No single number serves as a recommended calorie intake for all people. Your own gender, body type, level of physical activity, diet and health needs influence your ideal daily calorie intake range. You will have a better understanding of this range and get personalized tips on how to reach your daily calorie intake goal by talking to your doctor. In the meantime, taking some basic calculations should help you assess your needs.
Weight Maintenance
Though your number may be slightly different, you can use a general formula to estimate the number of calories you would need to eat each day to maintain the same weight. If you are sedentary or very obese, you would need to consume about 10 calories per pound of weight, according to MedlinePlus. If you are over 55 or if you have a very low activity level, you would need to consume about 13 calories per pound. Your number increases with physical activity. You would need about 15 calories per pound if you regularly get in a moderate level of physical activity, and you would need about 18 calories per pound if you regularly get in strenuous physical activity.
Activity Level Explanation
Low activity is equivalent to no planned exercise but occasional weekend or weekday activity, according to MedlinePlus. Moderate activity, on the other hand, involves regularly participating in activities such as jogging or swimming for 30 to 60 minutes. You don't get in strenuous activity unless you do at least 60 minutes of vigorous exercise at least four to five days out of the week.
Weight Loss Needs
Many products and programs advertise that they help you lose weight faster than other methods. However, the only proven way to lose weight is to eat fewer calories than you can burn off through exercise. You would need to eat about 500 fewer calories per day if you want to lose weight at a steady rate of approximately 1 lb. per week because 1 lb. equals about 3,500 calories, according to MayoClinic.com. You'd need to double that if you wanted to lose weight at a faster pace of 2 lbs. a week. Some ways to cut calories from your diet are to replace junk foods with fruits and vegetables, eliminate soda, serve portions on smaller plates and use a calorie counter. This may sound overwhelming, but consider that you might only have to cut half as many calories if you were to increase your exercise level to about 30 to 60 minutes most days each week.
Considerations
If you're trying to lose weight, you should set a cap on the amount of calories you can eliminate each day. Your lowest intake should be about 1,200 calories a day if you're a woman, though you may need significantly more if you are pregnant. If you're a man, your daily minimum should be about 1,500 calories. If you dip below your minimum, you risk developing problems such as anemia, infertility, depression, reduced immunity and decreased thyroid function. Another problem with cutting too many calories is that it can cause your diet to backfire. The body can slow down its metabolic processes to compensate for extreme calorie deprivation, meaning you may have extra trouble losing weight. You might be able to safely dip below your recommended minimum calories if your doctor puts you on a supervised, very low-calorie diet. However, you generally won't be a candidate for that unless you're obese and having trouble losing the pounds through more traditional methods.
References
- Waldo County General Hospital; How to Understand the Risks of Eating Too Few Calories; Kristie Leong, M.D.; 2010
- Health Services at Columbia University; Reduced Fat and Calorie Diets: How Low is Too Low?; March, 1999
- MedlinePlus: Weight Management
- MedlinePlus: Tips for Losing Weight
- MayoClinic.com: Counting Calories: Get Back to Weight-Loss Basics
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