Ready to
finally get that beach body? Or maybe you’re still shaking off those pandemic
pounds? No matter the circumstance, most of us could stand to lose a bit of
weight.
While
exercise can help, most of the fittest bodies are created in the kitchen rather
than the gym. So if you want to shed pounds, it starts by changing how you eat
and reducing the overall amount of calories.
But how
many calories should you really eat per day to lose weight? Keep reading to
discover the answer!
What are calories?
Reducing
calories to lose weight is a very basic idea. However, many who are trying to
reduce how many calories they consume don’t know exactly what a calorie is!
Simply put,
a calorie is a unit of energy. We burn calories through exercise and performing
everyday tasks.
And we need
a certain number of calories each day to provide us with enough energy to
function properly. But if we’re being honest, most of us consume more calories
than we actually need.
By
consuming fewer calories than your body burns each day, it’s possible to lose
weight.
How many calories should you eat to lose weight?
That brings
us to the big question: how many calories should you eat to lose weight? The
precise answer may vary based on factors like your gender, age, height, and
current weight. While the calorie calculators further down can help you
discover the best answer for your own body, here are the average calorie goals
for weight loss.
Men
Average,
moderately active men between the ages of 26–45 will maintain their current
weight by eating 2,600 calories per day. Cutting that down to 2,100 calories a
day will help facilitate weight loss at a rate of one pound per week.
Younger men
between 19–25 generally need more calories and will maintain weight by eating
2,800 calories a day. Active young men who walk more than three miles per day
need 3,000 calories each day to maintain weight. Cutting that down to 2,300
calories per day for average men, 2,500 calories per day for active men will
help them lose one pound per week.
Older men
between the ages of 46–65 who are moderately active need an average of 2,400
calories per day to maintain weight. After 65 years old, that goes down to
about 2,200 calories per day, because men generally need fewer calories as they
age.
Women
Average,
moderately active women between the ages of 26–50 will maintain their current
weight by consuming 2,000 calories per day. Reducing that to 1,500 calories per
day will help lead to weight loss at a rate of one pound per week.
Active
women in that age range who walk more than three miles per day need 2,200
calories or more daily to maintain their weight and at least 1,700 calories per
day to lose one pound per week.
Younger
women ages 20–25 need 2,200 calories per day to maintain weight and can lose
weight at a rate of one pound per week by reducing that intake to 1,700
calories per day.
Average,
moderately active women over 50 need about 1,800 calories per day to maintain
weight and 1,300 calories per day to lose one pound per week.
Please
note, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding need significantly higher calorie
intakes than these estimates. Consult your doctor before beginning any weight
loss regimen.
But for
those of us whose doctors advise us to lose weight, what is the best way to
reduce your calories?
How to reduce calorie intake
It’s easy
to say that you’re going to eat fewer calories. Just ask anyone who ever
started a diet and given up inside a month. To be successful in the long-term,
though, you need good strategies for reducing your calorie intake.
Fortunately,
we’ve got some strategies below that should be enough to kickstart your weight
loss!
1. Ditch soft drinks and fruit juices
Normally,
your body regulates calorie consumption. This is why you feel full after a big
meal and don’t feel like eating again for a while.
Unfortunately,
your body doesn’t process liquid calories the same way. So you may be getting
plenty of calories from things like soft drinks and fruit juices despite
feeling hungry, leading to the risk of weight gain and even obesity.
If you
drink a lot of sodas and fruit juices, cut them out of your diet to easily
reduce calories.
2. Focus on protein
While you
can treat calorie reduction as a simple numbers game, certain foods are better
than others. And foods high in protein can help you in your weight loss
journey.
The secret?
Protein takes more energy to metabolize, and so a diet high in protein may help
you burn an additional 100 calories per day.
The cherry
on top is that foods high in protein help you feel fuller for a longer time.
This reduces how much you’ll feel like snacking even while helping you burn
additional calories.
3. Lower those carbs
If you’re
like us, all those fad diets are enough to make your eyes roll. But they were
right about one thing: lowering your carbs is the key to losing weight.
Carbs
actually stimulate your appetite (which is one of the reasons that restaurants
love to serve complimentary bread). By reducing how many carbs you eat, you can
actually curb your appetite and eat fewer calories.
And contrary
to what the fad diets say, you don’t have to cut carbs out completely. You can
simply reduce carbs or even focus on single-ingredient foods that are high in
fiber to achieve a similar effect.
4. Lift weights
One thing
that feels very unfair about calorie reduction is that it can stop being as
effective as it once was. That is because your body thinks it is helping by
saving more energy, which reduces how many calories you burn each day.
If that
wasn’t bad enough, long-term calorie reduction can lead to a loss of muscle
mass. That means that even if you’re losing weight, you might not be getting
the body you were hoping for.
Fortunately,
these problems have a simple solution: lifting weights! This helps preserve
your muscle mass while also keeping your metabolism high, both of which are
important as you shed those pounds.
5. Hydration is the key
Even if you
don’t exercise that much, hydration is an important key to losing weight. That
is because water has two pleasant side effects in your body.
First, some
studies have suggested that your body burns calories more efficiently up to 90
minutes after drinking water. And drinking two liters of water per day can help
you burn an additional 96 calories each day.
Second,
water helps you feel fuller. Drinking water before a meal will cause you to eat
less even while improving how many calories you burn.
The best online calorie counters
The daily
calorie numbers we gave earlier were for average men and women. But as we
noted, you will get the most accurate answer by putting your info into an
online calorie counter. Which counters, though, are worth your time?
MyFitnessPal is
a popular option for those hoping to lose weight. It can help you calculate
calories, create fitness goals, and track your progress.
The bluntly
named FatSecret is also a great calorie calculator, intuitive and
easy to use. This calorie calculator is particularly useful for those hoping to
cut carbs.
While these two calculators are our faves, the important thing is for you to find a calculator that suits your own purposes and lifestyle. Doing so will make cutting calories easier than ever.
Source: life360.tips