If you want to lose weight, you must consume fewer calories than you burn. The number of calories you should consume every day varies according to several factors. Adult men generally require more calories than adult women of the same size. People who are taller or have larger bone structure can consume more calories than smaller people and still lose weight. Another significant factor concerns the amount of activity and exercise in your day.
Total Daily Calories
No single number of total daily calories suits every body type and every person's goal. However, the Harvard School of Public Health has general guidelines for healthy adults who want to follow a diet that promotes slow but steady weight loss. A man of average height should consume about 1,800 calories per day. A woman of average height should consume about 1,500 calories per day. Ideally these calories come from high-quality nutritional sources such as fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, unsweetened whole grains, plant-based proteins, healthy fats like olive oil and light preparations of seafood or poultry.
Common Errors
Many weight loss plans involve counting calories, but people often underestimate the amount of calories they consume. They use larger portions, do not check serving sizes on packaged foods or order entrees at restaurants that may have up to a day's worth of calories. Avoid these common diet pitfalls by mostly eating whole, unprocessed foods that you can weigh or measure to determine their serving size and accurate calorie count. Practice portion control by reserving half of your plate at every meal for fresh produce or a lightly-dressed salad of leafy greens.
Subtracting Daily Calories
When determining how many calories you need to consume to lose weight, you may find it easier to work backward by subtracting from your current intake rather than totaling your daily intake. If you gain weight on your current food plan, make some key swaps to reduce your caloric intake. Stay consistent with your other food and portion sizes to see if the swaps make a difference in your weight loss. Switch a tall coffee drink loaded with flavored syrup and whipped cream for a nonfat cappuccino and save as much as 500 calories. Snack on roasted vegetables instead of a snack bag of chips and shave another 300 calories from your consumption. Eat a bowl of raspberries topped with nonfat Greek yogurt and cinnamon instead of dessert for another 500 calories saved. Shave 3,500 calories per week from your standard diet and you lose 4 lbs. per month.
Exercising
Another factor in your calorie-counting concerns exercise. If you keep your caloric consumption consistent but increase your activity level, you will lose weight. Burn 500 to 700 calories in one hour of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise such as swimming the butterfly, dancing to fast music, jogging a 12-minute mile, climbing stairs, using a rowing machine, race-walking, doing intense calisthenics or practicing a martial art. Drink plain water rather than sweetened beverages to replenish your thirst, or you return many of the calories you burned.
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