Daily calorie intake: calculator for women and men online. How many calories should you eat per day to lose weight

Encyclopedia of Plants 17.10.2019
Encyclopedia of Plants

Not all body shaping methods are suitable for everyone who wants to lose weight, because giving up your favorite foods and starting regular physical training happens to be difficult.

in a suitable way for decreasing excess weight is a method for calculating the calorie content of consumed foods. To do this, you need to figure out how many calories you need to eat per day and how to calculate them correctly in order to lose weight. Below are the main advantages and disadvantages of a diet based on weighing food and counting calories.

For those who are focused on results, it is important to know that calories are understood as the energy nature of the product. Energy is accumulated in proteins, fats and carbohydrates, on this basis, calories and kilocalories are subdivided.

Those who want to get their body in shape regularly resort to the method of calculating the calorie content contained in foods. This helps to remove extra pounds and centimeters in body volume. With this method, you can not only reduce the weight category, but also gain the missing kilograms in muscle mass. Usually this method is practiced by professional athletes.

If you consume more calories than they manage to be used up, then the body begins to think about the "reserve". There is a deposition in adipose tissue, which is then difficult to "melt".

Therefore, in order to adjust the figure or maintain a constant weight, it is recommended to observe the daily proportions of calories consumed with food. The main enemy for losing weight people is glucose, which is present daily in human food. It is impossible to completely remove its use, so it is worth adjusting calories.

Good and bad calories

It is known that in order to get as much energy as possible, a person needs to resort to eating carbohydrate foods.

Carbohydrates are usually divided into:

  • fast digestible;
  • slowly digestible.

Fast carbohydrates include fruits, chocolates, nuts, various sweets. When they are broken down, the body receives a lot of energy resources at one time, but they are enough for a maximum of 2 hours. Such carbohydrates are useful for people involved in sports, mental labor or at times of weakness.

How many calories you need to eat per day to lose weight - everyone who monitors their health and weight needs to know. If there is no physical activity in the regimen, for which the received energy will be expended, then fast carbohydrates turn into potentially dangerous ones.

With a passive lifestyle, the body will not spend them, but simply put them in reserve in the form of body fat. Fast carbohydrates are not meant to be full for a long time. After eating them, a person will want to eat after 1.5 hours.

Slow carbohydrates include potatoes, legumes, vegetables, cereals and various cereals. Due to them, you can get long-term saturation with minimal losses.

Such kilocalories should be consumed by everyone without exception, because the body needs it. Breaking down slow carbohydrates, the body spends much more energy, not allowing the formation of fat in unnecessary places.

Calories found in fats are not good for the body. It is difficult for him to digest fats and often there is an increase in adipose tissue. Fats are not only harmful, but also beneficial. Useful include vegetable fats and fish oil.

Benefits of eating with calorie counting

How many calories should be consumed per day by people on a diet in order to lose weight without causing harm to health, is discussed in detail below. Calculating the energy content of foods is an easy and effective method that helps bring the body into the desired shape.

Advantages:

  • excludes starvation, which is often practiced by losing weight people;
  • there are no restrictions on the types of products used, you can make a different menu;
  • quick adaptation of the body to a new diet without disruption and constant feelings of hunger;
  • improvement of metabolic processes throughout the body;
  • the ability to adjust the calorie value of products to reduce or gain a weight category;
  • gradual transition to a healthy diet.

Disadvantages of the method

Reducing the weight category by calculating calories, in addition to the advantages, has negative aspects:


For the female body

How many calories a woman should consume per day is an important issue in order to lose weight. Scientists in the course of their research came to the conclusion that for 1 hour the body spends 1 calorie to maintain its functions. For complete chemical processes, you need to consume 24 calories per day, provided that the body is not subjected to physical activity.

  1. If a girl does not move much, the calorie content per day should be at least 1800 kcal.
  2. For a moderately active woman, it is suggested to consume 2000 kcal.
  3. For actively entertaining, you need 2200 kcal.

During pregnancy

How many calories should be consumed per day in order to lose weight for a woman carrying a child is usually of interest to those who have gained excessive weight. Maintaining the shape is the main component for the successful course of pregnancy and childbirth.

Overweight, first of all, affects the well-being of a pregnant woman. Shortness of breath and swelling appear, making it difficult for a woman to act. To normalize the weight category, you can count calories and find out for yourself how many of them are optimal.

To lose weight during pregnancy, it is necessary not only to count the calories consumed per day, but also to abandon harmful products at all

According to dietary standards, pregnant women in the first trimester are recommended to consume 2200 kcal. Women who have crossed the border of the second trimester are supposed to consume 2500 kcal.

If the indicator exceeds the norm, the body will begin to form a fatty layer. The most important rule is to eat food containing many vitamin and mineral components.

For a nursing woman

Calculating the energy value of food consumed for nursing mothers will help the body to return to its usual form soon and without harm. It is necessary to calculate the optimal indicator individually. The following combination is recommended:

24 is indicated for low activity, 30 for extraordinary mobility, and 44 for exercise. The result is a numerical value indicating the recommended calorie intake.

Daily value for men

The diet, which is based on the calculation of calories, is suitable for both men and women. female body, but has distinctive features in their number. For the stronger sex involved in active sports, it is necessary to consume as much protein food as possible, since proteins affect the recruitment of muscle mass.

Men who want to lose weight do not particularly need to take additional measures to burn fat, because it is based only in the abdomen. As statistics show, in men faster than in women, adipose tissue is converted into muscle.

For men in young age on the advice of nutritionists, it is better to get 2600 kcal from food. From 35 to 50 years old, you need to stop consuming 2200 kcal. In old age, it is better to limit yourself to 2000 kcal.

An accurate calculation can be made by taking the weight value and multiplying it by 20. Based on the result, it will be known how many calories a particular type of man needs.

Daily allowance for a teenager

Men from birth need to use a large number calories. This is especially true for guys in their teens, they need to consume as many calories as possible.

An increase in the calorie content of foods consumed by a teenager should be carried out every 6 months. This is necessary so that the growing child receives as much as possible nutrients.

teenage age period lasts up to 14 years and is considered the most active. Nutritionists recommend consuming at least 2800 kcal per day. A teenager, who often leads a calm lifestyle, needs to consume 2500 kcal, no more. If the child is engaged in professional sports training, it is necessary that 3000 kcal be present in the diet.

Calorie formula for weight loss

Each of the presented combinations has special counting techniques. An accurate result can be obtained by taking all the necessary numerical data. All combinations are divided into 2 varieties, which are focused on the male and female population. The result obtained from the calculations must be multiplied by the numerical value of the activity.

Name "AND" "M"
Calculation of kcal ("Mifflin") (10) x (weight category, kg) + (6.25) x height (cm) - (5) x (exact age limit, years) - (161) (10) x (weight category, kg) + (6.25) x (height, cm) - 5 x (age limit, years) - 5

Calculation of kcal ("Benedict")

655.1 + 9.563 x (weight, kg) + 1.85 x (height, cm) - (4.676) x (age, years) (66.5) + (13.75) x weight (kg) + (5.003) x height (cm) - 6.775 x age (years)

Calculation of kcal ("BMR")

BMR \u003d (447.6) + (9.2) x (weight category, kg) + (3.1) x (height, cm) - (4.3) x (age value, years) BMR \u003d (88.36) + (13.4) x (weight category, kg) + (4.8) x (height, cm) - (5.7) x (age value, years)

Numerical designation of activity:

  • "2" - minor physical activity, for example, a calm type of work;
  • "375" - visits to the training hall, which occur 3/7 days;
  • "4625" - regular training sessions 5/7 days;
  • "550" - increased pace of training sessions 5/7 days;
  • "6375" - attending training sessions every day;
  • "725" - attending training sessions at an intensive pace;
  • "9" - hard work, intense training sessions in the gym.

Complex Meal Calorie Calculator

How many calories you need to eat per day to lose weight - control over the calories consumed is expressed in the constant calculation of the weight of the products. This approach is the basis of a large number of diets.

For example, you can easily calculate the calorie content of morning porridge by weighing a portion on a food scale and subtracting the weight of the bowl. But it is more difficult to count calories from a ready-made complexly cooked dish, such as stew, soup, pilaf. Currently created recipes with detailed description and calculation of the calorie content of each ingredient. But it happens that you want to cook a completely different dish.

To count calories in complex cooked dishes, there are several important rules to be observed:

  1. No need to take into account the calorie content of water, tea, coffee and seasonings natural production because they don't contain them.
  2. 20% of its kcal is added to a cooked dish using oil. First of all, this is due to frying, because most of it remains in the pan. 100% oily calories are added to the gravy. Vegetables or mushrooms fried in oily composition also provide for the addition of their full calorie content. This is due to the fact that vegetables tend to absorb the full amount of added oil.
  3. If you cook meat or fish, then in the thermal process they can lose 20% of their calories. The rest goes into the broth. This must be taken into account if the meat broth will be used separately.
  4. In boiled vegetables, 20% of their calories are taken away, since the rest goes into the water. Such a calculation is necessary for the preparation vegetable salads.
  5. If you plan to cook the dish in the oven, then you need to take into account that during the cooking process, the products in full retain their original calorie content.
  6. When preparing cereals and pasta, it must be taken into account that the information on the pack refers to the dry type of the product. During the cooking process, the product acquires big sizes, which means that kcal after cooking will be less. Semolina should be excluded from the list of cereals, as it increases up to 10 times.
  7. Meat and fish cooked in open fire, has a calorie content higher by 20%.
  8. If a complex dish is being prepared, then initially it is necessary to calculate the calorie content of the products. Then weigh the bowl of water in which the dish will be prepared. If the broth is cooked on meat, then its kcal should also be taken into account. The weight value of food and water is added up, and calories are summed up in the same way.

Soup counting example: weight (5050) g, the sum of kcal ingredients (2045), we calculate the calorie content per 100g. (100) x (2045/50500) = 40.5 kcal per 100 g of cooked dish.

How to distribute calories throughout the day

Advice from nutritionists optimal formula for the distribution of calories is the following proportion:

It is stipulated that a quarter of the calories consumed should come from breakfast. Two-fourths of the food is consumed during the lunch hours of the day. The rest of the calories come from dinner. Some adjustment should be made to this proportionality.

The most most of calories consumed should be consumed in the morning. This is due to the fact that it is at this time that the maximum activity of the body occurs. In the evening, you should reduce the calories consumed, as the body is preparing for a night's rest and it does not need to be fueled with energy.

Carbohydrate and fat-containing foods are best introduced into the diet before lunch time. Protein food is broken down for at least 2 hours, eaten fats are digested within a 5-hour time interval.

As for carbohydrates, the situation is slightly different. If carbohydrates were consumed in complex form, then the digestion time increases significantly. Fast carbohydrates have instant digestion.

There are foods that have a long digestion time. These include legumes, mushrooms, meat. By eating such products, you can get heaviness in the stomach and long satiety.

At night, all food is digested longer than in the daytime, so if you feel hungry before going to bed, you need to have a snack with fast carbohydrates (kefir, baked fruits and vegetables).

An important factor that supports the distribution of calories is exercise. If during the day it is planned to actively engage in sports activities, then the menu should be planned with a slight excess of the calorie content of the products.

If a person who is losing weight does not engage in regular exercise, then it is necessary to adjust the diet in such a way as to exclude high-calorie foods.

To reduce the weight indicator, the cost of the energy resource must exceed the calories consumed during the day.

Calorie consumption tables

How many calories should be consumed per day to lose weight if there is no opportunity to attend sports classes in gymfrequently asked question busy people.

It is important to understand that energy consumption occurs daily during the usual activities. The ideal option to adjust the figure will be an increase in daily activities in order to increase calorie expenditure.

Name of activity wasting calories
Running up the stairs (up) 770
speed skating 665
Running (16 km/h) 670
ballet lessons 645
Build a snowman 600
Cross running 508
Fast crawl (swimming) 480
Cycling (25 km/h) 460
Jumping rope 463
Aerobics on the water 450
Training using the simulator 447
Hockey 400
badminton game 415
Running (8 km/h) 400
Handball 450
Gymnastics 380
Swimming 390
Sawing wood 410
ski walking 416
Dancing in normal mode 415
Mountaineering 380
Intensive dance classes 420
Football game 385
Pole dancing 380
Yoga 360
Walking (sports) 355
Basketball 320
Active games with a child 320
Skiing on the water 300
Cycling (15 km/h) 270
digging beds 270
Harvesting 275
Tennis (table) 265
Walk 270
Roller skating 260
wood splitting 256
Weeding beds 250
Morning work-out 256
Provision of massage services 250
Window washing 230
Cleaning 200
Buying products 180
dog walking 170
stroller 130

All data given is approximate, because the weight category mainly affects the burning of calories. The higher the weight, the more calories are spent.

How many calories to burn to lose 5 kg

To lose weight by 1 kg, you need to spend at least 7000 kcal. If you plan to lose weight by 5 kg in two months, then you need to burn at least 900 kcal per day.

Proper nutrition will help to adjust the weight in conjunction with intense training. It is impossible to completely refuse meals, otherwise, when you enter a normal diet, the body will get stressed and begin to store the calories received in adipose tissue.

How many calories to burn to lose 10 kg

Losing weight sharply is not recommended by nutritionists, so in order to burn 10 kg, you need to spend at least 2-2.5 months. 7000 calories equals 1 kg. For quick results it is necessary to spend 1500 kcal per day with the help of enhanced training. It is important not to deviate from the goal and not to break, otherwise you can get a big increase in weight.

Daily diet options: menu for 1800 kcal

A calorie-based diet allows you to eat a variety of foods. Thanks to imagination, you can cook a lot of delicious and favorite dishes. You can change the menu according to taste preferences, but it is important to observe the daily calorie content.

1 morning meal

Boiled buckwheat - 150g;

Boiled beef tongue- 100g;

boiled beets in olive oil- 200g;

Tea (green) - 200 ml.

2 morning meal 60 g cottage cheese (with or without minimum fat content);

150 g apples (green);

1 pc - bread.

Lunch meal

250 ml - cabbage soup;

280 g salad (Greek);

150 g - boiled pasta;

100 g - for steamed tuna;

100 g - cauliflower;

50 g of grain bread;

200 ml - freshly prepared compote.

afternoon tea 250 ml - low-fat kefir;

150 g - raspberries.

Evening meal 350 g - cabbage (stewed);

200 g - salad (from fruits);

30 g - bran bread.

Daily diet options: menu for 1200 kcal

When following a diet based on calorie counting, you should not reduce their value to the minimum mark, otherwise the body will perceive the changes taking place as stress, and even a small amount of calories consumed will be processed into adipose tissue.

Daily diet options: menu for 800 kcal

The products included in the menu can be packaged as you wish to lose weight. The main rule is not to reduce or exceed the recommended value of 800 kcal. But on the advice of nutritionists, you need to distribute calories correctly.

1 breakfast

2 pcs. - eggs (hard boiled);

1 PC. - grapefruit;

250 ml - tea (without adding sugar with milk).

2 breakfast 100 gr. - cottage cheese seasoned with sour cream (minimum fat content)

250 ml - tea (no added sugar).

300 g - lettuce (cucumber, tomato, pepper, sour cream);

2 pcs. - eggs (hard boiled);

250 ml - tea or coffee (no added sugar).

afternoon tea 250 ml - kefir;

1 PC. - apple (green).

100 g - beef (lean);

150 g - raw vegetables;

250 ml - milk (low fat);

To follow such a diet, which is based on the calculation of the number of calories needed to consume per day in order to lose weight, is useful for every person, no matter how old he is.

Article formatting: Vladimir the Great

Video on the topic: How many calories to eat per day to lose weight

How many calories do you need per day to lose weight:

How many calories do you need per day to lose or gain weight? muscle mass:

The diet is determined various factors. The most important are age, gender, level of physical and intellectual activity, lifestyle, temperament, the presence of certain diseases, material opportunities, and the goal set. Therefore, the answers to the questions - how many calories to eat per day to lose weight or increase body weight - different people differ considerably.

An easy way to determine basic calories

Food supplies the body primarily with energy. After eating a particular product, a certain amount of heat is released in the body, it is measured in calories. One gram or carbs provides 4.1 calories, one gram of fat 9.3 calories.

To calculate how many calories enter the body every day, just look at the corresponding table of caloric content (energy value) of products. In addition, the calorie content is usually indicated on the package.

Correction of body weight should begin with determining the basic caloric content of the daily diet, in which the body does not lose weight and does not get fat. Then, depending on the goal - to lose weight or gain weight - adjust it with the appropriate menu.

First way. For a week or two, leading a normal life, write down the amount of food you eat every day. Then, using the calorie tables, determine the average daily number of calories.

The second way. It is believed that for every kilogram of body weight, approximately 30 kcal is required. Thus, to determine how many calories you need to consume per day, you need to multiply 30 kcal by body weight in kilograms.

The resulting figure will allow you to adjust the daily diet depending on the goal:

  • if body weight remains constant, nothing needs to be changed: the body spends as many calories as it consumes;
  • in case of excess weight, the tendency to increase it is to reduce the calorie content of the daily diet, but not completely refuse food;
  • if excessive, increase energy value daily diet.

Even with a slight imbalance of calories - for example, the intake of only 100 extra kilocalories each day - 4.5 kg of body fat accumulate per year. That is why it is so important to return not only the optimal body weight, but also to maintain it at this level, to fully consume all calories, preventing them from turning into fat.

Having determined the basic calorie content of the diet, for weight loss, you can reduce the daily diet by 200-300 kcal. In any case, you should not lose weight faster than 100g per day. Otherwise, the body will not have time to adapt to changes, there may be disturbances in the work of internal organs and systems.

Formula for Calculating Daily Calories

Even at rest, the body requires energy for metabolic reactions, the work of the heart muscle, kidneys, stomach, liver, brain, and the functioning of internal organs and systems.

It is believed that basal metabolism requires about 70% of the energy received from food. On average, 1 kcal of energy is required per kilogram of mass every hour. The digestion and assimilation of food requires another 10% of the basal metabolic energy.

Thus, every day with a weight of 80 kg is required

80 kg x 1.1 x 24 hours = 2112 kcal.

The resulting figure of unregulated body costs shows approximately how many calories you need to consume per day so that there is no malfunction of the internal organs.

These costs are called unregulated, since they are determined by the metabolic rate, temperament, and the characteristics of the assimilation of food, i.e. fairly constant and virtually unchangeable.

The relevant literature uses a more precise formula for determining how many calories to consume per day to cover basal metabolic costs:

655 + (9.6 x weight, kg) + (1.8 x height, cm) - (4.7 x age, years)

For example, with a weight of 80 kg, height 180 cm, age 30, the main metabolism requires

655 + (9.6 x 80) + (1.8 * 180) - (4.7 x 30) = 1606 kcal

To the figure obtained, it is necessary to add the cost of performing one or another work during the day. These costs are called adjustable because they can be increased or decreased.

Calorie consumption tables

When compiling a daily diet, it is necessary to take into account both the calorie content of products and physical activity that consumes the energy received.

The costs of doing some household chores are presented in Table 1:

For the calculation, it is necessary to determine the duration of a particular homework, how many calories per day are spent on its implementation, add the resulting figure to the result of the main exchange.

For example, if during the day 0.5 hours are spent on dusting, 1.5 hours on mopping, an hour on ironing, an hour on washing dishes, two hours on sewing, an hour on reading, then you need to add to the main exchange:

(0.5 x 100) + (1.5 x 270) + (1 x 60) + (1 x 60) + (2 x 30) + (1 x 30) = 665 kcal

Execution costs exercise, other cases are presented in Table 2:

Table 2. Expenses for performing physical exercises
Kind of activityEnergy expenditure (kcal per hour)
Running fast950
Running slow490
Ice skating480
Driving a car80
Rowing820
Riding in transport50
A ride on the bicycle500
Charger270
Swimming500
weight lifting190
Standing work30
Brainwork8
Walking (fast)530
Walking (medium pace)200
Skiing800

For correct calculation, how many calories per day you need to consume, it is worth additionally increasing the figure of regulated costs depending on individual life activity:

  • by 20-30% with a sedentary, home lifestyle;
  • by 30-40% with average activity (washing, cleaning, cooking, etc.);
  • 50% high activity (regular sports).

In order to lose weight, it is necessary to reduce the caloric content of the daily diet to the level of basic metabolism and at the same time increase the energy expenditure for physical activity. Otherwise, the excess of incoming energy is deposited in the form of fat reserves.

Modified: 08/11/2018

We all know that the concept of “calories” refers to the energy that we get from food and which we can then spend on maintaining life, but what exactly does this concept mean? At school, we used Joules to represent energy. Calories can also be expressed in joules - 1 calorie is equal to 4.184 joules, and it is enough to heat 1 g of water by 1 degree.

Calories are consumed in our body for all processes - this is the energy that ensures the continuous operation of the body and the performance of all its functions. We spend energy even when we do not feel it - when we sleep, eat, digest food, freeze, yawn. In order for energy to be produced from, our body needs fuel - food. When processing and splitting the substances contained in food, energy is released - these are the calories that we spend. The energy value of food, expressed in calories, shows how much energy will be released when processing this food. In fact, what we call "calories" are kilocalories, but in relation to food it is more convenient and more familiar to say "calories".

For example, the calorie content of 1% kefir is 36 kcal per 100 g, which means that a glass of kefir (about 300 g) contains 108 kcal - this is enough for an hour of work at the computer, 25 minutes of walking or 15 minutes of disco dancing.

The daily calorie intake is the calorie intake per day that we need in order to replenish the body's energy costs for life and activity (that is, for the work of the heart, and for the digestion of food, and for driving a car, and disco dancing).

How many calories should a person consume per day

Men and women, children and adults, students and soldiers, athletes and housewives - their energy consumption is completely different, and if you set yourself the goal of calculating the daily calorie intake, you need to take into account many factors - gender, age, lifestyle, presence of diseases, own body weight and speed metabolism, climate in the place of residence, etc. The older a person is, the slower his metabolism becomes and the less energy consumption, respectively, the calorie intake per day that he needs will be less. To answer the question of how many calories a person needs per day, several formulas were derived for calculating the daily calorie intake, taking into account gender, age, weight of a person and the degree of his activity during the day. We will use the Muffin-Jeor formula to calculate calories per day.

Calculation of daily calories using the Muffin-Jeor formula

One of the most accurate formulas for calculating how many calories you need per day was developed in 1990 and is called the Muffin-Jeor formula for determining the daily calorie intake. The calculation of daily calories using this formula takes into account factors such as a person's gender, age, weight, and physical activity.

The calculation of calories per day according to the Muffin-Jeor formula is carried out in 2 stages. First you need to calculate the basic exchange (let's denote it O / o).

The basal metabolism shows how many calories you need per day to maintain all the life-support functions of the body in a state of complete rest (that is, if you just lie down and do not think about anything, but at this time you breathe, sweat, your hair grows, blood flows, internal enzymes are produced, etc.).

The formulas for calculating the daily calorie intake for basal metabolism for men and women are different.

The formula for calculating the basic exchange for women:

O / o \u003d 9.99 x weight (in kg) + 6.25 x height (in cm) - 4.92 x age - 161

The formula for calculating the basic exchange for men:

O / o \u003d 9.99 x weight (in kg) + 6.25 x height (in cm) - 4.92 x age + 5

Now you need, knowing the basal metabolism data, to calculate how many calories you need per day for specific person according to his physical activity.

The calculation of the total calorie intake per day, taking into account physical activity, is calculated using multiplying factors. Depending on the degree of your physical activity per day, multiply the number of calories in your basal metabolic rate by the multiplier that corresponds to your degree of physical activity:

  • sedentary lifestyle, lack of additional physical activity - O/o x 1.2;
  • little physical activity sedentary work, sports activities 1-3 times a week) - O / O x 1.375;
  • average physical activity (sports 3-5 days a week) - O / o x 1.55;
  • high physical activity (doing sports every day) - O/o x 1.725;
  • very high physical activity (very active workouts every day, physical work or two workouts a day, competitions) - O / O x 1.9.

For example, let's try to calculate how many calories a day is needed for a 30-year-old woman weighing 55 kg and 170 cm tall, who works as an accountant and goes to the gym twice a week for fitness.

O / o \u003d 9.99x55 + 6.25x170-4.92x30-161 \u003d 1303.35

Now we multiply the resulting figure by a factor of 1.375. We get:

1303.35x1.375=1792.106

Thus, the average calorie intake per day in our example was 1792 kcal. Such a daily calorie intake will be needed by our woman in order to maintain weight at the same level of 55 kg. If she decides to lose weight, she will need to create a small calorie deficit, that is, consume 300-400 kcal less per day (about 1400-1450 kcal per day). So she will lose 2-3 kg in a month without harm to her health.

What happens when the body does not have enough calories

Despite the advice of nutritionists, girls in an attempt to lose weight often limit the energy value of their daily diet to a very low number of calories - 800, 500 and even 300 kcal per day. Such haste can have very serious consequences.

Doctors do not advise to reduce daily allowance calories to less than 1200 kcal (this calorie intake per day is approved by the World Health Organization as the basal metabolic rate). If there are too few calories entering the body, the following happens.

1. The body reduces its basal metabolism and enters a state of energy saving - and it saves it on your well-being and activity (including sexual activity).

2. The process of catabolism starts - the body begins to process its own muscle tissues into energy.

3. The level of metabolism decreases so much that the metabolism worsens, the body stops digesting food normally, beriberi and lack of nutrients begin.

4. When you decide to end the diet and start eating as before, the body works for a few more days with a reduced basal metabolism, spends energy very economically, and everything that remains tends to be stored for the future - therefore, after extreme diets, as a rule, lost kilograms returned again in full or even more.

So if you are going to lose weight, you should limit your calorie intake per day to no more than 300-400 kcal.

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We all know that a person should consume a certain number of calories per day. How much depends on a number of factors: gender, weight, physical activity, and even profession. In this article, we will look at how many calories a woman needs per day to lose weight, stay in her weight, or get better without harm to her health.

Why is it important how many calories a day a woman needs

For health, both excess and lack of caloric content of the diet are equally harmful. And excessive fullness and excessive thinness do not paint a woman, photographs of anorexic patients or monstrously full people evoke approximately the same feelings in us. In everything, it is important to observe the measure, including limiting the nutritional value of the diet. Often, women in the pursuit of harmony forget: excessive restriction of the calorie content of the food system can lead to processes much worse than a few extra pounds.

There is a boundary, the passage beyond which threatens with abnormal functioning of organs, incorrect flow of the most important processes in the body. This is not to mention the fact that a sharp decrease in the calorie content of food will lead to the accumulation of energy received from food by the body for the future. And a return to the previous, albeit normal (not increased) caloric content, will return the lost kilograms, taking with it a few new ones. That is why it is important to comply with the calorie content and, if you want to lose weight, and if you want to get better, and if you are satisfied with your own weight.

Average calorie intake for women

At the time of assimilation of food, a lot of energy is released, which will be required throughout the day. How energy is spent depends on lifestyle. With a sedentary lifestyle and at the same time an increased calorie intake, energy begins to accumulate in the body, turning into fat. On the contrary, an active lifestyle, and a low-calorie diet: weight loss will begin. It is generally accepted that for the normal functioning of the body, the calorie content should be at least 1200 kilocalories.

General formula

Calories are the first thing you need to keep your body working. There is such a concept as a basic level of energy costs". It means the consumption of calories per day for the functioning of the body, provided that a person does nothing all day. A person consumes more calories: he gets fat. This base level is calculated according to the formula:

655 + (9.6 x body weight) + (1.8 x height) - (4.7 x age) =?

When calculating weight is taken in kilograms, and height in centimeters. We substitute our own parameters instead of X

Based on the data according to the formula, we calculate our base level. Adding to the base level the energy expenditure for various activities (work, sports, travel, household chores), we get the answer to the question "how many calories a woman should consume per day."

As you can see, calorie consumption depends, among other things, on age, in early years man needs more energy. Once and for all, you cannot calculate your calorie intake, otherwise, if at 45 you adhere to the norm that you calculated for 33 years, extra pounds will accumulate. And you - to be lost in conjectures: how does it turn out that I do not eat more, but get better? ..

To make it easier to calculate how many calories a woman needs per day, nutritionists have also developed another formula. You no longer have to independently calculate how much energy is spent on various activities. In the formula below, the averaged parameters will show not the basic level of energy consumption, but the general one.

How many calories does a woman need per day

To calculate the consumption of calories at each age, there is a formula.

18-30 years: (0.062 * M + 2.036) * 240

31-60 years: (0.034 * M + 3.54) * 240

61 years: (0.04 * M + 2.75) * 240

  • By 1.1 with low physical activity
  • By 1.3 with moderate
  • At 1.5 with a fairly active lifestyle.

Get the calorie content of the diet, which must be observed to maintain your weight. If you want to reduce or decrease the weight, put the desired weight in M. Don't forget before. An active lifestyle means not only regular sports, but also professional activities. So, how many calories a day a woman needs depends on the profession. It is clear if the profession involves frequent movement, long standing or active physical work lifestyle is considered active.

If you want to lose weight, don't drastically reduce your calorie intake. This should be done gradually, at 200 kilocalories per day. But don't drop daily intake calories less than 1300. Let better weight loss will be slower, but safer for health. In addition, an excessive reduction in the caloric content of the diet will lead to a breakdown, a deterioration in mood, and problems with appearance. The main rule of successful weight loss is that a woman should eat less calories per day than she consumes.

We make a diet in accordance with the norm of calories

When forming a diet for weight loss, it is imperative to compose a menu in such a way that it is balanced. And during the decline, the body should receive required amount proteins, fats and carbohydrates. It is better to focus on protein foods, not completely exclude fats and carbohydrates from the nutrition system.

We make a balanced menu for the time of relaxation: we include fruits, dried fruits, cottage cheese with sour cream, cereals for breakfast in the diet, we make a fairly hearty lunch, consisting of the first and second courses, choose the option light dinner: seafood, baked fish, lean meat.

At the beginning of the 20th century, an American doctor named Lulu Hunt literally turned the world of nutrition upside down by proposing the use of the term "calorie" to determine the energy value of foods.

Surely everyone modern man familiar with this expression. Everyone has heard that calories can not only be consumed, but also counted. Let's consider this topic in more detail. Let's figure out what it is, how many calories a person needs per day. We will learn how to count them and why to do it.

So a calorie is a measure of energy. To live, move, breathe, a person spends the power that he receives with food. The calculation of calories involves determining the amount of energy that is necessary for life and taking this value into account in the daily diet.

For the average person, daily calorie intake ranges from 1800 to 3800 kcal. This is very long interval. Before you start calculating the energy content of food, you need to find out how much of it your body spends daily.

For each individual person, the norms of calorie intake are different. This value is determined individually depending on gender, weight, height, level of physical activity, age and other characteristics. For example, a tall man working at a construction site needs more than 4000 kcal per day. And for a thin woman who is engaged in mental work, it is enough to consume 1400 kcal per day. At the same time, for pregnant and lactating women, the individual norm increases by about 1.5 times.

calorie counting methods

To determine your daily calorie requirement as accurately as possible, you can use online calculator or one of two conventional formulas.

  • Calculation according to Mifflin - San Jeor. This formula is currently recognized as the most reliable.
    • Women's formula: 10 x weight + 6.25 x height - 5 x age - 161;
    • Formula for the strong half of humanity: 10 x weight + 6.25 x height - 5 x years + 5.

They allow you to calculate the number of calories that the body spends on basic metabolism. You can see the daily rate of a particular person by multiplying the result by the indicator of physical activity. This value is 1.2 at the lowest level of activity, 1.9 - at the maximum, typical for athletes. With an average load, it is approximately 1.4.

  • Harris-Benedict calculation.
    • Formula for the fair sex: 655.1 + 9.563 x weight + 1.85 x height - 4.676 x age;
    • Male representatives: 66.5 + 13.75 x weight + 5.003 x height - 6.775 x age

The result should also be multiplied by the activity indicator.

Please note that in both formulas, weight is calculated in kilograms, height in centimeters, and age in years.

For the most accurate and quick results, you can always use special programs or a calorie calculator that are available on the Internet and are based on the same formulas.

How to lose weight by counting calories

To maintain weight, you need to consume exactly as many calories as the body consumes. And if you are trying to lose weight, you need to eat about 20% less than the daily requirement. Under this condition, weight loss will be carried out gradually, without harm to health.

The best results can be achieved if you maximize the variety in your diet with fresh fruits and vegetables. It is useful to make meals fractional and eat small portions with an interval of about three hours. Additional regular physical activity will bring the desired result even closer.

Losing weight by counting calories has several nuances that must be considered if you really want to achieve a tangible effect.

  • The human body is able to consume fats and proteins. Here it is necessary to take into account the following. The prudent nature of fats can store, which, in fact, happens to them, but the reserve storage of proteins and carbohydrates in in large numbers impossible, so they go to waste. Therefore, it is better to eat food containing the latter.
  • If you eat rarely, the body begins to demand nutrition and make strategic reserves, which is why it is recommended to eat often and a little bit.
  • The main goal of counting calories in losing weight is to consume less energy than is expended daily. Therefore, it will be useful not so much to reduce what was eaten as to increase the load.
  • You should not reduce the daily intake of energy very sharply and significantly (especially for a man), otherwise the body will begin to resist motor activity in order to save energy costs. After all, hunger is stress. To improve performance, you need to regularly eat healthy plant foods and get enough sleep.
  • If possible, use a calorie calculator and a food diary. This will greatly facilitate the procedure and make it more interesting.
  • Count calories and limit your diet comfortably. Try to diversify your diet, make it tasty, so that the system becomes a habit and becomes the norm. Otherwise, after 2-3 months of exhausting starvation and calculations, all the lost kilograms will return to their places.

calorie calculator

For those who decide to go on a diet or just keep track of weight through calorie control, there are many ways to simplify this process. For example, you can set special program to a computer or phone. These applications include:

  • information about the number of calories in various products;
  • diary of consumption and energy consumption;
  • calculator to determine the individual daily allowance.

It is quite possible to write down all this data on paper. True, in this case, it will be necessary to additionally look for information about the calorie content of products.

At first, there may be a need to weigh portions, but after a month of regular counting of calories eaten and spent, the need for constant monitoring will disappear. Having received basic information about the energy value of products, it will be possible to do this practically “by eye”. It is very convenient to use a calculator that allows you to calculate not only the daily calorie requirement, but also determine the individual, water, vitamins and trace elements.

Using a similar calculator and filling out a food diary, in 1-2 months you can develop a healthy habit. In addition, the process of counting calories will turn into an activity that is not only useful, but also very exciting.

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