How Many Calories Do You Need?
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One question people ask all the time is “How Many Calories should I be eating in a day?” Well, it’s a complicated answer because there are so many factors that determine your actual energy needs. One factor is how much lean body mass you have. Muscle burns more calories than fat, as you’ve probably heard. What gives some people more lean body mass than others? Besides being muscular, being male usually means you have more lean body mass than a female of the same height and weight. Being taller means you have more lean tissue than a person who is shorter. And aging usually results in a decrease in lean body mass. Therefore, tall, young men burn about twice as many calories (about 3000) as short, older women (about 1500). There are calculations, such as the Harris-Benedict equation, that you can use to find your energy needs pretty accurately by inserting your age, gender, height, and weight. However, this assumes you are not greatly overweight (once many fat pounds are involved it’s hard to determine the metabolic activity of your total weight) and you also must be able to factor in your activity level; it’s all an estimate!
One easy way to calculate a range of your daily calorie needs is to multiply 15 times your weight in pounds. If you weigh 150 pounds (150 x 15 = 2250) you would arrive at a 2250 calorie level. See how this is a rough approximation: We could be talking about a 20 year old man who is 5’10 and weighs 150 pounds, or a 60 year old woman who is 5 feet tall weighing the same: the male will have a higher metabolism and, especially if he is active, is likely to actually need more calories than this. The woman will have about 30% of her body weight as fat, so this is going to be a slight overestimation for her needs and she may actually gain slowly at this calorie level.
To approximate your calorie needs for weight loss, multiply your weight in pounds by 10. A person who weighs 200 pounds can lose weight on (200 x 10) 2000 calories. This sounds like a high calorie level for a diet, but people who weigh 200 pounds got there by eating more than 2000 calories a day! You can lose weight on this level, slowly but surely.
If you’re trying to lose weight it is highly likely your daily calorie needs will fall within the 1500-2000 calorie range. This is not a very big range, but it covers most humans for weight loss unless there are extenuating circumstances (very small stature, certain medical conditions, etc). If you are large and male, trust me! You can lose weight on 2000 calories. If you are a smaller, middle aged woman (say a 50 year old who is 5 feet tall, weighing 145 pounds) you can lose weight on 1500 calories (being sure to add in a daily 20 minute walk to burn another 100 calories!)
One important note: no one needs to go on a diet lower than 1200 calories. It makes it difficult to meet your nutritional needs, and only increases your weight loss rate by half a pound a week. Try a diet ranging between 1500 and 2000 calories: mind your portion sizes, don’t go hungry, and take your time. The weight will come off!
photo credit: Margaret Anne Clarke
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About The Author: Laurie Beebe has been a registered dietitian for 25 years and is certified in adult weight management. Laurie currently serves as a Related posts:
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