More than 30 percent of American adults are obese, according to a study conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you need to lose weight, reducing your daily intake of calories can help you accomplish your goal. The number of daily calories you need for weight loss depends on your level of physical activity.
Significance
The food you eat supplies energy for your body. A unit of measure called calories measures that energy. If your body doesn't use all the calories you consume, it stores the excess as fat. It takes approximately 3,500 calories to make 1-pound of fat.
Features
Weight management is a matter of calories consumed versus calories burned. Over time, if your body burns the same amount of calories you consume, your weight remains the same. If you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight. If you consume more calories than your body uses, you gain weight.
Considerations
To lose 1-pound of fat, you must consume 3,500 fewer calories than you normally consume. If you decrease your calorie intake by 500 calories each day, you will lose approximately 1-pound per week. Consume 1,000 fewer calories each day to lose 2-pounds per week. Most experts agree that a weight loss of 1- to 2-pounds per week is safe and reasonable. Most women can lose weight safely by eating 1,000 to 1,200 calories per day, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. For most men, eating 1,200 to 1,600 calories per day will result in safe weight loss.
Physical Activity And Calories
Increasing your level of physical activity while cutting down on calories is the best way for most people to lose weight and keep it off. If you consume 500 less calories per day and participate in physical activity that burns another 500 calories, the net effect is a deficit of 1,000 calories, which results in a loss of 2-pounds per week.
Nutrients
When you cut calories, you must make sure that the calories you consume contain enough nutrients to keep you healthy. According to the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, fat should make up 20 to 35 percent of your total calories, carbohydrates should make up 45 to 65 percent and protein 10 to 35 percent.
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