Daily Calorie Intake to Lose Weight

In order to lose weight, a person will have to increase his daily activities and also cut down on the calorie intake. Inclusion of exercises in the daily activities helps a great deal to lose weight. In this article, we will read on what should be the daily calorie intake to lose weight. Know more on weight loss.

Daily Calorie Intake to Lose Weight: Information
Before we actually read about daily calorie intake to lose weight, we should understand the most common mistake most people, who want to lose weight, make. The mistake is cutting down too many calories too soon. This stems from a belief that more fat will be burned, from the excess fat stored. However, they fail to understand, that they do get results, but the body uses up a large portion of protein and glycogen stored in the muscles, to balance the energy metabolism. In this, it is true that some fat is used, albeit in very small quantities.

What is the calorie intake to lose weight effectively? The answer to that depends on lifestyle and other factors. The factors which will influence the calorie intake are age, height, weight, body composition and level of basic daily activity. According to research, to lose one pound of weight (fat) per week, a person should create a negative balance of 500 calories per day. This is because 3500 calories is equal to one pound of fat. Normally, if the calorie intake of a person is around 1500 calories per day, he will lose weight. This works for most of the people. If with this method, you notice that you are not losing weight for about a week, you will have to burn 200 calories extra to establish a new energy balance in the body. This is way better than compelling the body to break down lean weight, which actually helps to keep the metabolism of the body high. This is helpful to burn more calories. As you start monitoring your daily calorie intake, remember your minimum calorie intake to lose weight should never go below 1200 calories a day. Ideally, it should be 1500 or a little more than 1500. It is essential to remember that fat loss is not a process that will happen within a day, rather it is a gradual process. Like Rome was not built in a day, your body fat also was not built in a day, then isn’t it unnatural to expect weight loss to be a quicker process. Here is the food calories list to help you.

Now lets find an answer to the question " how to calculate daily calorie intake to lose weight". There is a simple formula called as Harris-Benedict Principle, which will have to be used to access the basal metabolic rate, the acronym of which is BMR. It is actually the amount of energy required by the body to function daily. About 60% of the calories we consume are spent on basic bodily functions. It is essential to remember that this formula is valid only for adults. Let us see what the formula is.

Formula To Calculate BMR
Calculation for Men (weight in kgs and height in cm)	BMR = 66 + (13.7* weight in kgs) + (5 * height in cm) – (6.76 * age (in years))
Calculation for Women (weight in kgs and height in cm)	BMR = 655 + (9.6* weight in kgs) + (1.8 * height in cm) – (4.7 * age (in years))
Calculation for Men (weight in pounds and height in inches)	BMR = 66 + (6.23* weight in kgs) + (12.7 * height in inches) – (6.76 * age (in years))
Calculation for Women (weight in pounds and height in inches)	BMR = 655 + (4.35* weight in kgs) + (4.7 * height in inches) – (4.7 * age (in years))

Now that we have understood how to determine calorie intake to lose weight, lets see the application of the formula. This will help you in determining the daily calorie intake in order to lose weight.

Application of Formula
Little or no exercise	Daily calorie needed = BMR * 1.2
Light exercise (1 to 3 days a week)	Daily calorie needed = BMR * 1.375
Moderate exercise (3 to 5 days a week)	Daily calorie needed = BMR * 1.55
Heavy exercise (6 to 7 days a week)	Daily calorie needed = BMR * 1.725
Very heavy exercise (twice per day, extra heavy workout )	Daily calorie needed = BMR * 1.9

After both the rounds of calculation, the number you will get is the number of calories you require to maintain your current weight. However, in order to lose weight, you will have to consume less calories than this number. You may want to read about low calorie food list.

Along with reducing daily calorie intake to lose weight, light exercises should be made a part of your daily routine to give a boost to the calorie burning process. As relying entirely on your diet to lose weight may lead to disappointment.