How many calories a day to lose weight?

Lose Weight? How many calories a day?

The bio-mathematics of weight loss

If you are an overweight or obese adult, you probably eat too much ie. more than you actually need. As a matter of fact, your body needs a certain amount of calories to keep itself functional and active, and if you eat or drink more than that, you will likely gain weight. Likewise, if you consume fewer calories than you expend, you will lose weight.

So, the question is, what number of calories do you actually need to consume daily to lose weight?

If you are one of those billions around the globe who are trying their best to get or maintain an ideal body weight and minimize extra body fat, this is the first and the most vital aspect you should consider.

The answer:

Your recommended per day calorie intake primarily depends on your age, height and build. If you are an adult man with average height and built, you need to take 2,500 calories per day. Similarly, if you are a woman with average weight and height, you will need to take 2,000 calories daily.

Remember; however, that these calories should come from a wide variety of (natural) sources i.e. you should eat a healthy, balanced diet consisting of foods from all major groups eg. proteins, carbohydrates, fats, nutrients and minerals and within each group, a wide variety of foods eg. nuts, legumes, root vegtables, citrus and antioxidant-rich foods, etc. within the 'Fruit & Vegetable' Group, white-meat, red meat, fish, eggs, game-meat, organ meat, etc. from the Protein Group, and so on.

When you eat a wide variety of foods, you increase your chances of absorbing different kinds of nutrients and minerals that are found in different foods. (Not all natural foods are made equal - some will be better than others for different vitamins, minerals, enzymes, bio-active substances, etc. - a wide-variety diet ensures you get the best chance of optimizing your health.)

If you are eager to lose weight, a good rule of thumb is that a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories leads to a weight loss of approximately one pound. Therefore, you could begin by taking five hundred less calories day, providing you are taking a healthy, well-balanced diet and performing your physical activity or exercises regularly.

To put it simply, to get rid of one pound per week, you need to reduce your calories by 500 per day. There are two simple ways of doing this:

• Eat or drink 250 LESS calories daily (via a fast diet/ fasting diet plan, or intermittent diet plan)
• Burn additional 250 calories by doing physical exercise (e.g. walking or jogging for 2-3 miles daily).

A fasting diet is any diet which requires the person to avoid or significantly restrict calories for an extended period of time (e.g. 8 hours or more).

One way of cutting back on calories is to:

1. Reduce your portion sizes (go for smaller, leaner, pieces of meats),
2. Eat more vegetables as they are low in calories but contain higher quantities of vitamins & other nutrients, and
3. Avoid deep fried food (cheese burgers, fried chicken, French fries etc.). 

Doing these easy things will have a dynamic impact on your weight. Doing all three plus increasing exercise will speed up weight loss.

It’s important to remember that you don't have to starve yourself to lower your calorie consumption. As mentioned above, just take smaller portions of the foods you currently enjoy.

If you need to burn those extra calories, again, you do not necessarily need to run miles a day or join a fitness club. Just remember to use the stairs, or park your car further away from your work - anything that causes you to MOVE MORE will not only be good for cardio-vascular health but also burn more calories! In other words take the opportunity to incorporate exercise into your ordinary, everyday activities as much as possible and thus exercise and lose more weight without even thinking rather than relegating it to a special time or place.

Last but not least, calories - knowing how to find them, how to count them and how to cut them, are key to lose weight on your own. By doing simple mathematics and implementing your diet and exercise plan accordingly, you can successfully lose your weight and maintain it for long term.

If you're on a diet-plan, fast diet or fasting diet plan, or even an intermittent fasting diet to reduce calorie intake, an appetite suppressant or hunger-pang suppressant will help you to STICK to your weight-loss regime and therefore help you succeed in losing weight. One that not only does both these but also replenish nutrients lost by fasting AND boost your energy levels to avoid afternoon slumps will give you the best bang / results for your weight-loss dieting effort!

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