Exercising daily is a way to boost your health and help with weight management. Depending on your exercise goals and your normal diet levels, you may need to eat more than 1,600 calories per day. To lose weight, exercise without increasing your daily caloric intake. To maintain your current weight, eat an additional quantity of calories to offset those burned by your daily exercise. In all cases, make balanced nutrition a part of your diet.
Caloric Intake
Your daily caloric intake is directly related to your weight management. Your body requires a certain number of calories to carry out basic body functions. If you provide your body with fewer calories than it needs, you will lose weight. Provide more, and you will gain weight. Medline Plus advises that men should not eat fewer than 1,500 calories per day and that women should eat no fewer than 1,200 per day.
Daily Exercise
When you exercise, your body burns calories from fat and glycogen. This process increases your daily caloric intake requirement to maintain your current weight. Depending on your weight management goals, you will need to adjust your caloric intake to reflect the calories burned through exercise. If your normal diet contains 1,600 calories and you exercise daily, you will need to eat more than 1,600 calories to maintain your current weight. If your exercise goals include weight loss, you don't need to exceed your normal diet.
Weight Loss
If your goal is weight loss, tailor your 1,600-calorie diet and daily exercise program. According to Medline Plus, cutting 500 calories from your daily caloric intake will yield weight loss of 1 lb. per week. Cut these calories with a combination of diet and exercise. For example, if you burn 400 calories through exercise and cut 100 calories from your 1,600 calorie diet, you will lose 1 lb. per week.
Balanced Nutrition
When planning your daily diet of 1,600 calories, consider balanced nutrition. Providing your body with necessary vitamins and nutrients will provide you with the energy to continue exercising daily. Most of the benefits of exercise, including improved cardiovascular health, are enhanced by a balanced diet of grains, fruits, vegetables, protein and dairy as recommended by the USDA. Whenever possible, reach for the healthiest versions of each of these food groups. Choose whole grains over refined, lean proteins and low-fat or fat-free dairy products.
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