If you're watching what you eat, you may wonder how many or few calories you could eat without negatively affecting your health. No number is ideal for everyone, because factors such as your age, size and health goals should influence your intake. Because your physician has a better understanding of your health history, you should get her input when trying to come up with an ideal calorie range. In the meantime, consider some general rules.
Weight Maintenance
The amount of calories you would need to avoid gaining weight or reach your weight goal depends on your activity level. Generally, you would need to consume about 10 calories per each pound of desired body weight each day if you're very obese or sedentary, according to MedlinePlus. If you're over 55 years old or you get small amounts of physical activity, you would need to consume about 13 calories per each pound to reach or maintain a desirable body weight. You should eat about 15 calories per pound if you get 30 to 60 minutes of exercises, such as jogging and swimming, most days of the week. If you get in a vigorous workout at least four to five days a week, you would need to consume about 18 calories per pound of desirable body weight.
Minimum Needs
You could theoretically dip below the recommended calories per pound, but your doctor will likely recommend that you avoid dipping below around 1,200 calories a day if you're an adult female or under about 1,500 a day if you're an adult male, according to MedlinePlus. As long as you stay above the minimum recommendation, you could lose a steady ½ to 2 lb. every week if you cut about 250 to 1,000 daily calories through diet and exercise.
Health Risks
Don't try to "get ahead" by ignoring your minimum calorie needs. If you do, you're more likely to experience health troubles such as anemia, infertility, low energy, reduced immune function and bone loss, according to Health Services at Columbia University. This plan is also typically ineffective for long-term weight maintenance. Your body will respond to insufficient calorie intake by slowing down and storing fat for emergency purposes.
Very Low Calorie Diets
If you're obese or overweight and in immediate danger of weight-related health problems, you may safely lose significant amounts of weight in the short term if you abide by a doctor-supervised very low calorie diet. This type of diet, which limits your dietary intake to 800 or fewer calories a day, would require you to consume special formulas that satisfy your nutrient needs, according to the Weight-control Information Network. For long-term results once the diet ends, you would need to continue getting exercise on a regular basis and, most likely, go through long-term nutritional counseling and behavioral therapy.
References
- Health Services at Columbia University: Reduced Fat and Calorie Diets: How Low is Too Low?
- Weight-control Information Network: Very Low-Calorie Diets
- Waldo County General Hospital; How to Understand the Risks of Eating Too Few Calories; Kristie Leong, M.D.; 2010
- MedlinePlus: Tips for Losing Weight
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Healthy Weight: Losing Weight
- MedlinePlus: Weight Management
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