Calorie Intake for Weight Loss

Many people want to know what their calorie intake for weight loss is. The question is very straight forward and so is the answer. In order to lose weight, you must consume fewer calories than you burn. Easy; right?

Understanding Basal Metabolic Rate

Well, in order to know how many calories to consume, you will need to know how many calories you burn. You burn calories by just doing every day things, including sleeping. Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the rate at which you burn calories while at total rest. So, before you can calculate your daily calorie intake needs, you must first calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate.

There are various formulas used to calculate a person’s BMR. Although none of these formulas are exact they will give you a fairly accurate approximation of the number of calories you burn during the day excluding exercise. The most common formula used is the Harris Benedict formula. This formula uses a person’s age, weight, height and gender in the formula. Your BMR is the starting point at which to calculate your daily calorie intake needs in order to lose weight.

The reason that the factors such as age, gender weight and height are used to calculate the BMR, is that these variables will impact your results. For instance, as we age, our metabolism slows down; sad but true. So age needs to be included in the calculation. Gender is also used as men tend to have a higher volume of lean muscle and the more lean muscle you have the higher your metabolic rate. This is why the calorie intake is higher for men of the same age, weight and height. Lastly, weight and height are also needed in the calculation. The more height or weight a person has, the more calories they need to maintain their weight, so this is factored into the BMR calculation.

Calculating your Calorie Intake for Weight Loss

Once you know what your BMR is, then you want to work towards creating a calorie deficit in order to lose weight. You will want to factor in any activity you currently do to determine the proper daily calorie intake. If you are fairly inactive, or sedentary, then your calorie intake needs will be lower. However, if you are very active, your calorie needs will be higher as your body will need to refuel as you burn calories through your activities. The calculation for calories burned during exercise is very technical and various factors are used, so I will not go into the details here. The good news is you don’t have to figure this out on your own. Thanks to the many gifted and technically proficient programmers today, you can find many exercise calorie calculators on the web.

Now that you have the proper information on the number of calories you burn, you will want to create a calorie deficit in order to lose weight. To create a calorie deficit you want to; 1) Eat fewer calories than you consume or 2) Add more activity to burn more calories or 3) Do both; eat fewer calories and add exercises to help you lose weight.

Calorie Intake - How Low Can You Go

Beware not to reduce your calorie intake too low. If you cut calories too much, your body will go into a survival mode. This survival mode dates way back to when times were feast or famine. In order for the human race to survive, it has built in defenses. So, when man experienced a time of famine, the body would slow down the metabolism and begin storing food as fat to be used as fuel when needed. Even though access to food is readily available to us now, our bodies still react in the same manner. So, if you consume too few calories, your body will slow down your metabolism and begin to store fat.

The general rule is that women should consume at least 1200 calories and men 1800 calories. These daily calorie intake needs may be even be too low for some people who are closer to their ideal weight. To lose weight safely and at a rate that will likely be sustainable, experts suggest creating a calorie deficit of 500 calories and no more than a 1000 calorie deficit.

Using Weight Loss Tools to Chart your Progress

You want to make sure you track your daily calorie intake and calories burned to ensure you are within your daily calorie intake needs. To do this, you can use weight loss tracking tools such as a calorie intake chart and an exercise chart.

There are many weight loss tools available on the web to help you chart your progress. For instance, you can find many exercise calories calculators to calculate the number of calories burned during exercise or weight loss calculators that will calculate your BMR and your suggested calorie intake for weight loss. You can also find other weight loss tools such as a calorie intake calculator which will calculate the number of calories in certain foods.

Tracking your progress is one of the best ways to make sure you are on track to losing weight. You can create your own calorie intake charts, exercise charts and weight loss journals with a simple paper and pen or use your computer. Or search for these tools on the web. Or you can use the link to weight loss tools located at the end of this article.

On the Road to Success

Now that you have all the information you need to find and calculate your calorie intake for weight loss, you are on the road to success. Remember that losing weight is not just about having the right tools, it’s also about determination, motivation and work. You must continually work towards your goal to get where you want to be. I wish you the best of luck.

About Author
Julie Barros is the author of Exercise 4 Weight Loss where you can find lots of helpful tips.