How many calories should you take for weight loss?

Posted by Dr. Michael Menaster

Basal Metabolic Rate

Know your BMR

Create a Calorie Deficit

Do Everything in Moderation

Make the Adjustments

Burn it!

Most people are under the impression that weight loss is all about doing some tough exercises. However, this is not true. There are some basic facts about weight loss to be kept in mind. There is strictly not any number of calories that one should follow to lose his weight. An average person can lose his weight by eating around 1,500 calories a day and you can easily assess your case with the help of a little calculation that is described here.

Basal Metabolic Rate

With the help of a simple formula called the Harris-Benedict principle, you will be able to know about your basal metabolic rate that is popularly known as BMR. This will help you to estimate your specific needs and the calories you need to maintain or to lower your weight. With the help of the formula you can assess how much calories you need to cut to get the desired effects.

Know your BMR

BMR of a person is the amount of energy he needs to function properly. An interesting fact is that we all use around 60% of the calories we take in every day for some basic functions like breathing? The basic factors that influence your BMR are your age, sex, height, and weight. If you want to know your BMR, you may do it with the formula that is given here. Please note that this formula could apply only to adults:

Women: 65 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)

Men:66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years)

You need to do another calculation in order to incorporate activity into your daily caloric needs. You need to add:

BMR x 20 percent if you are sedentary

BMR x 30 percent if you are lightly active

BMR x 40 percent if you are moderately active. That is if you exercise for 3-5 days a week

BMR x 50 percent if you are very active. That is if you exercise regularly for a prolonged period

BMR x 60 percent if you are extra active. That is if you do athletic training or hard labor.

The end result of the whole calculation is the total number of calories that you need each day to maintain your current weight and to lose your weight you need to cut the number. When you lose weight, you can calculate again using the above formula to reassess your BMR.

Create a calorie deficit

You can cut your calorie intake in a healthy way by doing in on a slow and steady basis. However, you need to create a calorie deficit to lose your calorie and every 3500 calorie is equivalent to one pound. In other words, if you can cut 500 calories a day, it means that you can lose one pound per week. If you do some specific weight reduction exercises, then you can burn about 500 calories a day plus the effort you make to cut the calorie intake will bring the necessary results. The ideal thing to lose weight is a combination of controlled calorie intake and regular physical exercise. The weight loss will vary from week to week and at times you may gain some weight. However, long term results should be your aim.

Do everything in moderation

There is an old adage that slow and steady wins the race. The ideal weight loss method is to lose 0.5 to 2 pounds per week and never try to cut your calorie intake to less than 1200 calories a day since it may result in some health problems. You should keep a detailed food diary in order to monitor your progress.

Make the adjustments

There are several ways to cut at least 250 calories a day. The can of soda, the butter on your toast, the milk in your cereal, and all these little things matters a lot to your body. Small changes in your life can make plenty of difference and in case you want to cut more, you may use some herbal supplements to assist the progress.(Read more about Herbs can help you to lose weight)

You should pay attention to the serving size and you must check the calorie content of the items that you are taking in that should be recorded in your food diary. You should be able to measure the size of the portion merely by looking at it.

There could be items that you cannot part with. In that case, reduce the size and if possible switch to other options. Try to reduce the intake of fatty food and in the longer run try to avoid it or use it sparingly.

You may use diet soda for regular, reduced fat milk for whole milk, and light wheat bread for white. These simple things will make a world of difference and you can see the changes that are coming your way.

Burn it!

Doing some moderate physical activity is the best option to reduce your weight. Even a brisk walk at 3 mph will burn 250 calories from a 180 pound man in 45 minutes. Walking and running isn’t that difficult and if you have some friends with similar mentality, it will be even easier to make it happen. It is not something painful, in fact it is real fun and the benefit it gives to your body is really amazing. Moderate physical activity makes a man energetic and he will be ever more enthusiastic.

(Read more about Best Reviewed Weight Loss Supplement)

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