What Everybody Ought to Know About Calories Per Day to Lose Weight

People are coming up with new ways to battle fat by introducing new diets. But the bad thing about this is these diets go from crazy to even crazier. From the Atkins’ diet to the South Beach diet, even the cabbage soup diet, the list just goes on and on and it keeps getting worse. More than those diets, what we need to know about is the food we put in our mouth.

All our food contains the energy to keep us going, from reading a book to hiking a mountain. We all know that we need to eat less calories per day to lose weight. Yes, it’s true, but it doesn’t work all the time. Most diets teach us to ask, “How many calories do I need to lose weight?” or “How many calories should I consume to lose weight?” But there are no definite answers to these questions, because the only answer depends on your body.

Everybody has a Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) that is uniquely his. Depending on your height, weight, age, and rate of activity, the BMR determines how many calories you need daily to maintain your weight. For example, if a 21 year-old female is 5.2 feet tall and 110 pounds heavy, and who is lightly active, she needs about 1700 calories a day to maintain her weight. Eating more or less of your daily caloric needs will lead you to weight gain or loss. But what if you need to measure the calories per day to lose weight? Simple: all you need is to set a target weight for yourself, calculate the BMR for it, and gradually go your way down. Remember, gradually.

The problem with a lot of people who ask, “How many calories should I eat to lose weight” is that they know that they have to cut back on calories per day to lose weight, but they do it in such a drastic manner that their weight loss program doesn’t work for them anymore. What happens with your body if you cut back on a lot of calories instantly is that it slows down your metabolism. Because the fuel – the calories – you eat are fewer, the body adjusts to it and slows down, and preserves the calories because it thinks it is starving. And eventually, you will feel sluggish also. What’s more, the moment you eat more calories, you will gain back your weight because of your slower metabolism. The trick here is to cut back on calories slowly. This means eating less 100 calories to lose weight every 2 weeks will already do wonders for you, and it won’t slow down your metabolism. That also means sacrificing just a piece of toast, or that bag of chips in the cupboard. You also have to remember that as you regularly reduce your calorie intake, you have to keep your metabolism from slowing down by being more active, even if it means just taking the stairs rather than the elevator.

For people who have a problem with their weight and who constantly worry about, “How many calories should I eat to lose weight”, diets will never work unless they are tailored for their own body. The secret to a healthier you is to learn how you can make calories work for your body, not against you.

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