A kilocalorie, commonly known as a calorie, is a measure of energy found in food, explains professor Lisa Cicciarello Andrews of the University of Cincinnati. One calorie equals the amount of energy it takes to raise a kilogram of water a single degree Celsius. To determine how many calories you need to eat every day to lose weight, you must first know what your daily caloric requirements are.
Daily Requirements
Your daily diet caloric requirements are based on three main factors: sex, age and activity level, according to the National Institutes of Health. For example, a 40-year old male who incorporates no exercise into his lifestyle other than that typically required by day-to-day life needs about 2,200 calories a day to maintain weight. A woman of the same age and lifestyle needs about 1,800 calories per day. However, if daily activity level is increased to walking three to four miles each day, males increase their needs to 2,800 to 3,000 calories per day, while women increase to about 2,200 a day.
Caloric Restriction
To lose a single pound of fat, you must burn 3,500 calories without taking any additional calories in, according to Ohio State University. One of the key ways to do this is to restrict the number of calories you ingest. Thus, if you want to lose a pound a week, you must reduce your total caloric intake by 3,500 calories. If you eat 2,500 calories a day, you must reduce your intake to 2,000 a day. Each day you eat 500 fewer calories, with a weekly total of 3,500 fewer calories, or 1 pound.
Energy Expenditure
You can also modify your calorie intake based on the amount of activity you perform. Physical activity uses additional energy by converting stored fat cells into energy. A half-hour of shooting hoops burns about 150 calories, reports the National Institutes of Health. If you do this every day, you burn 1,050 calories a week. This means you'll lose about a pound every 23 days as long so you eat no more than your daily maintenance amount. If you pair activity with caloric restriction, you can lose weight even faster.
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