A calorie is simply a unit of energy. Your body needs energy to function; your metabolism is the amount of energy you need to support basic body functions -- in other words, just to keep breathing, keep your heart pumping and all your organs working, you need a base amount of calories. You can determine how many calories you need based on age, gender and weight.
Maintaining Your Current Weight
Women between the ages of 19 and 50 need to eat between 11 and 13 calories per pound of body weight, while men need to eat 12 to 14 calories per pound. The more active you are and the higher your percentage of muscle to fat, the higher your calorie intake should be. A sedentary woman weighing 130 lbs. should consume just over 1,400 calories each day to maintain her current weight. If she increases her activity level, she may need to add an additional 100 to 150 calories each day.
Losing Weight
Losing weight is a matter of using more calories than you consume so that your body will break down stored fat to use as energy.The best way to create a calorie deficit is with a combination of diet and exercise -- consume fewer calories and burn more calories than you currently do. It takes a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose 1 lb. Creating a 500 calorie deficit every day should result in losing about 1 lb. per week. It's important that you don't cut too many calories from your diet -- if you don't eat enough for basic metabolic functions, your metabolism will slow down, holding on to fat and stalling weight loss.
Reducing Your Current Calorie Intake
If you're trying to lose weight, you can use your goal weight to determine how many calories to consume. If your goal weight is 140 lbs., you should eat about 1,600 calories daily. To calculate the number of calories you need, multiply your goal weight in lbs. by 12 -- the University of Maryland Medical Center recommends eating 12 calories per lb. of your ideal body weight. Cutting more calories may result in faster weight loss, but the American College of Sports Medicine says that women need at least 1,200 calories and men need up to 1,800 calories daily to maintain metabolism.
Protein, Fat and Carbohydrates
Once you know how many calories to eat, you'll need to determine where those calories will come from. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests that between 45 percent and 65 percent of your calories come from protein, 20 to 35 percent come from fat and 10 to 35 percent come from protein. Eat a variety of fresh vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, low-fat dairy, lean proteins and unsaturated fats. Limit added sugars, refined grains, and processed foods with artificial sweeteners, additives and preservatives. For weight loss, consider eating on the low end of the carbohydrate allowance and increasing protein intake, which will help preserve lean muscle mass and ensure you burn fat rather than muscle as you lose weight.
Member Comments