how many calories should i eat to loss weight

How many calories should I eat to lose weight? Glad you asked. Any weight loss system will consist of increasing calorie burn, and decreasing calorie intake. That's the only formula that causes weight loss. So, to create your own weight loss system, all you need to do is count calories and exercise. This article deals with the calories side of the equation.

Types of Calories

• Calories found in food come from fats, proteins and carbohydrates. One gram of protein or carbohydrate is equal to 4 calories, while 1g of fat is equal to 9 calories. The calories you consume should include a balance of each of the three types of calories. When dieting, it is particularly important to have a balanced meal, in order to provide your body with enough nutrients. The USDA Food Guide Pyramid suggests you consume about 45 to 65 percent of your calories from carbohydrates, 20 to 35 percent of your daily calories from fat, and 10 to 35 percent from proteins.

Tips

• While dieting, be sure to pay close attention to everything you eat. Consider keeping a journal. Refer to online calculators that can help you determine how many calories are in the foods you eat, as well as the amount of calories you can burn doing certain activities. Look out for hidden calories, such as those found in drinks, oversized servings and extra snacks.

how many calories should i eat to loss weight

asal Metabolic Rate

• The BMR is the rate at which you burn calories while performing daily functions like sleeping and breathing. These are the calories your body needs just to lay down all day. This is the largest factor in understanding how many calories you need to eat to maintain, gain or lose weight in a healthy way.

  There are several different formulas that are used to calculate BMR since it is based on a number of factors, like age, sex, weight and height. You can go online and find a BMR calculator that will do this calculation for free. Here is an accurate formula that is widely used.

  Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 X weight in kg) + (5 X height in cm) - (6.8 X age in years)

  Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 X weight in kg) + (1.8 X height in cm) - (4.7 X age in years)

  After you find your BMR, you're going to want to take your daily activity into account to get a more accurate reading. Use this formula:

  Activity Multiplier
  Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
  Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
  Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
  Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
  Extr. active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

  Here's an example to make things less complicated:
  -30 year old woman
  -150 pounds
  - 5'6''
  - No exercise

  BMR = 655 + (9.6 X 68kg) + (1.8 X 167.64 cm) - (4.7 X 30 yrs)
  655 + (652.8) + (301.752) - (141) = 1468
  Activity Multiplier = 1468 (BMR) x 1.2 (sedentary) = 1762

  This person uses 1762 calories a day for routine maintenance.

how many calories should i eat to loss weight