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 Maddie, if your main goal is the build some lean muscle then you still need to eat more. At your age you are in a period of natural growth so more calories are actually needed for healthy development too. If you have lost fat already then it sounds like you are doing well in that area. Ensure that your diet is healthy and well balanced and keep up with the cardio. Focus on getting fit and everything else should gall into place – you have youth on your side!
Hi, I am a 25 y/o female about 5’5 149 lbs. I am a student and now work part-time, which means I am not active. I am trying to understand how to lose weight and keep it it off. No matter how much I lose weight I always seem to gain it back. Thank you.
Hi Didi, if you can already lose weight then all you have to do to keep it off is not eat too much again. Exercise will help you, it really is recommended that you make the time to exercise a few times a week.
Hi,
Is it bad for a 17 year old girl to lift really heavy weights?
The weight im lifting with now i can do about 8-10 reps.
I do this 3 times a week.
and another question,
If you dont eat enough calories (or protein), can u still build muscle, or is it impossible? or is the process just a lot slower?
Hi I am a female and I am around 238pounds and about 5ft 7. I would like to loose weight but do not know how many calories i should be eating a day. for the past week i have kept it at 1200-1400 is this right or do i need to be eating more. I have started going to the gym 3 times a week also.
Hi Maddie. I guess you need to define “bad” and “really heavy”. With the correct form / technique, good warm-up and good nutrition and rest you should be OK. At 17 there may be some more development in your spine though, but then again it really depends on what lifts you are doing. Women do start competitive weight lifting at your age, China’s Wang Li snatched 110 kg (240 pounds) when she was 17 years old. However, that does not mean that they do not, or will not, have problems in the future. If you are lifting 8-10 rep sets then you are not actually lifting “really heavy” – when people “go heavy” then the sets are usually down to 3-5 reps per set.
Protein is needed for muscle growth. With a balanced diet you should actually get enough protein to grow stronger and leaner muscles. For optimum growth, i.e. growing as much as possible for the work you are doing, then ensuring that you feed your muscles adequately will help. If you main goal is to get fit and get in great shape then a healthy and well balanced diet will actually provide all you need.
Hi Shelly, 1200-1400 Calories a day is a good target for fat loss. 1200 Calories is the minimum daily intake you should have for healthy weight loss. What is important is to make sure those 1200 Calories are healthy – a good mix of vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, cereals, dairy etc. to get all the nutrients the body needs.
If I don’t have a job and am more low activity in my daily life, but exercise heavily 7 days a week, would I be classed as low activity or high activity?
That would probably be high activity Keith, although remember that this is just a guideline and not a prescription so adjust for your own needs.
I’m a 50 year old woman who works shifts 7 days on for 10.5 hours per day and then 7days off, what would you advises as a good diet for the shift when i’m working, I work until the early hours of the morning and crave carbohydrates
Hi Lesley, really if you follow a balanced diet then this should help you to avoid the cravings. Have plenty of vegetables and lean meats, start the shift with a bowl of muesli / oat based cereal, have a soup snack if peckish and make sure lunch is a healthy and well balanced meal (vegetables, salad etc.).
I’m a 19 year old female, wanting to lose weight. When I type my info into Myfitnesspal, I get an allotment of 1,200 calories a day. Is this amount ok? I don’t feel that hungry when I eat that amount. Thanks.
Hi again MotleyHealth, thank you for previous responses to my questions :)
But I have another one, can whey protein drinks harm my body?
I’m 17. Just wondering if you have to be a specific age to drink them. I’d really like to start it as a supplement for my weight training.
1200 Calories a day is a good target to set. It is considered to be the fewest Calories you can have and maintain good health. Make sure you are eating a well balanced diet, no junk at all.
Hi Maddie, no, whey cannot harm the body. Some people have suggested that when taken at very high volumes it may lead to some kidney damage, but nothing official has been proven on this subject, and for more casual users it is not going to cause a problem.
hello,i am a 34 year old woman strugglng to lose weight.i am 5’3 216 pounds,trying to lse 50 pounds.i have been doing 1200-1300 calories daily walking on treadmill 40 min per day 4 days per week for 1month with no results.am i doing something wrong.i would also like to know how do i increase my calorie intake without gaining the weight back after i reach my goal?
Hi Rell B, first focus on the immediate goal, that is losing weight. Take another look at your diet – everything that you eat and drink. You cannot eat 1200 Calories a day for a month and not lose weight, so you must be eating more. Also keep working on increasing the exercise, ideally exercise every day, you do not need rest days when you are walking / jogging on a treadmill.
Hey,
i’m 21 and about 5’10’. My current weight is 94KG. I eat about 1000 calories a day, but burn 570 on thre treadmill everyday. Sometimes i will go on the treadmill for an hour in the morning and again at night, bringing the total of calories i burn to 1140. Is this is a healthy method to lose weight?
Thank you
Hi Sarah, if you are eating 1000 Calories and burning 1140 Calories with exercise you will certainly lose weight. It may not be healthy in the long term, but if you are eating a well balanced diet to ensure that you are getting all the nutrition that your body needs, then it should be OK in the short-term. If you feel that you lack energy, suffer poor concentration or are feeling feeble, lethargic etc. then you should increase the calories.
Hi there – I need some help and motivation/inspiration. I am a 42yr old woman who weighs 146lbs. My goal weight is 132lbs – so need to lose about 14lbs. I run 3-4 times per week (for 40 mins plus) and do 2 weight training classes a week also. I obviously need to cut my calories more to lose weight (have not actually counted them on a daily basis)but find as soon as I do this I get really hungry and feel really fatigued and often don’t have enough energy for my runs or weight classes. I have battled with my weight ever since I was in my teens. I am feeling quite despondent. Some advice would be great.
Hi Melanie, what sort of foods are you eating, and when? Maybe reduce calories but ensure that you are getting most calories from low to medium GI vegetables, and always ensure that you eat a small meal before your exercise to give you the energy when you need it the most. Also be careful with drinks – drinking only water will ensure you are not taking in too many calories from other drinks.
Hi,
I’m an obese 16 year-old male, 5’10. I currently weigh 135kg. I would say most days I am moderately active as I walk to and from school (5-10 min walk) and play football and soccer during the 15 and 45 minute breaks throughout the day, I also previously used a home-gym regularly for 30-minutes a day (I am considering getting back into this 3 days a week). I am currently on a diet of an average 1400-calories per day, without eating any bad food (take-away, chocolate, chips etc) and consuming sufficient amounts of fruit and vegetables each day.
I find 1400-calories per day to be more than enough for me and am not tempted to eat more or feeling starved, just slightly hungry every now and then.
By doing moderate exercise 3 days a week for 30 minutes, walking to school each day and playing football and soccer during the day, while eating 1400-calories per day, will I lose weight?
Hi Ben, yes you will lose weight on that regime. As you body probably needs around 2700 Calories a day this is a large deficit. Doing more exercise will help. While walking is good, 5-10 minutes is a very short walk. I also assume that you are not playing football very intensively in those breaks. While light exercise is good, intensive (sweating, panting) is much better. Stick to the plan though and you should see results. Take your time, do not expect to lose all the weight in a few months. If you can lose a kilo a week it will take a year to get down to 83 kg. Work hard and you can do it quicker than that, but do not get despondent, keep working at it.
Hi,
I am 18 years old, 5’3, and weight about 178lbs. I am walking with a little bit of running on the treadmill for either 1 hour or 1 1/2 hours.
I am eating around 1300 – 1500 calories a day. I don’t eat any bad foods, and only drink water.
I have been using myfitnesspal and for example: I eat 1300 calories, and burn 300 with exercise. It shows my net for the day being 1000 calories.
Is this bad? Should I make sure my Net is 1200?
I have been hearing people talk about starvation mode and I have become worried because I want to do this the healthy way and keep my metabolism working fine. Am I doing okay?
Thank you
Hi Tina, you are doing OK. The 1200 Calories figure you may have seen is a recommendation of the minimum calories. As you are eating more than that, nothing to worry about. Starvation mode is not really relevant if you are exercising for 60-90 minutes a day and taking 1500 Calories. They key for now is to ensure you are eating a balanced diet – vegetables, fruits, lean meats, eggs etc.
Hi I’m 50 years old i want to lose 30 pounds how many calories should i consume in a day i need? HELP!!!!!!!!!!!
Dear sir,
my age is 35 year old (men) my weight is 90 Kg. i want loss weight 20 Kg, can you suggestion me.what i can do
Regards
sunil navale
Hi Angela, it really depends on how you plan to lose weight. But, if you can stick to around 1200 Calories a day and also take daily exercise then you should be able to lose 1-2 pounds a week. Make sure you avoid all low GI foods, so little or no bread. Instead – vegetables, pulses, eggs, chicken fish etc.
Hi Sunil, read the articles in the weight loss and fitness sections of this site. Basically, you need to start exercising every day and eat less. It really is that simple. They key is to eat mostly low GI food, maintain a well balanced diet and do a variety of exercise.
Hi,
I’m a 19 year old female, and looking at the chart provided on this page, it looks like it recommends that teenagers would need more calories, even when wanting to lose weight. So I want to make sure if it’s healthy for me to eat 1,200 a day. At 19, would I need more calories than that, even to lose weight?
Thank you.
Hi Adriana, that is right, the rapid growth and development during puberty and adolescence requires a lot of energy. It really depends on your development though. If you eat 1200 Calories a day that will be 900 fewer than the average requirement for a 19 year-old woman in the “low activity” group. This should provide weight loss of around 1-2 pounds a week. The key is to ensure you are getting a healthy balance to your meals. Exercise really is important, it makes weight loss easier, healthier and more sustainable. As mentioned previously, the biggest problem with using charts like this is that it is actually very hard to accurately count calories.
Hi, I am 45 and about 45lbs overweight, I do lots of exercise during the week, 2x 1hour Zumba sessions, 1 x Piloxing class and 1 x Pilates, I also do 1 hour walks up hills. I need to know how many calories I should be eating a day, as I started off losing 1kg a week steadily and have now gone down to 400 grams, I feel this is not enough considering all the exercise and healthy eating I am doing.
Please advise.
Hi Carol, it sounds like you are doing great. To lose a little extra weight each week you just need to make your portions a little smaller. There is little point in setting a calorie target as you are already losing weight and measuring that weight loss too. 400 g a week weight is still good though, that is almost a pound a week. Just look to make a few little changes in your diet and maintain the exercise.
I have been steadily losing weight, a total of 25 pounds, but my weight loss has stalled. I am 22, 5’6, and 201 pounds. I do Zumba 4 times a week, sometimes 5, for an hour each time. When I began losing weight, I was eating 1200 calories a day, but lately it has become harder to restrict my calories. I struggle with snacking out of boredom, and I find it almost impossible to turn down a cookie or ice cream when it is readily available. I now average about 1500 calories a day, and I haven’t been losing. I know that all of the extra snacks have been sabotaging my diet, but I’m confused with all of these calculations. Some places say I’m not eating enough, but I’m not sure if I should try eating more and see if it works, or to try to go back down to 1200 calories a day. I am cutting out the sweets, so I know that will help, but I am still confused about how many calories I’m supposed to have.
Hi Rockwela, probably best to stop counting the calories really. If you are eating ice cream and cookies on a regular basis then this is probably the main problem. Stop that and you should start losing weight. Dropping the snacks may seem like a hardship at first but soon you will not even want them. If you really want to lose weight then you have to do it. Just make sure they are always out of sight.
Hi. I an 5′ 4″ and weigh 190 lbs! What should I do?
I am a female division 1 athlete, and I have been trying to lose weight to perform better during season. I’m 6′ tall and weigh about 170 and use My Fitness Pal on a daily basis. I have been eating very healthy lately and consequently am worried I’m consuming too few calories to maintain my high metabolism. However, I fill up my entire plate every meal and am quite full afterwards. Is it okay to have a lower calorie intake since I’m eating healthy?
Hi Vicky, eat a leaner, healthier diet or 3 meals a day and no snacks, and exercise every single day of the week.
Hi Liz, if your goal is to lose fat then you do need to create a calorie deficit somehow. If you cannot do more exercise (e.g. if you are training hard already) then you need to reduce total calories. The key is to ensure that your muscles are receiving adequate nutrition, so plenty of good quality carbs (vegetables, pulses, fruits, nuts) and lean proteins (fish, eggs, lean meats, poultry and maybe supplements) will reducing all the starchy foods, breads, rice, etc. And ofcourse totally ditch all junk, snacks, soda etc. Water is your friend. So in short, yes, it is OK to lower calories to lose fat. As an athlete you need to do this before the season starts though otherwise you may lack some strength during competition time.
Generally you should be following a routine a bit like this:
Out-of-season: working on fitness and strength, bulking up
Pre-season: working on fat reduction and cardio, maintaining muscle
Season: focusing on energy and recovery and maintaining fitness and muscle
Easier said than done! Do you have a coach?
Hi, I am 5’9 male, 25 years old, 145 pounds, and I am wondering how accurate the table listed is. I do 80-90 minutes of intense spinning (around 12-14 MET’s, or 225-250 watts) daily, and I walk with my girlfriend 2-3 miles in the evening. Does that mean I can really eat around 3000 calories?
Thanks.
Hi John, it is of course just a guide. But 90 minutes of intense spinning is certainly going to increase your calorie requirements. Do you know how many calories you are eating at the moment? You may already be eating this much.
Hi, thanks for the response. No, I am not sure- I eat healthy foods most of the time, like oatmeal for breakfast, chicken breasts, salads, fruits, etc. My doctor recommended 3500 for my activity level and I thought she was nuts, but this site is kind of close to what she said. I looked up some stuff online and it seems some days I’m around 2000, whereas somedays I eat as high as 4500, so I’m all over the place, haha.
Hi.
I have been on a 1400 calorie diet for about 2 months now.
I have lost some weight and id still like to loose some more.
Now my question is, when i’ve reached my goal weight, i want to start eating normally again.
I want to eat more without gaining the weight ive lost.
I weigh 55 kilos and i am 161 cm long and i am 17 years old soon.
I just want to eat like a normal teen after ive reached my goal weight.
I do strength training 3 times a week and i try to go for a 45-60 min walk a day. Should i increase my calorie intake gradually or what can i do to keep my goal weight when ive reached it? i really dont want to gain everything back.
Hi Maddie, really the best option is to increase your calorie intake gradually an monitor your progress. As soon as you start gaining weight you know that you have gone too far and need to cut back. Also do bear in mind that at 17 you may still be growing.
Hi John, the key is to ensure that you vary how much you eat depending on what you are doing. So if you are exercising for 2 hours intensively one day they you may well need 4500 Calories, if you are doing nothing on another day and hoping not to gain any fat and maybe lose some, then 2000 Calories could be a good figure to aim for.
hi, I’m 14 years old and my current weight is 82 kg and I wanna lose 30 kg in two months. I also have planned to jog on treadmill for two hours a day, but it’s hard to do it all at once, so I do it 4 times a day and every time it takes 30 minutes. I started to eat only a nectarine for breakfast and for lunch I ate three fried shrimp, that’s all, is it enough? I don’t know but help me as much as you can but I really need to lose 30 kg. and if I should add something to my daily diet what should I add and how much?thank you for your time and advice.
I am currently jogging 3 miles a day and doing 0.3 mile cool down. It is about 400 calories burned from calculations. I eat a total of 1400 calories a day. That makes my net Calories 1000. What I am trying to figure out is, is this enough or should I bump it up to 1500? Or should I decrease it to 1300. I find it hard to know if what I am doing as far as exercise is low or high activity. I just don’t want to slow down my metabolism by eating too little.
Hi Michelle. What are your goals? To get fit, or get fit and lose weight (fat), or to get fit and tone up? If you are trying to lose fat then what you are doing is OK. If you only goal is to get fit then you may need more calories. The only way to know though is to monitor your progress and adjust your routine to suit your needs and goals.
Hi Hannah. Firstly, you cannot lose 30 kg in 3 months. That is 2.3 kg a week, or about 5 pounds. It is possible to lose that much weight weekly if you are extremely overweight, but not at 82 kg. As for your diet, no, it is not enough to eat a nectarine and 3 fried shrimp every day. You need more energy, more vegetables, more protein. If you do a variety of exercise you will stay interested for longer, hopefully permanently. A regime of 4 workouts a day is going to be hard to maintain and take a lot longer than doing a single workout – assuming you have a shower after each jog. If you are not sweating enough to need a shower after then you are not working hard enough.
Hi I am 46 yrs old and weigh 200 pounds I am 5ft 9in and have a semi active job and an active home life (I have a small farm) but how can i lose weight i eat about 1500 to 2000 calories a day,what more can i do