Eating a healthy diet and exercising are essential to maintaining a healthy weight, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. However, the exact amount of calories that are necessary to maintain a healthy weight depends on a number of different factors.
Maintenance
In order to maintain a certain weight, a person needs to be in caloric balance. This means that the calories she consumes need to be equal to the calories that she expends through daily activity. When people stay at the same weight rather than gaining weight or losing weight, they are in caloric balance, according to the Centers for Disease Control, or CDC.
Calculations
There are different calculations that can be used to estimate the number of calories needed for maintenance. The University of Maryland Medical Center suggests a formula that takes into account activity levels. People who are sedentary should multiply their weight by 10, those who perform low levels of activity should multiply their weight by 13, those with moderate activity levels should multiply their weight by 15 and those who are very active should multiply their weight by 18 to get an estimated amount of calories for maintenance.
Considerations
Age also needs to be taken into account when determining calorie levels. People who are over 55 should use the recommended formula for those who do low levels of physical activity, for example.
Sometimes, people overestimate the amount of activity that they do, or underestimate the number of calories they consume. If the estimated number of calories for maintenance results in weight gain or weight loss, it needs to be adjusted to correct for this.
Warning
It is possible to eat too few calories. Women should consume at least 1,200 calories per day and men should consume at least 1,400 calories per day to limit the risk of nutrient deficiencies, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Diets that are too low in calories can lead to rebound weight gain or dangerous medical problems, according to Medline Plus.
Expert Insight
Keeping a food journal and recording everything that is eaten can lead to a more reliable idea of how many calories a person is consuming, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. This can help him to keep calories within the recommended amount. Should he be maintaining his weight, he will know about how many calories he can eat without gaining weight after keeping a journal for a short time.
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