Did you know that losing weight has a lot to do with managing your daily calorie intake than it has to do with regularly exercising? This does not mean working out is not essential; of course, it is! However, it’s only a quarter of the battle won.
Losing weight is a battle that requires a harmonious mixture of exercising, eating right, and eating within your daily calorie consumption limit!
What is Calorie?
Calories are the source that provides energy for your body to function correctly. Your body utilizes calories from the food you eat and converts them into fuel to make your body work – from walking to sprinting and swimming.
The main sources of nutrients that make calories and convert them into energy are fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Once you eat meals enriched with the mentioned nutrients, your body has two ways of utilizing them: immediately converting them into energy or storing them within your body as fat. Unless you use the stored fat in your body, it will continue to remain as fat, and that’s what causes weight gain. However, to lose weight, you need to use up the stored fat by cutting down extra calories to ensure your body uses up the stored fat instead of getting energy from the new ones.
Cutting down on calories needs to be combined with burning them by working out to see the results. While the concept of a calorie deficit seems straightforward, as it simply looks like you just have to reduce your calories, it’s more than that! It is crucial to understand that developing a healthy diet, creating a healthy eating and living plan, and sticking to it is an important and long-term process! You cannot see results within weeks, it takes months and even years for the results to reflect on your body physically.
Factors That Affect Your Daily Calorie Intake
Before we head on to the actual point of our blog for today, which contains the amount of daily calorie consumption limit, you first need to understand that nothing is similar for two different individuals! What works for your healthy teenage self won’t work for a healthy adult with a normal weight. This means that several factors affect your daily calorie consumption limit. They include:
- Sex
- Weight
- Height
- Age
- Activity Level
How Many Calories Should You Consume Daily to Lose Weight
Creating a calorie deficit plan can help you lose weight as your body will convert energy out of the fat stored in your body instead of getting energy from the food you eat. You can perform a calorie deficit by consuming fewer calories than usual and burning more calories than you consume. However, it is still important to provide your body with the necessary nutrients it requires to function well
PRO TIP: You can consume meals that are high in protein as they make you feel full in lesser portions and eliminate the risk of overeating. Also, eating a smaller portion in multiple sittings is better than eating a huge portion in one sitting until you are full.
While it is entirely possible to lose weight by following a strict diet and actively exercising, controlling your portions and having calorie deficits is better in the long run as you get to maintain the weight you have lost. But watch when you cut your calories out because it is different for everyone. For example, some strict diets would suggest only consuming 1000 or 1200 calories a day which is not practical for a healthy adult.
Drastic calorie limitations can cause serious side effects, which may lead to health problems
Instead, here’s what the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans has stated for each age and gender.
1. Children
Depending on the child’s age, sex and activity levels, their calorie intake requirements differ. Here’s what is ideally recommended:
- 2–4 years:
Male: 1,000–1,600 calories
Female: 1,000–1,400 calories
- 5–8 years:
Male: 1,200–2,000 calories
Female: 1,200–1,800 calories
- 9–13 years
Male: 1,600–2,600 calories
Female: 1,400–2,200 calories
- 14–18 years
Male: 2,000–3,200 calories
Female: 1,800–2,400 calories
2. Adult Female
The calorie intake limit in a healthy female differs on her weight, height and activity levels. Here’s the ideal consumption limit:
- 19–30 years
2,000–2,400 calories
- 31–59 years
1,800–2,200 calories
- 60+ years
1,600–2,000 calories
3. Adult Male
Just like the adult females, even daily calorie consumption limit differs in an adult male based on weight, height and activity levels. Here’s what the Dietary Guidelines for Americans estimate for healthy weight maintenance:
- 19–30 years
2,400–3,000 calories
- 31–59 years
2,200–3,000 calories
- 60+ years
2,000–2,600 calories
Other Factors Contributing to Healthy Weight Loss
As mentioned earlier, simply limiting your daily calories or just working out won’t help. It needs to be done in combination. Likewise, a calorie deficit is also one part of your weight loss journey. There are several other factors that contribute to your healthy weight loss practice, like:
Diet
There’s never a “one size fits all” model in fitness. Your lifestyle, diet choices, body requirements and activity levels greatly influence your journey to lose weight. Some people benefit from structured diet programs, while others do just fine with a commercial diet plan. If you are a beginner in the fitness world, it is ideal to consult a dietician to tailor a plan that suits your needs!
Exercise
If you don’t back your calorie deficit plan with an exercise routine, you are less likely to see results that last. Both of them work in harmony to give you the weight you desire. Moreover, always aim to burn more calories than you consume!
Swap High Calories with Low-Calorie Foods
Lastly, before we bid goodbye, here’s something you should know. Swapping high in calorie meals with something lighter is always recommended.
For example, instead of choosing 16 ounces of flavored latte with 268 calories, replace it with 16 ounces of black coffee that contains only five calories. Whole milk, eight ounces, can be skipped or replaced with eight ounces of skim milk. If you are craving some dessert, replace it with fruit like strawberries. Even dry fruits like dates can work to satisfy your sweet tooth!
