Calculation for how many calories should i eat a day

As effective as this can be, it is certainly not suggested. While the participant did not seem to suffer any noticeable health detriments in this particular case, there are other less measurable factors that should be considered such as long-term effects of such a diet on potential for developing cancers, heart disease, and diabetes.

However, ignoring efficiency and health, sustained, significant reduction of caloric intake or increase of physical activity should result in weight loss, and counting calories can be an effective way to achieve this sole result. Aside from being one viable method for facilitating weight loss, calorie counting has other somewhat less quantifiable advantages including helping to increase nutritional awareness.

Many people are completely unaware of, or grossly underestimate their daily caloric intake. Counting calories can help raise awareness of different types of foods, the number of calories they contain, and how these calories have a different effect on a person's feelings of satiety.

Once a person has a better understanding of how many calories are actually in that bag of chips that they can so easily inhale within minutes, how much of their daily caloric intake it consumes, and how little the chips do to satiate their hunger, portion control and avoidance of foods with empty calories tends to become easier. Having actual caloric measurements can also assist in weight loss, since tangible calorie goals can be set, rather than simply trying to eat less.

Also, although this is not necessarily directly related to calorie counting, studies have shown that portion control by simply eating from a smaller plate can help reduce calorie intake, since people tend to fill their plates and eat everything on their plates. Many people do not realize that they are overeating, since they have become accustomed to restaurant-sized portions being the norm, when said portions can be up to three or more times larger than necessary for a typical meal.

Once a link is made between the amount of exercise that some snack equates to, many people find abstaining from that bag of chips to be the preferred option rather than performing an equivalent amount of exercise — which can lead to healthier eating habits.

In the end, however, what's important is picking a strategy that works for you. Calorie counting is only one method used to achieve weight loss amongst many, and even within this method, there are many possible approaches a person can take.

Finding an approach that fits within your lifestyle that you think you would be able to adhere to is likely going to provide the most sustainable option and desirable result. Zigzag calorie cycling is a weight loss approach that aims to counteract the human body's natural adaptive tendencies. Counting and restricting calories, as described above, is a viable method to lose weight, but over a period of time, it is possible for the body to adapt to the lower number of calories consumed.

In cases where this happens, a plateau in weight loss that can be difficult to surmount can result. This is where zigzag calorie cycling can help, by not allowing the body to adapt to the lower calorie environment.

Zigzag calorie cycling involves alternating the number of calories consumed on a given day. A person on a zigzag diet should have a combination of high-calorie and low-calorie days to meet the same overall weekly calorie target.

For example, if your target calorie intake is 14, calories per week, you could consume 2, calories three days a week, and 1, the other four days of the week, or you could consume 2, calories each day. In both cases, 14, calories would be consumed over the week, but the body wouldn't adapt and compensate for a 2,calorie diet.

This also allows a person more flexibility in their diet, allowing them to plan around occasions, such as work or family gatherings, where a person may consume more calories. Consuming a lower number of calories on other days can allow a person to enjoy these gatherings or even have a "cheat day" where they eat whatever they want without feeling guilty, since they can make up for the excess calories on their low-calorie days.

There is no concrete rule or study that dictates the most effective way to alternate or spread out calorie consumption. How to vary calorie intake is largely up to personal discretion. Depending on a person's activity, it is generally recommended that the high-calorie and low-calorie days vary by approximately calories, where the high-calorie day is often the number of calories a person needs to consume to maintain their current weight.

For a person with a higher activity level, the calorie difference should be larger. The calculator presents two zigzag diet schedules. All the information that follows is based on that. Sometimes serving size reflects an entire box or bottle of the product, but often, it's just a small amount. Sound scientific? It's not. Serving size is an estimation of the average portion a person eats—and as nutritionist Sara-Jane McShane explains in the article, "5 Sneaky Culprits of Weight Gain," it's not always an accurate one!

If you eat a cup of a product with a serving size of half a cup, you will then double all the nutritional information: calories, protein, carbs, sodium, fat, and everything else. This is essential information if you want your calorie counts to be reliable!

Not into doing complicated math? Then maybe pre-portioned foods like tuna fish, protein bars , or packaged nuts are a good choice for you. These sorts of calorie-counting hacks can be lifesavers! One more "secret" that's increasingly well-known: eat enough protein!

A major study in found that as long as your calories are under control and you're eating enough protein, different weight-loss diets work with about the same degree of effectiveness. Once you have your daily calorie intake, it's time to take the same kind of strategic approach to the rest of your training and nutrition. These popular calculators can help you dial in your plan! Adam Eyal is the editor at FringePursuits. Calorie Calculator Age. Male Female. Feet Meters. Pounds Kilograms.

Maintain Current Weight. Lose Weight. Gain Weight. Sedentary Little or no exercise. Here are your next steps to lose weight: 1. Pick a weight-loss workout plan. Shortcut to Shred. Alpha M's Tailored.

Lean at Home. Here are your next steps to gain muscle: 1. Pick a muscle-building workout plan. And activity levels can change over time. So think of your calorie estimate as a starting point and adjust it up or down as you alter your activity level.

Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below. This is because most people eat at least calories per day and if you want to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you eat.

The calculator on this page shows you how many calories you burn each day, so aim to eat less than this to lose weight. The number of calories in food depends on the type and quantity of the food. Different types of food have different amounts of calories. The calcount food database allows you to find whichever food you want to know about and see how many calories there are in different amounts of it.

Each day, you should eat enough calories to balance the calories lost throughout the day. If you want to lose weight, you should eat less than what you lose.

To gain weight, eat more calories than what you use. This calculator will show you how many calories you use per day, so that you can get a daily calorie target. The average woman should eat 2, calories per day. Generally, most adults will lose weight if they eat calories per day. However, each person is unique, so it is best to get a more specific calorie target for yourself.

Use calcount to get your own calorie target based on your body and lifestyle. In general, a calorie shortage of per day will result in weight loss of half a kilogram per week. The number of calories needed to maintain weight depends on how many calories are burned each day. To maintain weight, a person needs to balance calories eaten with calories used. The first result on this calculator is the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight.

You can calculate your calories with our fast and free calorie calculator, or you can use the manual formula on this page. You need to know your height, weight, age, gender, and approximate exercise level to calculate how many calories you need.

The easiest way to calculate calories in food is to use our calcount database to look up the food then select the amount. The calories are displayed in the Nutrition Facts panel. You can add the food to your meal tracker to see how all of the food you eat adds up towards your daily calorie target.

The average adult burns to calories per day. However, the number of calories you burn per day depends on your body size, age, gender, and general activity level. Input these variables into the calcount calorie calculator to find out how many you burn. The average adult burns between and calories per day when they do absolutely nothing but lie in bed motionless all day this is your Basal Metabolic Rate.

To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you eat, so that your body fat resources are used up. Therefore, you need to know how many calories you eat before you can work out how many you need to burn. Our calcount calorie calculator and calorie tracker can help you to do both!

To gain weight you need to make a calorie surplus. You can do this by eating more calories than you use daily. This calculator shows the number of calories you need to eat to gain grams, and one kilogram per week. If you are an average adult, you probably eat between and calories per day. Use our calcount calorie calculator to get a more accurate number based on your current weight, height, gender, and age. Better yet, use the calorie tracker to record how many calories you actually eat per day.

Most people burn between to calories per day, but many people burn much more or less than this. This calculator can give you an accurate estimation of how many calories you burn per day, based on your body profile. The number of calories in a kilogram of body weight depends on whether the weight is made up of fat, muscle, bone, or other body tissue. One kilogram of pure body fat tissue contains about calories. The average man should eat about calories per day to maintain an average weight.

You can get your own specific daily calorie target by using the calorie calculator on this page. Eating between and calories per day will result in a calorie deficit for most people. Maintaining a daily calorie shortage of for two weeks will enable the average person to lose 1 kilogram.

Find your own specific calorie target with the calcount weight loss calculator. Most women will lose weight by eating calories per day, but the speed and amount of weight lost depends on your body type and lifestyle. Use the calculator on this page to find your own specific daily calorie target. From age 19 to 25, women who exercise moderately should eat calories per day.

This should reduce to calories from age 26 to 50, and calories per day thereafter. Men who exercise moderately should eat calories per day from age 19 to 25, then calories from age 26 to 45, then calories from 46 to 65, and finally calories per day from age Note that these are average recommended values; for a more accurate result use our calcount calorie calculator. If you are a healthy weight, you should burn exactly as many calories as you eat over the course of a week or so.

You should burn more than you eat if you need to lose weight and eat more than you burn if you need to gain weight. This calculator can give you an accurate estimate of exactly how many calories you should burn for either scenario.