If you are planning to lose weight then you should know how many calories you need each day. Calorie restrictive diets work well, but only if you correctly follow them! The problem with implementing a calorie restrictive diet is twofold:
- People often overestimate the amount of food that they need
- People underestimate the how hard it is to restrict calories
Here we share daily calorie tables and then provide advice on how to use this information to lose weight.
Remember that these are just average figures so you may need more or less than the calories stated here. If you wish to have a more accurate figure then read our page Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) Explained. Both of these are good weight loss calculators.
Also, you only need the higher figure on the days that you are most active. Doing two intensive workouts each week does not mean you need maximum calories on the other 5 days.
How Many Calories Does a Woman Need?
The number of calories depends on your height and muscle mass, so these figures are averages only. However, this does provide a good starting point – aim to eat fewer calories and adjust your diet depending on results. Daily Calorie Needs for Females:
| Age/years | Sedentary | Low activity | High activity |
| 2-3 | 1100 | 1250 | 1400 |
| 4-5 | 1200 | 1350 | 1500 |
| 6-7 | 1300 | 1500 | 1700 |
| 8-9 | 1400 | 1600 | 1850 |
| 10-11 | 1500 | 1800 | 2050 |
| 12-13 | 1700 | 2000 | 2250 |
| 14-16 | 1750 | 2100 | 2350 |
| 17-18 | 1750 | 2100 | 2400 |
| 19-30 | 1900 | 2100 | 2350 |
| 31-50 | 1800 | 2000 | 2250 |
| 51-70 | 1650 | 1850 | 2100 |
| 71+ | 1550 | 1750 | 2000 |
How Many Calories Does a Man Need?
Again, these are averages, and as with women, some men naturally carry a lot more muscle mass that others. So use these figures as a starting point in your weight loss plan. Daily Calorie Needs for Males:
| Age/years | Sedentary | Low activity | High activity |
| 2-3 | 1100 | 1350 | 1500 |
| 4-5 | 1250 | 1450 | 1650 |
| 6-7 | 1400 | 1600 | 1800 |
| 8-9 | 1500 | 1750 | 2000 |
| 10-11 | 1700 | 2000 | 2300 |
| 12-13 | 1900 | 2250 | 2600 |
| 14-16 | 2300 | 2700 | 3100 |
| 17-18 | 2450 | 2900 | 3300 |
| 19-30 | 2500 | 2700 | 3000 |
| 31-50 | 2350 | 2600 | 2900 |
| 51-70 | 2150 | 2350 | 2650 |
| 71+ | 2000 | 2200 | 2500 |
How Many Calories Do You Need to Reduce By?
So, how many calories can you eat and lose weight? Studies have shown that women who eat 1000 fewer calories than they need lost around 2 pounds per week. This is a healthy and sustainable level of weight loss. The same rule applies to men.
Start by eating 500 calories a day fewer than your body needs, and if this is not producing results, decrease a little further.
How many calories should you be eating?
The two tables above show the average calories requirements for males and females at various ages for varying levels of activity. Sedentary means no exercise or rarely active. Low activity means walking, housework, some play. High activity means regular exercise, generally more active in work and life.
This is a general guide to the amount of calories you need to be in deficit to lose a specific amount of weight:
- If you are in a deficit of 500 calories per day you will lose approximately 1 pound per week
- A calorie deficit of 750 calories will help you lose about 1.5 pounds per week
- A calorie deficit of 1000 calories will help you lose about 2 pounds per week (about 1 kg weight loss per week)
- To lose 20 pounds in a year you will need to eat 200 calories less per day than you were eating when your weight was stable
- To lose 20 pounds in 1 month, you need to eat 2400 calories fewer per day. Overweight people who usually eat 4000 calories per day can lose weight quicker than lighter people – they can reduce their intake by 2400 calories per day and still eat enough to sustain themselves.
Do Not Eat More When Exercising
What often strikes people who are new to dieting and exercise is that the high activity group do not need many more calories than the low activity group. Being very active adds 300 calories for men and 250 calories for women.
This is the equivalent of a sandwich or a large white coffee in terms of food energy. This is why it is important that you do not eat more food just because you are exercising! The exercise creates a calorie deficit but if you eat more to compensate you will fail to lose weight.
Learn more about activity calorie burn (calories burned for different exercises) in our article on What is the Best Exercise to Help Lose Weight?
Calorie Requirements for Teenagers
We have highlighted the calories needs of teenagers as this is an important time during a persons development, and also a time when many people start to become more aware of their bodies.
Few teenagers are aware that their calorie needs are higher than that of any other age group, and for sporty teens, such as those that play sports or are practicing martial arts or are learning to dance, they need around 500-600 more calories a day than their sedentary peers.
During this time the quality of energy consumed must be high for healthy growth. What is worrying is the trend for many teens to skip meals to keep their weight down. They could be setting themselves up for long term health problems as well as stunted growth. We have a page dedicated to teenagers here: Diet and Weight Loss Advice for Teenagers.
Calorie Needs As We Get Older
For a woman in her 30’s that is not exercising, 2000 calories a day is enough to maintain weight. To lose 2 pounds per week, she needs to reduce her daily calories by 1000, which means consuming 1000 calories a day. If she is exercising 3-4 times a week then she can eat 1250 calories per day.
This may seem low, but it is how our bodies work. To lose weight you need to restrict calories, this is what is meant by a calorie deficit. Eating healthier foods help too. Lean proteins will be used to build new muscle tissue. Fresh fruits and vegetables contain fiber to aid digestion. Bread is full of energy (around 100 calories per slice) and has little of nutritional value.
Losing weight is not just about counting calories – it is about eating a balanced diet and exercising too. Diet without exercise almost always leads to eventual weight loss failure. See our article MotleyHealth’s Guide To Losing Weight to learn why.
Calories in Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat
If you are counting calories to aid weight loss, then you need to know how many calories are in carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
- Protein has 4 Calories per gram
- Carbohydrates has 4 Calories per gram
- Fat has 9 Calories per gram
- Alcohol has 7 Calories per gram
You may think that the best way to create an energy deficit is to eat more carbohydrates, but not all carbohydrates are equal. To lose weight while eating carbs you need to eat low GI carbohydrates (effectively they contain less sugar) which tend to have higher fiber content, which means that you do not absorb so much of the energy.
All food that you consume is either used immediately as energy by the body or stored as fat for the future. You gain weight when you eat more than you burn, you maintain your weight when you eat as much as you burn, and you lose weight when you eat less than you burn. Understanding this is the key to start losing weight.
If you look at the calories in fat, it quickly becomes obvious why there has been such an emphasis on eating low fat foods in recent decades. Fat has more than twice as many calories per gram than carbohydrate or protein. A healthy and well balanced diet will have adequate macro-nutrients and still allow weight loss to occur.
Swapping fatty food for carbohydrate or proteins means that you can eat the same weight in food and take in fewer calories. The health food industry has taken advantage of this and produced many foods that are low in fat but far higher in sugars. Read Sugar, Carbohydrates and Your Health to learn more about this.
Structure Your Life
To lose weight you need to start to structure your life. You need to plan what you are going to eat each day so that you do not end up snacking on junk food when your fridge gets empty. You need to plan each exercise session in advance so that you never put off exercising because you cannot think what to do.
Find 5 workouts that you enjoy doing, such as bodyweight exercises, circuit training workouts, weight training workouts or just sessions on the elliptical trainer. This ensures that you can get variety in your new lifestyle and this helps you to stay interested.
If you plan your weight loss and calorie restriction, there is no reason why you cannot lose 100 pounds in 2 years. It will not be an easy task, but it will be rewarding, and the best thing you ever do.
Creating An Energy Deficit
If there is one rule that applies to every single overweight person it is this:
- To lose weight you must create an energy deficit
It is that simple! Although as we all know, implementing a theory is never as easy as writing it down.
The amount of energy you consume is related to what you eat and drink. So the first step in losing weight is to determine how much you are eating and make a guesstimate at how much you need.
Permanent Lifestyle Changes
Just eating less will work, but it is not as effective as eating less and exercising. When you eat less food than you need you create an energy deficit. You will lose weight, but your metabolism will slow down, i.e. you burn calories slower.
This means that you will burn less energy throughout the day, which reduces your requirements even more, so you stop losing weight. You have to eat even less, and the cycle continues until a point where you are not receiving enough nutrients and vitamins to maintain a healthy body.
By exercising while dieting you keep your metabolism high and you build new muscle tissue which requires energy. By increasing your metabolism it is easier to adjust your diet to make changes to your daily energy deficit.
It is recommended that you make permanent lifestyle changes that will help you lose weight at a steady rate. Generally it is advisable to aim to lose 1-2 pounds per week (0.5 – 1kg per week).
Do not forget that there are a lot of calories in alcohol, especially beer. Just a few beers a week can put you over your daily energy requirements and stop you from losing weight. For example, drinking one glass of wine per day is enough to add 14 pounds of weight over a year. One bottle of wine has as many calories as a large meal. So if you are serious about losing weight you need to ensure that you are losing weight every day of the week. This is why diets such as the Dukan Diet are so successful – they encourage you to give up alcohol completely.
Calories Are Hard To Count
The order in which food is presented to you can determine how many calories you think it contains. If you are shown a low calorie fruit salad and then a burger you are likely to think that the meal contains more calories than if you see a burger followed by a high calorie cheesecake.
Research published in the Journal of Consumer Research explains that simply changing the order in which 2 meals were shown to a person would significantly alter their perception of how many calories were in that meal.
This discovery could explain why so many people eat too much food and put on weight, especially those that love desserts.
For example, when people were shown a cheeseburger they estimated that it contained 570 calories, whereas when shown a salad first and then a cheeseburger, they thought that the cheeseburger contained 787 calories. Just by looking at another meal they thought that the cheeseburger contained more energy than it actually did.
“The sequence in which items are considered often influences our evaluations of these items” – Alexander Chernev, Northwestern University.
Just by changing the order in which the meals were viewed changed the perceived calories from 757 to 1,097 calories.
Self Regulation of Consumption
This principal can help you to self-regulate their food consumption which should reduce overeating. For example, eating more than one course will result eating too much, so stick to a single course.
Diet is the main cause of obesity and weight problems, but many people do not realise that this is the case. Many people think they are not overeating even though they are overweight. For your next meal, avoid starters and desserts.
This could also explain why people that love desserts are more likely to be overweight. They simply underestimate the amount of food that they are eating.
Learn how to measure how many calories you have used or consumed.
1500 Calories a Day With Exercise
Here is an example for anybody hoping to lose 100 pounds. If you aim to lose one pound a week until you reach your goal, you should eat around 1500 calories a day, and exercise.
Your diet should be healthy and balanced. Avoid sugar and saturated fats, and instead eat low GI vegetables, fresh fruits, lean meat, fish. Also, avoid soft drinks and alcohol, and instead drink mostly water, tea and the occasional coffee.
For exercise you should aim to walk for at least 15 minutes every single day. Also do a 30 minute workout 3 times a week. As you get fitter you can do a shorter but more intensive workout 5-6 times a week. This helps you to maintain a higher metabolism and so burn more fat.
It is important to see your doctor before you start a weight loss plan that will see you losing so much weight. If you have not done any exercise for many years then it is wise to get some professional medical advice. Generally a walking program is suitable for most people that are obese.
Fasting
One weight loss method that is growing in popularity is fasting. Rather than eating fewer calories every day, you have extremely limited calories on some days of the week, and eat more normally on other days. Take a look at our articles on fasting:
All of these fasting systems work, but you must follow them responsibly and ensure that you are still getting all the nutrients your body needs.
References
“Semantic Anchoring in Sequential Evaluations of Vices and Virtues.” by Alexander Chernev. Journal of Consumer Research: February 2011. A preprint of this article:http://journals.uchicago.edu/jcr.
Hi Madde, it sounds like regular exercise (every day) and a healthier diet will get you in shape pretty quick. With such a bad diet in the past you have done well not to gain too much weight. Exercise will tone you up. Running and some bodyweight exercises is a good combination. I would suggest that you start by alternating these exercises each day and see how that goes. How long? Depends on how much effort you put in. You do not need to lose much weight, just get fitter and healthier. At 16 you really need to improve your diet too, as your body needs good nutrition to develop properly – that means less junk and more vegetables, fruits and lean proteins.
Hello! I had a baby 14 months ago and lost 70 pounds since then. I’m proud of myself, but I still have 20 more that I would like to lose. I’m still seen as obese on the BMI chart, which is also frustrating since I’ve been working so hard. I’ve been eating right and exercising; I’m actually training for a 5k in March right now. I’m frustrated because I can’t seem to lose these last twenty pounds. I’m 5’7, weigh 200 pounds, and I’m large boned. I workout 4-5 times a week (usually 5). How can I lose these last few pounds? Am I eating enough? Two boiled eggs and an apple for breakfast, apple for snack #1, tuna, a salad and carrots for lunch, carrots for snack #2, yogurt snack #3, grilled chucked and veggies for dinner, and yogurt for snack #4. Please help…
Hi Cherie, well done for losing 70 pounds, great effort indeed! So, have you lost any weight in recent weeks and how long have you been on your current diet? How far are you running each day at the moment? Ideally you should be exercising daily for around 45 minutes and also maintain your diet 7 days a week. Are you doing this?
Cherie, I would say that you should stick to one fruit per day and change the carrots to another veggie. Fruit and carrots have sugar, although natural, and can inhibit fat burning. Good luck!
It is not just the type of fruit / vegetable but how it is prepared. Carrots when raw are low GI (low sugar), but when boiled they are high GI. The cooking of many vegetables helps to breakdown the carbs, it is a type of pre-digestion. This means that when you eat them you can digest them quicker, and this leads to a more rapid increase in insulin. This is why raw vegetables can be good at controlling weight. Same goes for pasta – al dente is actually not bad, boil it until soggy (as most people do) and it becomes high GI.
Ok so I am trying to loose weight, but nothing seems to be working for me! Or maybe I am being too impatient? I started eating healthier and exercising Jan 6th this year I weighed 219 at that time, I am 5’10”, female and 33 y/o. I use my fitness pal on my ipod. It says that I should eat 1500 calories a day at times I eat less then that. The first two weeks I lost 13lbs……….but have lost nothing since, so please tell me what I am doing wrong?
Frustrated!
Hi Jami, you have lost 13 pounds in 23 days – sounds like you are doing well. Maintain the diet and keep exercising – increase your workouts too. You will not have the same results each week, but so long as you are getting fitter and eat healthy you will eventually get in shape.
Hi there, I’m just wondering if you have an opinion on the Hot Yoga craze and my diet plan. I enjoy taking the class (an hour/day) because I am aiming to get back my flexibility and range of motion…plus a little focused me time. I’m just unsure of the calorie burning potential as my chosen exercise for the day. I have only been back at this and “on my diet” for a few days. I highly doubt it’s upwards of 900 calories as the Hot Yoga enthusiasts boast, but I do find that my breath becomes heavy and my muscles quiver from lack of strength so I must be burning something. I am 32, 5’8 and currently 143lbs. My goal weight is 130-132 lbs and I am consuming a very calculated 1293 calories/day on the Zone Diet. I would like to achieve my goal weight by mid March. What do you think of this plan? and what about the Hot Yoga?
Thanks for any input!!
I have not actually done hot yoga, or even seen it in action. If the exercises are working your muscles well and you work up a sweat in normal conditions, then it should be sufficient. My wife did Ashtanga for a while and the many sun salutations really helped to burn the fat.
Hi, i am 16 year old male, but a late bloomer . i have never been fat, but in the last few years i have got a little chubby. I am 6 foot one, and weigh 76 kg. recently i have started to only eat between 4:39 pm and 10:00 pm, and in that time eat around 1500 calories. i lost half a stone in the first week, as i used to eat around 5000 calories a day. I have also started to do a 5km run 5 times a week, and do weight training. bench press, situps, bicep curls. i was just wondering how long it will take for me to get to a low enough body fat to see my abs? And start going from a pear shape to a v shape? Please don’t tell me this is unhealthy as i need to have a good body before my summer holiday with my friends. thanks Hugo.
Hi Hugo, hard to say how long it will take, rather than worry about this just focus on getting fitter, getting stronger and eating healthy. Monitor your weight, your muscle growth and your diet so that you can make an informed decision when it is time to change something. 5000 Calories is a lot, so no surprise you put on some weight.
hi m raj my current weight is 127 kg and height is 6 ft . and i want to reduce 45 kg in 1 year tell me how many calories i’ll need to achieve my goal with exercise
Hi Raj, if you are looking to lose around 1 kg a week (2 pounds a week) you need to restrict calories by around 1000 Calories a day. Depends partly on your age, but on days you are exercising hard then you need to have around 2000 Calories. See the charts above.
Hey, I’m 13 weighing 47 kg and around 155 cm. I have read your article several times, although I still don’t understand this: You have said cut away 1000 calories. I am sedentary for 2 more days, until I start the new school year, where I will be (probably) lightly active. According to your chart, to lose weight, I have to consume 700-1000 calories per day. I also read that people should not consume less than 1200 calories, but I assume that statistic changes for people below 18. And yes, I did read the category on teenager weight loss. I admit, I don’t know very much about this, which is exactly why I have started getting into it.
So, if you ended up paying attention to my post, could you please give me some feedback? Would be greatly appreciated. ;)
Hi Michelle, a daily calorie deficit of 1000 Calories should result in a 2 pound a week weight loss. However, if you are sedentary most of the time this will not be a healthy way to lose weight. Also, as a teenager you do need more food and better nutrition to aid your growth and development. Focus on getting fitter and eating healthier and the rest will follow in time.
hello i am 115 punds in weigh and 22 yrs old . i lost 14 pounds through workout . and now due to being busy i could not do my workout . and i want to maintain this weight of mine.what should i do to maintain it .
kindla help… plzzzzzzzzz. i dont want to be fat again .
Hi Shalini, you need to make your diet very healthy and not eat too much.
how many calories do I need to maintain 115 pounds? I don’t have time for workouts. plzzzzz tell calorie intake of each day? what should I avoid?
Hi Shalini, it really is not as straight forward as that unfortunately. What you need to do is to maintain a healthy diet and control your own eating. See out diet and nutrition section for some articles on healthy eating. Unless you have a very efficient and accurate way to counting the calories in all the food you consume you will actually miscalculate. Also, all calorie figures are approximate.
The best way for you is to simple monitor your weight often and if you increase above 115 pounds then you modify your diet.
As for workouts – you really should make the time to do some exercise. Everyone has time to exercise, although you may have to make some little sacrifices.
Hey, ok so im 16, 17 in a month, i weight 220 im 6ft tall,im trying to lose weight to about 190.
I Work out at the gym about 4-5 times a week for 1 hour
According to this artice becasue of my age i should consume 2700 or 3100?
Started the gym about 2 weeks ago, before that i didn’t do exercise
Usually would eat out at least 3 times a week
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated
Hi Christian, the most important thing for you at the moment is to focus on eating a healthy and balanced diet. If eating out means eating junk food you may want to change this habit. Those 2700-3100 Calories need to be all healthy with fruits, vegetables and lean proteins.
Hi, I’m 30 year old, weighted 102 kg and 163 tall. Based on your table so I need to consume 800 calories a day. It’s too hard to do.
I plan to loose 50 kg (around 100 lbs) by eating 1500 calories a day and workout (walk) twice a day each 20-30 minutes. After 3-4 weeks I want to make it 45-60 minutes.
Is it possible for me to get my normal weight (53 kg) by doing my plan? Thank you.
Hi Mimi, the table is just a guide, it is generally not recommended to go below 1200 Calories a day. Your plan can work, it is wise to make long term plans that are manageable. Just keep walking daily and keep the diet healthy. As you lose weight and get fitter start to consider more intensive activities.
this is so so so so wrong girls could work the same amount of accitivitys
a day as boys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Victoria, this is not saying that girls cannot do as much exercise as boys, it is a guide to how many calories are needed. Girls / women are on average smaller than boys / men, and therefore require fewer calories each day.
Hi There,
I am eating really clean and healthy…workout very hard 5days a week. 3 days weight training, 2 days intense intevals cardio for an hour or more and on Sundays I hike some pretty good terrain. I m 32yrs, 5’6 and 147lbs. I have noticed my clothes fit better and friends say I look fitter. Question is my measurments are the same as when I started 2 months ago and weight only changed by 3 lbs. How many calories should I be eating to lose 10 lbs in 8 weeks? Also why is there not more results so far?
Hi Aylish, it sounds like you are making good progress. If people have noticed that you look better and your clothes are fitting better then this would suggest that you are fitter and healthier, regardless of those stubborn measurements. At 147 pounds you are not overweight, so really your focus should be on improving fitness and maintaining a healthy diet. In time your body will adjust.
As a rule of thumb, you need a daily calorie deficit of around 500 Calories to lose 1 pound per week. So to lose 10 pounds in 8 weeks you need to really be eating around 1500 – 1750 Calories a day, depending on how active you are on any given day.
Hi, I am an extremely active 37 year old female (5’2″ tall) and weigh 91k . I train 6 days a week, currently bodybuilding, and cardio on my none training day. I have already shed 70lbs over 2.5 years, but i need to lose around 19k. I am consuming around 1200 cals a day, with a diet of lean meats, vegetables, fruit and no bread.(i record everything i consume) Do you have any suggestions other than what i am already doing, to reduce the remaining weight i am looking to lose? Thanks
Hi Claud, well, you have two options: 1. Do more exercise. 2. Eat less. OK, option 3 would be do a little more exercise and eat a little less!
As you are already down to 1200 Kcal a day I would suggest adding some additional cardio to your weekly routine, maybe 2-3 sessions a week. It will mean exercising twice some days, but sometimes this is what has to be done.
Please help! For the last six weeks I have used My Fitness Pal faithfully. Reduced my calorie intake to 1200 per day and I do aerobics every single day for at least 50 minutes. I do not use the extra calories that MFP gives as rewards for exercise, only occasionally. I am 50 years old, 5 feet tall and weigh 195…..I cannot tell you how discouraged I am to have not lost a single pound in these six weeks! I am beside myself this morning after getting on the scales again expecting a loss and only staying the same. I actually had a tiny loss last week of two pounds, my first loss at all, and then this morning I gained it back for no reason! Help!
Hi Candacejo, how are you feeling though? 6 weeks of exercising and healthy eating must be having some positive benefits on your body. Just stick to the plan, it is certainly doing you good, assuming that you diet is healthy and that you have not just reduced the amount of food without improve quality too.
Hi, I am 30 year old female. I am 5’4 and weigh around 120lbs. I would like to lose between 5 and 8 pounds. I have been doing 45 minutes of intense cardio(running, stair master, elliptical) 5 days a week and yoga or pilates 2 days a week for the past month. I have been using myfitnesspal to log my calorie intake and exercise. I feel like I am doing everything right, but gaining weight! I am trying to lose my extra stomach fat. I am on a 1200 calorie plan plus extra for exercise, I usually burn about 200-300 calories per cardio session). I am always within my calorie limit for the day. What else can I do? Why am I gaining weight?
Hi Nicole, please explain what you mean by “a 1200 calorie plan plus extra for exercise”. How much extra? If you are gaining weight, and that weight is fat and not muscle, then you are eating too much food. There is no other possible explanation.
Just turned 51. 4’11” 145. What is the recommendation for weight and calory. Plus sedentary.
Hi
I am so glad I found this site, it has given me so much inspiration. I am 55 and have type 2 diabetes and am about 4 stones overweight, I am only 5ft 2 and so it looks much worse! I also have an umbilicle hernia which I am terrified of having corrected because of being so big. I am a single mother to four children and do a part time job and although I walk and try to do some exercise it is very hard as most people would know when being so busy but, reading your informative pages and all of the comments and questions by others has given me a real boost. Thanks so much for this. I will now begin a proper diet and walk every day and hope that I can lose my 56lbs of unwanted fat within the next year. Once again, thanks so very much. Joyce.
Hi Cindy, according to the table. approx. 1650 Calories a day. For your height your weight should be between 92 lbs / 41.7 kg and 123 lbs / 55.7 kg, so maintain a healthy BMI.
We wish you the best of luck Joyce, just maintain the extra activity and exercise and keep eating healthy. More exercise and a healthier diet will also help you to control blood sugar levels better and this should improve your long term health.
hello,
i really enjoyed this article! im a 26 year old female who should be 145 pounds for my height but alas, i weigh 195. i recently reduced my calorie intake to 1200, and i do about 2 hours of cardio each morning,(im going to get my endurance up before incorperating strength training) burning about 600 to 650 calories per session. is this an apropriate plan to stick to? im just learning about health n fitness so any etra pointers are welcome
Hi Melissa, this is a good plan. As you get fitter you should be able to work more intensively and more economically. For now just keep doing it.
I am 5’5, 124 pounds and a 19 year old female. I weighed the same amount in high school when I ran cross country and danced and was happy with my body and never gave too much thought about what I was eating, but since graduating I have found myself increasingly frustrated and unhappy with my weight/exercising/eating habits. Granted, I haven’t officially gained or lost any weight, but I am really worried that I am doing something wrong. Should I be trying to lose weight or start counting calories at age 19 and am at “healthy” weight, or is this just going to put me in a bad mental state about food for the rest of my life?
Hi Kate, you are a healthy weight now, so well done you! Do not worry. Just make sure that you remain active. As we move from teenage years to the 20’s we generally become less active. Maybe now is a good time to look to take up some active hobbies again, such as running or dance. Eating healthy is vital, it really does not take too many extra calories to start slowly gaining weight. Few overweight or obese people now in their 30’s got that way overnight. A pound a month over 10 years adds up (to 120 pounds!).
Hi, I’m 5’5″ and weigh 184 pounds. I have lost 30 pounds on and off over the last year and a half, and am now seriously wanting to lose 30 pounds in the next 4 or 5 months as I am sick of not being able to buy nice clothes. For the last 2 weeks I have been counting calories and am eating roughly 1650 calories per day (sometimes hungry at that) and working out in the gym 5/6 times a week burning 900+ calories. I weighed myself today and I have PUT ON 2 pounds!!!!
I’m so annoyed and I just don’t understand what is happening… :-(
Hi Sarah, do not worry, stick to the plan. 2 pounds is not a lot. Did you weigh yourself the same time of day as normal? Remember, 1 litre of water weighs about 2 pounds, maybe you had a drink or two earlier and had not been to the loo yet? Or were still digesting some food? Do not worry – of you are eating healthy and exercising you will get there in the end.
I have a question. I started eating better and excercising January 2nd. I a 5 feet, 5 inches tall and my starting weight was 269 lbs. I count calories and have stayed at 1500 calories per day. I walk 5 days a week for 90 minutes, go to the gym 4 days a week and do the eliptical for 20 minutes, the bike for 20 minutes and either walk the track for 10 minutes or lift weights for 10 minutes. I also do Just Dance 2 or Zumba on the wii 3 nights a week for about 30 minutes. I am drinking atleast 64oz of water each day, usually more. I have lost 12 lbs but I am wondering why I haven’t lost more. It has been 10 weeks and I was hoping to lose atleast 2 lbs a week. I am trying to lose 100 lbs in 14 months. Thanks
Hi Ambrea, hard to say to be honest, but if you are very active then you may possibly be mis-counting the calories. Studies show that people under-estimate calories very often. Take a look at all your meals for a day and look for places where you can cut back a little more.
Hi, I’m trying to understand how to create an energy deficient . So if I consume 2,000 calories and burn 200 calories through exercise, will this create and energy deficient and allow me to lose weight?
Hi Judy, these really are just guidelines. Basically, that is right though. All an energy deficit is is when you consume fewer calories than your body needs to maintain its current muscle and fat mass. Consume fewer and your body has to break down energy reserves.
These charts take into account activity, so the high activity column indicates the amount you need to eat when exercising. You probably need to use the Low Activity column if you are burning 200 calories a day in exercise. So to lose weight, you actually need to consume fewer calories, say 1500 Calories a day.
I am glad I found this website I am 48 yr old female, weighing 214 lbs. Two weeks ago,I started 45 mins intense workout( its group excercise at the gym which is getting very popular in the neighborhood) 6 days a week( sunday closed). i have been going yoga 4 times a week and walking 3 miles for an hour 7 days a week.( thats the best I can go becuase of my Osteo) I keep my calorie log through myfitnesspal and keeping 1200 calories. But in 2 weeks I have lost only 2 lbs. Where I am doing wrong?
According to you, how many calories I should eat to lose 20 in 6 weeks.
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I am in the same exact situation as Candacejo and feel her pain. I’m 54 years old and 5′ tall. I quit smoking, I know congratulations…blah blah blah, and gained 30 pounds. In the last year and a half I’ve managed to lose 10 pounds but then became stuck, no matter how good I tried to eat, so I also enlisted in myfitnesspal and cut my calories to 800 per day. Like Candecejo I did not eat more for my exercise rewards either and have not lost a pound! Telling her that she must feel better was a slap in the face. Nobody feels better when they can’t eat, have to exercise every waking moment and never sees results. At our age our BMR is only 1200 calories a day. How in the world can people our age and height lose any weight!!?
Hi Anop. You have lost at a rate of a pound a week already – that is good. To lose 20 pounds in 6 weeks you need to lose 3 1/3 pounds a week. This is going to be much more difficult. The only way though is to eat less and do more exercise. Sounds like you are doing a fair amount of exercise already though, so look again at diet. Not just total calories, but the type of food you are eating.