You know a low-calorie diet can help you lose weight, but understanding what is meant by "low calorie" can be challenging. In the February 26, 2009 issue of the "New England Journal of Medicine" Harvard researchers published a study concluding that any diet that restricts calorie intake can lead to weight loss, regardless of whether it is high in protein, low in carbs or low in fat. Figuring what your calorie requirements are for dieting can help you achieve your weight loss goals.
Calories
Calories are a unit of energy found in food. Calories provide energy to go about your daily activities. Balancing the number of calories you eat against those you expend helps you maintain your weight. If you eat more calories than you need for energy, you gain weight. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight.
Dieting Basics
One pound of weight equals 3,500 calories. If you eat 500 fewer calories that you burn per day, you can create a 3,500 calorie deficit in seven days -- essentially lose 1 lb. per week. Create a larger deficit and lose weight more quickly. The number of calories you burn per day is unique to your size, age, sex and activity level.
Weight Loss
For a specific determination of your own daily burn rate, go to a site such as MyPyramid.org: MyPyramid Plan to enter your height, weight, age, sex and activity level. Subtract 500 calories from the amount the site recommends you would consume to maintain your weight; your result is the number of calories you should consume to lose 1 lb. of weight per week.
Considerations
A rate of 1 or 2 lbs. per week is a healthy rate of weight loss. In the first few weeks of dieting, you may lose weight more quickly, but your loss should level out to 1 to 2 lbs. per week over time. If you lose more quickly, you are likely losing valuable lean muscle mass, rather than unhealthy fat. Losing weight more quickly also means you are probably following a very restrictive diet that may not support your basic nutrition needs. Highly restrictive diets are almost impossible to sustain for the long-term and do not always help you make the lifestyle changes necessary to keep the excess weight off for the long-term. Women should eat no fewer than 1,200 calories daily and men no fewer than 1,500 calories.
Member Comments