HOW MANY CALORIES

SHOULD I EAT TO LOSE WEIGHT

HEALTH

Reading Time: 4.5 Minutes Ariel Banayan

In the end of the day, figuring out how many calories you need
to eat to lose weight is simple math you need to burn more
than you consume.

Heres how it works in practice: You determine your Basal

Metabolic Rate, and then you apply that rate to something
called the Harris Benedict Formula, which takes into account
your daily activity levels (calorie expenditure) and spews out a
rough estimate of what your daily caloric intake should be if you
want to lose weight.

How Many Calories Should I Eat to

Lose Weight ?

There are a ton of resources weight loss calculators out there

to help you estimate the amount of calories YOU personally
should be eating depending on your weight loss goals. Ill
explain exactly how to both understand and use those
resources, along with shed some light on what you really need
to do to achieve your body goals.

Step One: What are my goals?

Do I want to look fit or get skinny? Do I want to build muscle?
How quickly do I want to lose the weight? Figuring out what you
need to be eating, and how much you should be eating should
be based on specific goals you want to achieve, and you
should have a pre-determined time frame in which you want to
see progress. So first and foremost, define your goals.

That being said, regardless of what your goals are, you need to
understand that accomplishing your objectives in a timely
fashion isnt just about how many calories youre eating on a
daily basis.

Its about a combination of:

(1) what youre eating

(2) how much youre eating and
(3) whether/how you exercise.

What Im eating & how much Im eating

I dont care if youre eating 400 calories a day if you want to

lose weight and keep it off, its way more important to eat
healthy foods and stay away from garbage than to have a low
caloric intake.

You can probably lose 120 pounds in a year by eating 500

calories a day (if youre really overweight) and exercising
moderately, but the second you start to eat like a human being
again (and I mean simply a normal diet), the weight will come
crashing back into your life like 10-ton truck.

Stay wary of this and try to organize the calories you consume
around this concept. Yes, to lose weight we need to consume
less than we normally eat. But avoiding junk food, drinks with
tons of sugar and carbs rather than merely counting calories is
the name of the game if you want to maintain any weight loss
you achieve. You dont want to kill your metabolism by not
eating enough.

The thing most of us dont realize is that by changing up our diet

rather than consciously counting calories, we start eating less. A
study was performed at the University of Washington in which
women who were overweight increased their protein intake to
30% of their total calories. The results were incredible. On
average, these women started consuming 441 fewer calories
per day without even thinking about it.

Good calories vs. Bad calories

Have you ever heard the phrase, a calorie is a calorie? If you

havent, good. If you have, completely eliminate it from your
mind because it is absolute bullshit.

A calorie is NOT a calorie.

You can cut your calorie count by what you need to lose weight
and not only fail in losing weight, but even continue to gain
weight.

How exactly is that possible?

By messing up the hormones that control weight gain, fat
metabolism, mood and hunger. If a majority of your calorie
intake is coming from processed, refined and high sugar foods,
chances are youre going to have a lot of trouble losing weight
even if your overall caloric intake is cut.

Some of the most weight-loss friendly foods are very high in

calories. Foods that are high in protein, fiber, and healthy fats
help push towards weight loss goals because they make us feel
full for longer periods of time regardless of the calorie count.

To effectively lose weight, you need to get the most out of what
you eat by consuming nutrient dense foods that your body will
appreciate and use effectively.

Some foods that are highly correlated with weight loss are:

1. Salmon (and other fish)

2. Leafy greens
3. Nuts
4. Beans
5. Lean beef
6. Chicken
7. Avocados
8. Hummus
9. Salsa
10. Potatoes
11. Greek yogurt
12. Broth-based soups
13. Chia seeds
14. Berries
15. Oatmeal
16. Fruits
17. Quinoa
18. Eggs
Step Two: Whats my BMR?
Getting to the number of calories you need to eat daily to lose
weight starts with determining your BMR. Each of us has a Basal
Metabolic Rate that is, we have a certain number of calories
wed each burn naturally on a daily basis, even if we were to
lay in bed all day long.

This is because our bodies expend a certain amount of energy

by simply being alive and undergoing the physiological
processes that need to occur for us to remain alive and function
properly (respiration, digestion, etc.).

With regards to achieving weight loss and preventing weight

gain, the higher your BMR is, the better it is. The more calories
your body naturally burns on its own without physical stimulation,
the easier it will be for you to lose weight from a caloric
standpoint.

As we grow older, our BMR starts to slow down (like every other
bodily process). But we can maintain and even speed our BMR
up by regularly engaging in cardiovascular exercise. Jogging,
running, biking any exercise that gets your heart rate up will
increase the speed at which your body naturally burns calories
provided you do the activity regularly.

Get an estimate of your Basal Metabolic Rate with a BMR

calculator a simple google search does the job.

Heres one for your convenience.

Step Three: Applying the Harris Benedict

Formula

To get to the actual number of calories you should be eating

daily, you multiply your BMR by the appropriate factor to get
your overall energy expenditure in kilocalories a day. This is the
break-up explaining which factor would apply to your case.

Sedentary: Little to no exercise.

Daily calories needed = BMR x 1.2

Mild activity level: Intensive exercise for at least 20 minutes 1 to 3

times per week. This may include such activities as bicycling,
jogging, basketball, swimming, skating, etc. If you do not
exercise regularly, but you maintain a busy lifestyle that requires
you to walk frequently for long periods, you may meet the
requirements for this level of activity.

Daily calories needed = BMR x 1.3 1.375

Moderate activity level: Intensive exercise for at least 30 to 60

minutes 3 to 4 times per week. Any of the activities listed above
will qualify.

Daily calories needed = BMR x 1.5 1.55

Heavy or (labor-intensive) activity level: Intensive exercise for 60

minutes or longer 5 7 days per week. Labor intensive
occupations also qualify for this activity level, including
construction work, farming, landscape work, or similar
occupations.

Daily calories needed = BMR x 1.7

Extreme level: Exceedingly active and/or very demanding

activities. Examples include athletes with almost continuous
rigorous training schedules, and extremely demanding jobs such
as shoveling coal for long hours. It is very very difficult to achieve
this level of activity.

Daily calories needed = BMR x 1.9

The number that you get after applying the formula is the total
number of calories you could eat a day to maintain your current
weight, assuming that you consistently maintained your current
physical activity level.
Four: How fast do I want to lose it?

Depending on how quickly you want to drop the weight, you

need to be eating more or less calories. The old rule of thumb
was that to lose one pound of fat, you need to burn 3,500
calories. Essentially, if you ate 500 less calories a day than what
you would need to maintain your current weight, youd be
losing one pound of fat per week.

This view is now being contradicted by subsequent research

done by the National Institutes of Health. The new rule is that the
number of calories equating to a pound of fat (for purposes of
loss) is said to range somewhere in between the 3,500 mark (still
wisely used today) and 7,000 calories for weight-loss over 12
month periods.
Amby Barfoot has explained about this new research and the
resources that have come of it:

The BWP (body weight planner) allows you to pick your

current weight, a target weight, and your timeframe for losing
weight. It then calculates the changes you will need to make
lower calorie intake and increased physical activityto
reach your target. The free BWP connects to the NIHs
(National Institutes of Health) free Supertracker, which
provides access to a food database, an exercise log, and
other health tools.

You can use the new Body Weight Planner to help you create a
time frame in which you believe you can achieve your weight
loss goals, and create a caloric intake plan that
accommodates the time frame.

Finding a balance
Again, I cant repeat enough how dependent your diet should
be on the specific goals you have for your body. A huge part of
getting the body you want is finding the right balance between
exercise and diet.

Although maintaining a healthy diet will help you lose weight

(more or less quickly depending on how serious you are), regular
exercise brings a whole new dimension to the weight-loss game.

Youre obviously increasing the amount of calories you burn

daily and over time (by increasing your BMR), but the true
benefit is that good habits tend to build upon each other.

People who exercise regularly dont really feel the need to

indulge in extremely unhealthy foods all the time.

The reason is simple.

Hard work makes you want to see progress.

By being someone the type of person who puts hard work into
either their diet, or exercise, you inevitably grow the motivation
to let the desire to look good and be healthy pour into other
parts of your life.

You cant make yourself feel positive, but you can choose
how to act, and if you choose right, it builds your
confidence. Julien Smith

When you start to make healthy decisions in one aspect of your

life, you are guaranteed to start making other healthy decisions.
Over time, these healthy decisions turn into lifestyle habits. Once
you have healthy habits in place, its only a matter of time until
you have the body you want.
Having a healthy balance between regular exercise and the
foods you eat provides you with the added benefit of not feeling
so bad when you do decide to indulge.

Leading a healthy lifestyle with a proper diet isnt about

depriving yourself its about making better decisions on a daily
basis about the type of fuel you feed your body. That being
said, when youre regularly burning calories by exercising, you
have the right to reward yourself every so often.

Hacks for sticking to a healthy diet

Keep it simple!

When it comes to healthy eating, the number one rule to follow

is dont make too many rules. You have a general idea of
what is healthy and what isnt. Make a few decisions about
changes you want to make, but I guarantee that if you overdo
it, you will not end up following through. Maintain a variety of
foods you enjoy that are high in fiber, protein, fats, and healthy
carbs.

Junk free home:

When you have a bunch of food in the house, its just too
tempting. Dont even give yourself the option and youll find a
way to deal with the momentary cravings for junk.

Carry water with you everywhere:

Staying hydrated is an essential part of staying healthy, it helps

keep you satisfied, and its easier to say not to have drinks with
sugar in them when you already have a drink with you!

Plan ahead:
If you the discipline to plan (and maybe even pack) your meals
ahead of time, do it. For a similar reason to why carrying water
around makes it easier to be healthy, when youve already
made decisions about your meals, theres something about the
concrete-ness of it in your mind that allows you to avoid
temptation. The best time to get organized about your meals is
in the morning when there is little to no distraction and you can
think clearly and logically about what your food intake is going
to look like for the day.

If youre one of those people that just cant find the motivation
and energy to get up early and plan ahead, The Master Your
Morning Sidekick Journal is a great resource that helps you add
the habit of waking up early and creating the perfect morning
routine to start the day.

Juice:

The easiest way to make sure youre getting all the nutrients you
need is by blending or juicing fruits and vegetables. It makes
your life easy because you can drink it all at once, and theyre
really satisfying and yummy.

Concluding remarks

In essence, the answer to the magical question how many

calories should I eat to lose weight is both easy and not so easy
to answer. You can get a good estimate of a raw number
based on calculating your basal metabolic rate and applying
the Harris Benedict Formula, accounting for your general
activity levels.

On the other hand, there is no set in stone formula for weight

loss. Each of our bodies are different. Each of our physical needs
are different. Some of us need to work way harder to lose
weight than others. A diet that works for one person will not
necessarily work for others. The key to weight loss is getting
organized about how your goals, formulating a plan to achieve
those goals, and tweaking the plan based on the results.

What you should do after reading this article:

1. Write down the goals you have for your body and when
youd like to accomplish those goals by.

2. Find out what your BMR number

3. Apply the Harris Benedict formula to get an estimate of the

number of calories you would need to eat daily to maintain
your current weight.
4. Based on the time-frame in which you want to lose weight,
find the number of calories you need to cut on a daily basis
to get there.

5. Start counting!

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