Consuming a high number of calories in a short period of time may cause symptoms such as digestive upset that, while unpleasant, are temporary. A high calorie intake over the long term, however, can have serious health consequences. Your risk for becoming obese or developing cancer or dental caries increases as your calorie consumption goes up. Talk to your health care practitioner or a dietitian for specific advice about how your calorie intake relates to your health status.
One of the difficult parts of dieting is cutting calories without cutting nutrients, especially protein. The best way -- but not always the easiest one -- is to cut "empty calories" like sugar and fat. Doing so requir...
If you're an athlete, you require more calories on a daily basis than people who are sedentary. However, consuming too many or too few calories can lead to weight fluctuations and decreased athletic performance. The actual numb...
Various studies have suggested that fiber is beneficial for good heart health, though regarding the more extravagant claim that fiber reduces the incidence of colon cancer, the data has been somewhat conflicting. The recommende...
When you are trying to lose weight, it can be easy to fall into the trap of fad diets or severely restricting your calorie intake. Such methods are often too difficult to maintain and prompt bingeing or a return to unhealthy ea...
Similarly, diets consisting of 2,000 to 3,000 calories per day will help most adult men maintain their current body weight, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Following a 1,500-calorie diet for men or women likely...
Then race day finally arrived and you achieved your goal. Now it's time to recover, but it's also time to adjust your calorie intake. The goal of post-marathon nutrition is to replenish muscle glycogen stores and repair muscle ...
You can use a simple mathematical formula to find out how many calories you need daily to maintain your weight. To calculate your daily caloric needs, you first need to find out your basal metabolic rate. The BMR is an estimate...
Because it's a relatively low number, it's easy to add 200 calories to your daily diet; one or two servings of many foods provide this many calories. There are also small, practically unnoticeable additions you can make to your...
If you can't figure out why you are losing or gaining weight, consider creating a bar graph to track calorie intake and expenditure. There is a simple equation that defines your weight loss or gain -- calories taken in minus yo...
These guidelines provide estimates for caloric requirements according to age, gender and physical-activity level. For example, a female between the ages of 31 and 50 should consume 1,800 calories per day if sedentary, 2,000 if ...
If you're trying to lose weight, you probably want to burn as many calories as safely possible. The good news is that you don't need to burn every single one you intake because your body does some of the burning for you. This i...
The quality and quantity of foods you consume play a crucial role in your health. Food provides fuel and nutrition to maintain an active lifestyle, boost immunity and prevent disease. However, eating too much or too little can ...
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the majority of Americans -- including 72 percent of men and 64 percent of women -- are overweight. Determining total calorie intake for weight loss is not an exact science. Ther...
Deficiencies may be evident in symptoms such as muscle weakness. To ensure adequate intake, your diet should focus on nutrient-dense foods that will provide the best health value for the calories consumed. You will also need to...
of fat. To lose weight at a healthy rate, you should lose between 1 and 2 lbs. per week. As a result, cutting 500 calories from your diet each day will help you lose approximately 1 lb. of fat each week. Decreasing your caloric...
Determining the caloric needs of children is essential to providing them a healthy, balanced diet. Feeding children adult portions can lead to childhood obesity, which can result in a variety of health problems both as a child ...
A calorie is a unit of energy and a measure of what it takes to fuel the body. Good health requires eating calories from nutrient rich foods, and balancing your calorie intake with your output. Eating too few calories can lead ...
When you go on a diet, your main goal is to reduce caloric intake. However, the kinds of food that you choose will have an effect on how you look and feel. Try to eat healthful foods like fruits, vegetables, lean meats and whol...
Burning calories is a natural process in which your body converts food into energy. As you burn calories, you must consume calories in order to keep your body functioning. However, the type and amount of calories you consume af...
Scientists and nutritionists are forever scouting for new diet plans to help you lose weight and stay healthy, and a few major diet plans have emerged. These plans typically work by controlling your intake of fat and calories.
What constitutes a good calorie intake varies greatly among woman. Factors such as age, height, weight, and body composition can affect how many calories you should eat. Additionally, if you are trying to lose weight, your inta...
If you're wondering why your low-calorie frozen lunch or energy bar isn't helping you lose weight, you need to first establish how many calories you should consume daily to maintain your weight. The recommended daily calorie nu...
However, your active child may be more interested in playing than eating, or he might be a picky eater who refuses to eat most healthy foods. To increase your child's calorie intake, add more calorie-dense foods to his diet. Bu...
Any exercise, especially cycling, will burn calories. But to continue exercising and burning calories, you must also consume calories, which your body uses as fuel. Eating enough calories and eating the right kind of calories c...
If you are working towards gaining or losing weight, it is vital that you first identify how many calories your body needs to sustain your current weight. Then you will be able to adjust your food intake and physical activity a...
Among teenagers, caloric needs vary based on sex, age and activity level. According to the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, adolescents are overconsuming calories while not getting proper amounts of nutrients, especially ...
The effects of a high-calorie intake depend on the exact number of calories you consume, your weight, your activity level and your body type. The healthiest approach is to work with your doctor or nutritionist to determine how ...
equals 3,500 calories, you would need to ditch 3,500 calories to burn 1 lb. or add an extra 3,500 calories to gain 1 lb., according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If you're trying to achieve or maintain a ...
Carbohydrates and fats provide the primary sources of energy for the body. Carbohydrates are easy for the body to break down and use. The recommended percentage reflects your fuel needs based on your activity level. The more ac...
There are some good reasons to vary your calorie intake each day, such as to help with weight loss and to account for varying activity levels. However, your calorie needs are based on providing you with the full amount of nutri...
Women are also born with different genetic predispositions that can either raise or lower caloric needs. Having greater body mass and a higher basal metabolic rate can increase your body's caloric requirements. A normal female ...
It is important to include a variety of foods in your diet, including those which contain fat. Focus on unsaturated fats, limit saturated fats and avoid trans fats when possible. You can figure out how much fat you are consumin...
While the number of calories you need to consume to maintain your current weight can vary each day, the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides estimated caloric intake recommendations for males and females across a range of ag...
When you are on a diet that involves watching your calorie intake, everything you eat needs to be counted. You can liken your calorie intake to a bank account. Only eat as many calories as you have available, make decisions on ...
Department of Agriculture's Recommended Dietary Allowance, now called the Dietary Reference Intake, of nutrients including vitamins, minerals and fiber. Creating your daily meals by incorporating all the servings of each food g...
Many dieters try to limit fat and calorie intake, but both are necessary for health. Part of maintaining a balanced diet includes being aware of the fat and calories you consume, but this should always be taken in context of th...
If the numbers on both sides are equal, your weight stays the same. Simply guessing how much you're eating is often wildly inaccurate, and can result in unwanted weight fluctuations. Your best option is to keep a journal that i...
Everyone has different calorie needs. The variables are size, activity level and age -- and whether you are hoping to lose, gain or maintain your weight. Weighing yourself frequently allows you to notice weight loss or gain ear...
A male teenager goes through dramatic and rapid physical changes, and his caloric needs will increase significantly over the teenage years. Luckily, guidelines exist to help him to ensure he gets adequate nutrition.
Body weight depends on the balance between the calories you take in and the calories you burn to stay alive and to manage your everyday activities. Therefore, if you want to maintain or reduce your current weight, you need to u...
The amount of calories needed for each will vary.
Calorie requirements established by the National Institutes of Health are based on a person's gender, age and activity level. The amount of calories recommended for daily intake are geared toward healthy people of average weight.
When you are on a diet, restricting calories can help you achieve weight loss. In order to lose weight, you will need to eat fewer calories than you burn. The specific amount of calories you need depends on many factors includi...
No two women are the same, and the same is true for your caloric intake. Your age, weight, height and activity level all affect the number of calories you need to eat each day to maintain, gain or lose weight.
How many calories a woman needs per day varies according to body weight, level of activity, muscle mass, even local weather and stress levels. The US Department of Agriculture provides guidelines for the mythical "average" woman.
The amount of calories you should consume is based on your age, height, gender and activity level. By calculating your body mass index, or BMI, you can find out whether you need to gain, lose or maintain your weight.
Weight loss results from limiting your calorie consumption to a healthy level, increasing your exercise or a combination of both. However, most weight loss results from limiting calorie intake, according to the Centers for Dise...
Once you reach your goal weight, the job is not over. You have just entered a new phase of your healthy lifestyle--the maintenance phase. Tread carefully as you learn how to add just enough calories to stop losing weight, but n...
Gaining muscle is hard work. You need extra calories to energize your heavy lifting workouts and to support muscle repair and growth that happens between these sessions. Understanding how to properly fuel will only enhance your...
When your eating habits are not up to par and you follow a steady diet that includes alcohol, your weight can suffer. As the new year approaches, drinking less and reducing calorie intake are two common goals. Both of these res...
Calories are a measure of energy we derive from food and burn with activity. Our bodies use calories constantly to breathe, stand, run, think and sleep. We use more calories when doing exercise. Foods that are high in calories ...
