Calories to Lose Weight? How Many Should I Eat?

Let's face it - trying to figure out just how many calories your body needs each day can be a little confusing. There are a lot of different ways to calculate your body's caloric needs - some more simple than others - and it can get tricky trying to wade through them all and come up with an actual number. This article will show you one of the easiest ways that you can determine how many calories to lose weight so that you can quickly get started on your weight loss journey.

The number of calories that you need each day varies greatly from person to person and is based largely on how active you are and what your current weight is. For a more accurate number there are formulas that also take your height into consideration, however, for most people an approximation using the following formula is more than adequate to let you know about how many calories you should eat each day.

First, start by determining your activity level:

Sedentary - This means that you don't do any exercise at all

Moderately Active - If you do exercise 3-4 a week you fall into the moderately active category

Active - If you exercise at least 5-7 times a week you fall into the active category

To calculate how many calories you need use the following formula:

For sedentary people: Your Current Weight x 14 = estimated calories you burn each day

For moderately active people: Your Current Weight x 17 = estimated calories you burn each day

For active people: Your Current Weight x 20 = estimated calories you burn each day

So for example, if you weigh 175 lbs and are moderately active you would take 175 x 17 = 2975 calories. This is the approximate number of calories you should eat each day to maintain your current weight.

Now, if you want to lose weight you just need to cut back your calories lower than the number you just calculated. The standard for healthy weight loss is to cut back 500 calories per day, which will allow you to lose about a pound a week. To get the best results you should eliminate those calories through a combination of diet and exercise. For instance, you might cut out 200 calories in what you eat and add exercise to burn an additional 300 calories each day to lose a pound a week.

Although it sounds pretty easy, counting calories can actually be a real pain to do and doesn't have a very high success rate. Most people tend to underestimate how much food they are eating and thus underestimate their caloric intake. It is also quite time consuming to try to keep track of how many calories you take in each day.