Your weight is a balancing act, and calories play a big role. If you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. And if you eat fewer calories and burn more calories through physical activity, you lose weight.

What are the calories?

Calories are the energy consumed in food and drink. Our body has a constant demand for energy to keep functioning for all our daily activities.

Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins contain calories and are the main energy sources for our body. The calories you eat are either used for physical energy or stored within your body as fat.

Using the stored fat by reducing your caloric intake or increasing your physical activity will burn more calories.

3,500 calories equal about 1 pound (0.45 kilogram) of fat, it’s estimated that you need to burn about 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound.

If you cut about 500 calories a day from your typical diet, you would lose about 1 pound a week.

What is the total recommended daily caloric intake?

Estimates range from 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day for adult women and 2,000 to 3,000 calories per day for adult men.

Each person may have different needs for calories and exercise, and it depends on:

Age, sex, height, weight, level of physical activity, metabolic health, and several other variables.

In addition, a need to lose, maintain, or gain weight and other factors affect how many calories should be consumed.

Here are some tips for counting your daily calorie intake:

  • Begin writing down the foods you eat and the beverages you drink each day. This can help determine how many calories the foods and drinks you consume regularly have in them.
  • Find ways to cut calories for your meals and snacks by swapping high-calorie foods for lower calorie options.
  • Rethink your drink: Find out how you can make better drink choices to reduce your calorie intake. You may find that you are consuming quite a few calories just in the beverages you have each day. Aim to swap soda for water and reduce your alcohol intake to avoid empty calories.
  • Learn about fruits and vegetables and their role in your weight management program. Adding more fruit and vegetables to your meals will help cut calories and keep you feeling fuller for longer.
  • Be aware of your portion sizes. It’s easy to unintentionally consume more calories when faced with larger portions.
  • Check food labels. Be sure to check the nutrition facts panel for the serving size and number of calories per serving.
  • Use a calorie counter or other tools to count calories such as websites or the Dario App.
  • Learn how to use substitutions for every meal to reduce calories. For example, swap regular rice for cauliflower rice, or baked potato instead of fries.

Remember: for successful weight loss you also need to combine regular physical activity. Combining healthy eating and activity is the key to success in maintaining a healthy weight or losing weight. Good luck!

 

References:
https://www.cdc.gov/ healthyweight/healthy_ eating/cutting_calories.html
nutrition/2015-2020-dietary-guidelines/guideline
https://www.mayoclinic.org/ healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/calories/art-20048065

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