Target Calories For Weight Loss

Obesity has become a national epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only Colorado had an obesity rate less than 20 percent in 2008. When you are obese, you place yourself at higher risk for serious health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. To lose weight, you need to monitor your calorie intake. Tracking both your food calories and the calories you burn through exercise will give you the information you need to determine your target calories for weight loss.

Do the Math

Weight loss is a matter of a simple equation. If you take in more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. To lose a pound, you need to burn or reduce your diet by 3,500 calories. A combination of both diet and exercise will help you achieve safe weight loss. The first thing you need to know is your daily calorie burn.

Activity Levels

Your activity level will help you determine how many calories you need to burn. Consider how active you are during an average day and what exercise you get. One way you can determine this is to wear a pedometer, which will approximate the number of steps you take per day. If you are walking fewer than 2,000 steps daily, you live a very sedentary life, according to James Hill, author of "The Step Diet." Whether you are sedentary or active will help determine how many calories you need to burn. Naturally, the more active you are, the more calories you can take in and still lose weight.

Food Journal

Another tool for establishing your target caloric intake is your diet. A food journal is a way for you to keep track of what you eat. It is important that you track everything, including beverages. You will need to record your calories for several days to establish a baseline. You can then determine by how much you should reduce your calorie intake if you are currently maintaining your present weight with your present diet and activity level.

Calorie Reduction

According to MayoClinic.com, you want to lose about one to two pounds a week. To do this, you will need to reduce your calories by 500 to 1,000 calories a day. You can easily accomplish that by cutting your portion sizes and reducing fat in your diet. You may find it easier to split the calories throughout the day. Alternatively, you can split the calories between exercise and diet changes. Bear in mind that your weight loss should be gradual to avoid losing lean muscle mass.

Long-Term Effects

As you lose weight, your target calories for continued weight loss will change because you will need fewer calories. If you find that your weight loss has stopped, you will need to reassess your activity and calorie intake to determine a new target calorie figure.