our advice by trying these 8 tips to reduce your food portions without depriving yourself. In the third week, start a daily exercise routine and so on.
Change your eating habits to lose weight permanently
To lose weight, what goes into our body is of utmost importance. So, you have to make a firm commitment to eat better and eat less. This does not mean depriving yourself, but rather making more sensible choices.
Some small changes can make big differences in your weight. For example, plan your meals in advance to avoid ordering at the last-minute restaurant or going to the supermarket after work, when you are hungry and you are running out of time. There are many good ways to eat a diet to help you lose weight. Just find the one that works best for you.
Do a physical activity to lose weight effectively
In addition to promoting effective and lasting weight loss, physical exercise is excellent for maintaining good physical and mental health. In addition to working the muscles in your body, including your heart, physical activity also helps reduce stress, promote sleep and increase self-confidence.
There is no need for sustained physical activity for it to be effective. The important thing is to respect your limits by moving as often as possible while having fun doing it so as not to be discouraged. Do several different activities to get all parts of your body to work well.
How many calories per day should you consume?
You need energy daily for various activities: walking, running, thinking, taking an object, digesting meals, etc. This energy, we often refer to it by the term “calorie”, used by abuse of language. Indeed, one should normally use the word “kilocalorie” when one wants to speak about “calorie”. However, the quasi exclusivity of the sites speaking about dietetics/nutrition and addressing the general public use the concept of “calorie” (abusively) to designate the “kilocalorie”. We do the same in this article, in an effort to be understandable by the majority of readers.
Knowing how much energy our body needs to consume every day is essential. It is useful among other things for losing weight because many slimming methods recommend eating fewer calories each day.
But how many calories does the body really need to be healthy? It largely depends on the amount of physical activity a person performs each day, but also on their gender, weight, height, age. Regardless of this, this number is different for all people. There are many different factors, not all of which are well understood or known.
Thus, the number of calories per day necessary for a very active man (like a tennis player of 1m85 who trains and plays tennis every day for 5 hours in total, for example) is obviously more important than that of a woman less active (like a secretary of 1m65 working sedentarily in front of a computer and who does not do sports outside of work), while an Olympic champion swimmer like Michael Phelps needed 12,000 kcal/day since he had to spend as much every 24 hours (during his training periods)!
A man has just plunged into the pool to swim
That said, an average man claims around 2,500 calories each day to maintain his body weight, and an average woman around 2,000 kcal daily (except during periods of pregnancy or breastfeeding, when her body may have higher energy demands). Here are more specific estimates of the caloric requirements of humans.
The average daily calorie requirement of an adult man:
It varies depending on his daily physical activities. If the man is active:
- Less than 30 minutes/day (min/d): it requires around 2100 calories per day (kcal/ d),
- From 30 to 60 min / d: it requires around 2,500 to 2,700 kcal / d,
- More than 60 min / d: he needs around 3000 to 3500 kcal / d (the longer and more intense the duration of the activity, the greater his caloric expenditure and the more he will need to eat as compensation).
The average daily calorie requirement of an adult woman:
It also changes according to its daily physical activities. If this woman is active:
- Less than 30 minutes / day (min / d): it requires around 1800 calories per day (kcal / d),
- From 30 to 60 min / d: it needs around 2000 to 2200 kcal / d,
- More than 60 min / d: it requires around 2400 to 2800 kcal / d,
- If she is pregnant or breastfeeding: she needs around 1800 to 2500 kcal / d.
Other factors can also affect the caloric amount that you burn on a daily basis, such as for example certain hormones (thyroid in particular), certain drugs (such as glucocorticoids used to treat inflammation), mood swings, the temperature the environment you are in, etc.
The energy we use to run our bodies every day comes from what we eat or drink. Knowing how many calories a day is necessary for your body will help you better adapt to your diet.
A person who requires 1900 calories daily, therefore, has very little interest in consuming 2300 kcal. It will then have 400 kcal in excess compared to its requests. This 400 kcal will be stored in her fat reserve if she does not exercise to burn them.
If conversely, this same person consumes only 1500 kcal each day, he, therefore, eats 400 kcal less (each day) compared to his daily caloric requirements. She should then lose weight (and even faster if she does physical exercises alongside).
If this person does not want to be energy-hungry or consume too little energy compared to his daily needs, he can do a calculation of how many calories per day he requires (in order to stabilize his weight) with our calculator.
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