Optimal number of calories per day. How many calories to consume to lose weight

Achieving harmony is not so difficult, the main thing is to follow some rules. You definitely need to increase physical activity, balance your diet, and choose the most healthy and convenient daily routine. In addition, to lose weight, it is important to track the calorie content of foods, take into account your weight, height, age, metabolic characteristics and other parameters in order to find out how many calories you need to eat to lose weight.

What does calorie calculation mean for weight loss?

For weight loss, nutritionists advise adhering to the following rule - daily caloric intake should be deficient, that is, you need to eat fewer calories than you expend. At the same time, for safe weight loss, it is allowed to reduce calories by 20% per day. Some people reduce their calorie intake even further to achieve faster results, but such weight loss can have negative health effects. To find out the appropriate caloric intake for weight loss, you should:

• determine how many kcal you can consume per day (this is done using online calculators or using one of the existing formulas described below);
• calculate the required daily caloric deficit, that is, how many fewer calories should you eat to lose weight.

Daily calorie intake

The average daily calorie intake is considered to be 2000-2500 kcal for women and 300-400 kcal more for men. According to experts, in order to lose weight, food consumption must be limited so that the daily calorie content does not exceed the specified numbers and does not fall below 1500 kcal, otherwise you can develop various diseases. This calorie norm per day is greatly abolished, since each organism is different, having individual characteristics. For effective results, they cannot be ignored when determining how many calories you need per day to lose weight.

Daily caloric intake is calculated using formulas that include:

• physical activity ratio;
• age;
• height;
• metabolic rate.

How many calories should a woman consume per day?

The daily calorie intake per day for a woman is slightly less than that of a representative of the stronger sex, which is explained by differences in the course of physiological processes in their bodies. In addition, differences are determined by the activity of the stronger and weaker sexes. The average daily caloric intake for women, according to WHO, is 2000 kcal. The metabolism gradually slows down, and the body no longer requires such an amount of energy-rich food, so the menu of a young girl and an elderly lady with the same parameters should be different.

There are many formulas for calculating the calorie content of food, which use biometric indicators, activity level, type of activity, age, etc. According to the average statistical rule, every hour the body of an adult consumes 1 kcal. So, to get the acceptable norm, body weight must be multiplied by 24 hours. For example, an overweight woman (75 kg with a height of 165 cm), in order to lose weight, should eat less than 1800 kcal per day.

At the same time, in order to start losing weight, it is important to take into account a woman’s lifestyle. So, sedentary ladies (with sedentary work and minimal or no sports) should adhere to the following calorie standards:

• 18-25 years old – 2000 kcal;
• 26-45 years old – 1800 kcal;
• from 45 years and older – 1600 kcal.

If you have systematic light physical activity (long walking, short jogging 2-3 times a week, swimming), you can eat:

• 18-25 years old – 2200 kcal;
• 26-45 years – 2000 kcal;
• from 45 years and older – 1800 kcal.

The diet of active women should be based on the following data:

• 18-25 years old – 2400 kcal;
• 26-45 years – 2200 kcal;
• from 45 years and older – 2000 kcal.

How many calories should a man consume per day?

According to generally accepted standards, a young man should eat 2400-2600 kcal per day. For mature representatives of the stronger sex (30-50 years old) the norm is 2200 calories, and for the elderly – no more than 2000 per day. The numbers given are approximate because physical activity and lifestyle vary from person to person. How much energy does a man need per day to lose weight?

To find out what is the most appropriate calorie intake per day for a man, it is worth making calculations using a simple formula. To do this, a person’s weight is multiplied by 20, the resulting number is the norm of calories that a man needs (without taking into account physical activity). Calorie content for sports expenses is calculated as follows: for every minute of cardio exercise, add 5 kcal to the daily number, for every minute of strength training - 10 kcal.

How to calculate calories for weight loss

The basic rule to help you lose weight is to spend more energy than you get from food. At the same time, each person has his own calorie balance, but it is easy to determine the individual amount of calories for weight loss. You need to start from your own weight, which will help you correctly calculate the required amount of energy for basic metabolism. The formula looks like this: body weight x 20 = basal metabolic rate. For example, a person weighing 60 kg should eat 1200 kcal, and if he wants to lose weight, then this value should be reduced by 200-300 calories.

However, the number of calories per day for weight loss may vary depending on whether a person is active or not. To calculate the required number, the average result obtained is multiplied by the activity indicator:

• 1.5 – for people engaged in physical labor with daily training;
• 1.4 – for regularly involved in sports (at least three times a week);
• 1.3 – for office workers who rarely have physical activity;
• 1.2 – for inactive people with serious excess weight.

Muffin-Jeor Formula

This calculation method is considered the most accurate and is used to correct weight. The Muffin-Jeor basal metabolic formula looks like this:

• for men: basal metabolic rate (BM) x body weight + 6.25 x height (in cm) – 4.92 x age + 5;
• for women: OO x weight + 6.25 x height (in cm) – 4.92 x age – 161.

Basal metabolic rate refers to the number of calories burned throughout the day, most of which are burned through physical activity (sports, leisure). To calculate the amount of total energy expenditure, the resulting value must be multiplied by the person’s physical activity coefficient:

• passive – OO x 1.2;
• insufficient level of activity (up to 3 workouts per week with a sedentary lifestyle) – OO x 1.375;
• moderate level of activity (3-5 sports per week) – OO x 1.55;
• increased activity (6-7 workouts) – OO x 1.725;
• extremely high activity (daily loads) – OO x 1.9.

Harris-Benedict formula

This is an outdated way of counting calories: changes in lifestyle have led to the fact that the Harris-Benedict calorie formula overestimates energy needs by 5-10%, and the more a person weighs, the higher the figure. How to count using this method? Example:

• for men, the basal metabolic rate is calculated as follows: 66 + (137 x weight) + (5 x height in cm) – (6.76 x age) x physical activity rate;
• for girls: 655 + (9.6 x weight) + (1.8 x height) – (4.7 x age) x coefficient.

Ketch-McArdle formula

This method of calculating body fat does not take into account individual parameters of a person, be it gender, height or age. The formula, in this case, has a simple form: 370 + 21.6 x X. In the formula, “X” is body weight excluding fat. Such calculations are often performed in clinical settings using modern scales or online calculators. The final value is also multiplied by the physical activity coefficient. Example: a person weighing 40 kg (excluding fat) should eat (370+21.6x40) x 1.2 = 1879 kcal per day.

Calorie calculator

Using formulas and tables of daily calorie intake, it is possible to determine how much energy you need to maintain normal weight or to lose weight. In addition, you can calculate calories for weight loss online, for which special calculators have been created. How many calories do you need to lose weight? For an adult, the recommended daily amount of kcal is 20% less than the result obtained in the calculations. For children under 10 years of age, you need to stick to 1800-2000 kcal to lose weight, and for a teenager, the maximum intake will be 2300-2500 calories.

What is basal metabolic rate

In order for the body to perform all functions normally, it needs energy, which is obtained from food. It is spent on mental and physical activity, as well as on basic physiological processes (breathing, heartbeat, digestion). Basal metabolism is the total amount of energy that is needed for human life at rest (in the absence of any activity) and at a comfortable temperature. This indicator is influenced by four factors - weight, gender, age and height of a person.

How many calories are burned per day?

Any action requires the expenditure of energy: if more energy enters the body than was expended, the remainder is deposited on the body in the form of fat folds. Thus, a person’s weight directly depends on the calorie content of his diet and physical activity. To calculate the approximate calorie consumption per day, you need to know how much energy is consumed in a particular activity. In a sleeping state, we spend about 65 energy units per hour, but this is only possible under the following conditions:

• sleep lasts at least 8 hours;
• body temperature is within normal limits;
• the person was not stressed during the previous day;
• No carbohydrates or fats were consumed before bed.

Energy consumption during operation depends on its specifics:

• for stationary/sedentary work, the consumption for 8 hours is about 550 kcal;
• teachers, teachers and other people engaged in public work spend more than 1000 calories;
• workers with moderate-heavy work spend 1500 kcal;
• People who work hard and professional athletes burn more than 2,000 calories.

Even walking helps burn fat: when walking slowly, the body spends up to 200 energy units per hour, and during fast walking – about 300. These are average figures, since they are influenced by a person’s weight and height: the larger the man or woman, the more energy is spent during walking. walking time. An average-weight person spends the following number of calories per hour on different activities:

• conversation – 90;
• rest in a supine position – 69;
• food intake - about 70;
• jogging – 380;
• swimming – 200-400;
• volleyball – 298;
• dancing – 360;
• slow run – 380.

How many calories should you eat to lose weight?

When more food enters the body than is needed for energy, the fat layer on the body increases, which serves as a reserve reserve of strength and can be used up if there is a deficiency of color. To prevent weight gain, and, conversely, to lose weight, you need to reduce the amount of food you consume. It is also important to maintain the same level of color so that the body does not have a reason to start storing fat.

How many calories should you eat to lose weight? The norm is different for everyone; it can be calculated using the formulas presented above. 10-15% is subtracted from the result obtained if you do not need to lose much weight. You need to reduce the number of calories per day by 20-30% to lose weight in order to get rid of significant excess weight. This threshold cannot be exceeded, otherwise it can harm your health.

To lose weight faster, you should supplement your diet with regular exercise. The zigzag method will help you overcome the plateau effect that often occurs when losing weight. It consists of alternating the number of calories consumed throughout the week. Experts recommend that someone losing weight eat more high-calorie food one day (preferably after a workout), and then immediately return to the diet.

Video: Daily calorie needs

Safe weight loss:

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Zigzag calories:

Extreme Weight Loss:

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Zigzag calories:

× You can select products according to the required number of calories (as well as proteins, fats, carbohydrates and bread units) in our . You can check whether you are overweight or obese at .

Excess weight is a serious cause for concern. This problem worries many people today. The topic of losing weight is discussed with particular interest among women. People who are overweight, as a rule, suffer from complexes, do not know how to value themselves and fully accept their own achievements. They are constantly on a diet, limit themselves to flour and sweets, and endlessly calculate the calorie content of foods. They set their own daily calorie intake standards and try not to go beyond it. Frames are sometimes so rigid that it is impossible to stick to them for a long time. Fans of various diets often reach a critical point, which can cause irreparable harm to health. Some especially impressionable people are afraid to allow themselves an extra piece of their favorite dish and refuse even the required amount of food.

Many people set themselves the goal of losing excess weight, but not everyone achieves their desired goal. To achieve results, it is important to first correctly calculate your calorie intake per day, and then systematically maintain your diet. Using a special calorie calculator, you can calculate your daily requirement online. Calculating is not at all difficult: you just need to enter the appropriate numbers in the specified fields and wait for a promising weight loss plan to appear.

Five calculation formulas

The site offers weight loss techniques that you can choose for your situation. There are five calculation formulas in total: Mifflin - St. George, Harris - Benedict, Ketch - McArdle, Tom Venuto and the World Health Organization formula. All of them are aimed at achieving one goal - weight loss, systematic weight loss. The difference is that the formulas consider different methods of influencing the body and offer their own options for calculating calories per day, week, month. In each specific case, the user has the opportunity to make his own decision. You can agree or not with the proposed conditions, draw certain conclusions, and analyze the data. The so-called calorie zigzag shows the required number of calories that can be consumed per day.

Safe weight loss

When making a calculation, it is important for the user to choose the path in which he will act: rapid weight loss or smooth weight loss. Safe weight loss means that the daily intake should not be less than 1200 calories per day. This is the most gentle option for keeping your body in great shape. Losing weight occurs naturally, the process is not accompanied by giving up all sorts of goodies. A person simply begins to consume a little less food and eventually achieves the expected result. Time limits can stretch for months and years(depending on how many kilograms need to be lost), but the effect, as a rule, is aimed at the long term.

Most sane people will choose the safe option. Here you won’t have to risk your health and spend a lot of energy fighting your own body. The calculation is made in such a way that the person experiences virtually no mental or physical discomfort.

Extreme weight loss

Sometimes you need to lose weight urgently. This happens when some important event or event is planned. In this case, the person does not have the necessary reserve of time to wait. It is required to carry out a competent calculation of the daily norm in order to strictly follow the intended goal. It is unacceptable to deviate from the conditions. The calculation is precisely based on the willpower of the individual, on the ability to deny oneself gastronomic pleasures. With this option, you are allowed to consume less than 1000 calories per day. The calculation is made individually, depending on the indicators of general activity and the starting position.

It must be said that the effect of such weight loss is very short-term. The mistake many people make is that they get too involved in the process. It is impossible to calculate and predict consequences such as poor health and depression.

Why some people never manage to lose weight

Most people want quick results with minimal investment of effort. They expect weight loss the morning after making an important decision. But no one can do this. Some people start to stress themselves out needlessly, demanding immediate and quick weight loss results. Women sometimes set initially unattainable standards for themselves, and then complain to everyone about their unfair fate. Someone refuses food for several days in a row, bringing themselves to the point of fainting from hunger. Such behavior cannot but have a negative impact on health. It's important to know what to do before you set off. Many people give up before they even take the first step. That is why they are still where they once planned to begin confidently moving forward.

The most important thing is to learn to set a goal and go towards it every day in small steps. No one is able to cover a large period of time at once, or make a leap. There is no need to constantly scold yourself for being overweight. Review your diet, but don't take rash steps. Maintaining your own attractiveness means, first of all, giving up harsh, destructive criticism, which exhausts the soul, but does not lead to personal development, does not help a person work on himself.

Thus, anyone can try to calculate using the proposed scheme. You just need to remember that the process of losing weight is purely individual and proceeds differently for everyone.

Diet is an important part of our life. Even models, actors and people who have a naturally thin physique sooner or later need to get in shape. However, a diet does not always mean a sharp restriction of food, intense physical activity to get rid of extra pounds before the holidays or the opening of the swimming season. A sharp restriction in nutrition can become a real stress for the body, which will not save you from extra pounds.

In addition, not everyone can withstand a strict refusal of their favorite foods and high physical activity. The psychological factor plays an important role here, since with a lot of stress and insufficient preparation, maintaining a strict diet is extremely problematic. Therefore, if you persistently decide to lose weight, the best solution is to eat in moderation. Using the kilocalorie calculation system, you can forget about strict diets and exhausting physical activity. Calories are calculated individually for each person. Do you want to know how many calories you need per day to lose weight without harm to your health? In this article, you can discover moderate nutrition with calorie calculations, learn the positive aspects of such a system and the basic rules for calculating calories.

Each food product has an energy value coefficient, which implies an indicator of the energy contained in the food. Why do you need to know this? The calorie content of food is an important indicator for people who want to lose excess weight.

The energy value factor is determined by determining the number of carbon and hydrogen atoms in food. Fatty foods have the highest coefficient, so they are considered high-calorie. Thus, knowing the amount of heavy components, you can choose food with less content and, therefore, less kcal content.

The energy value coefficient or the number of calories is important to take into account when you want to lose weight, since eating low-calorie foods, or rather low-carbohydrate foods, promotes weight loss. This occurs due to the fact that the body receives less energy daily than it was accustomed to receiving before starting the diet. Thus, during the day he manages not only to use the received energy coefficient from food, but also to grab reserve reserves in the body. In order to promote weight loss, it is necessary to correctly calculate and consume the daily kcal norm, without reducing or exceeding it.

Calorie calculators

Calorie needs calculator:

Calorie burn calculator:

How to determine your daily calorie intake

Calculating calorie norms involves consuming a certain ratio of energy from foods, which will be sufficient to maintain the body. For each person, the calorie intake is calculated individually, with an important role played by:

• age;
• initial weight;
• professional activity;
• health status;
• amount of extra kg.

The daily calorie intake is calculated using special formulas. When making calculations yourself, it is important to take into account the individual characteristics of the body, endurance, and level of physical activity.

To calculate the number of calories for weight loss, you must follow the following rules:

• take into account the state of the body and the characteristics of the person, since only a prudent distribution of calories can give positive results;
• when calculating the daily kcal norm, it is important to distribute most of them over the first half of the day, since at this time of day the body is most active;
• it is important to optimally distribute the number of calories for each meal; consuming more than half of the kcal at one meal will not ensure weight loss;
• when calculating your norm, be guided by tables of calorie content of different food products;
• For the health of the body and weight loss, it is necessary to diversify the diet by distributing the daily calorie intake among the most important foods for the body: milk, meat, vegetables, fruits, cereals.

Energy expenditure by the body

Most people are convinced that the energy coefficient obtained from food can be used by the body only during active physical activity. However, this is not quite true. Energy factor is a vital indicator. The body always needs energy, regardless of whether you have constant physical activity or prefer to spend time on passive work in the office. Even during deep sleep, the body does not rest, but actively works to process food and use useful energy.

Thus, even with a passive lifestyle and complete absence of physical activity, our body will use more than 65% of the energy obtained from food to maintain optimal functioning of all organs and carry out important physiological processes: muscle development, maintaining general tone, hair and nail growth, food processing and absorption of useful elements, breathing and others.

Important to consider! The transition to a nutrition system based on calculating calorie intake and its strict consumption is not an ironclad guarantee of weight loss in the complete absence of physical activity. In order for the body to lose excess weight, it needs to spend more calories than it receives from food every day.

A passive lifestyle, sedentary work and a complete lack of physical activity can cause many problems associated not only with excess weight. This applies, first of all, to muscle weakness, complications and abnormalities in the functioning of the heart, liver and other organs, cellulite and obesity, skin problems, metabolic problems, etc. However, on the other hand, intense physical activity is also not the norm for the body. In this case, it will consume too high a coefficient of energy, both daily and reserve. Thus, eating according to the principle of consuming normal calories with daily physical activity can lead to a lack of energy and exhaustion of the body.

Expert opinion

Smirnov Viktor Petrovich
Dietitian, Samara

Sometimes, with great difficulty, a person can apply coefficients that increase energy consumption, since he is poorly versed in the concepts of “weak,” “normal,” and “high” physical activity. To clarify this, there are various recommendations, but if you are an office worker or an accounting employee, then you need to enter the absence of physical activity into the formula. Even if you have them in small quantities, such a stricter formula will lead to a decrease in daily caloric intake, which means there is a greater chance that the diet will be useful. However, it is very important to first verify your own health, and especially the absence of endocrine pathology. It is known that patients with high levels of thyroid hormones have a higher body temperature and more intense basal metabolic rates. In the classic case of hyperthyroidism, or thyrotoxicosis, the patient eats everything and many times a day, but at the same time body weight continues to decrease. Therefore, an analysis of the level of thyroid hormones is advisable if a person is planning to lose weight. If they are low, then we will be talking about myxedema, or hypothyroidism. Such a person will be obese, but losing weight only by reducing calories will be problematic, because basal metabolism is reduced, since it is regulated by thyroid hormones. Observation and treatment by an endocrinologist will be required.

Individual calorie calculation

Today, to calculate the daily kcal requirement, there are various calculators and formulas that calculate the number of calories taking into account a person’s gender, age, lifestyle and level of physical activity. The simplest and most commonly used formula for calculating calories is Muffin-Jeor. Developed back in the late 90s, this formula is still considered one of the most accurate. It is based on a comparison of a person’s basal metabolism with the individual characteristics of his lifestyle.

The first part of the formula is the human basal metabolic rate. It implies an indicator of the calorie norm that the human body needs every day to maintain vital functions in a state of complete rest.

Please note: the calculation of a person’s basal metabolic rate, as well as the daily kcal norm for women and men, is done differently! Thus, to determine the basal metabolic rate for a woman, it is necessary to use the formula: 10*weight + 6.25*height – 5*age – 161. For a man, the calculation is made using the formula: 10*weight + 6.25*height – 5*age + 5.

The second part of the formula includes the following coefficients that need to be multiplied by the basal metabolic rate:

• lack of physical activity – *1.2;
• low level of physical activity (up to 3 days a week) – *1.35;
• normal level of physical activity (3 to 5 days a week) – *1.55;
• high level of physical activity (more than 5 days a week) – *1, 725;
• hyperactivity (intense exercise every day) – *1.9.

If you are looking for ways to calculate calories for weight loss for a woman, you can use this easy-to-calculate but fairly accurate formula. Thus, by calculating OO and multiplying it by the coefficient of a woman’s level of physical activity, you can find out her daily kcal requirement, using which you can smoothly and effectively lose weight without harm to your health.

Nutrition by calories

Having decided to use a calorie-based nutrition system, you must not only know the calorie content of all foods, but also be able to balance your diet. In order to ensure weight loss without harm to health, the most important foods for the human body must be present in the daily diet. You cannot completely exclude the use of one of the products due to its high calorie content, as this can lead to a lack of useful and important substances in the body.

• low-fat dairy products (yogurt, kefir, milk, cottage cheese);
• lean meat (chicken, goose);
• low-calorie vegetables that do not contain starch (cucumbers, radishes, beets, tomatoes, cabbage);
• low-calorie fruits (pears, apples, berries);
• fish;
• healthy cereals, porridges, cereals;
• natural juices, compotes, decoctions and broths.

Thus, calorie calculation can be a beneficial solution for people who cannot afford to go on strict diets. With the correct calculation of calorie intake, compliance with nutritional rules and moderate physical activity, this diet can have a positive effect not only on a person’s weight, but also on the condition of the body, keeping it in good shape and eliminating problems in the functioning of organs. But in order for this diet to be truly effective, it is necessary to strictly adhere to the calculated kcal norm per day, without exceeding it, but also without decreasing it.

Quite often a situation arises when a person, despite a strict diet, practically does not lose weight. In order for the diet regimen to be truly effective, the following factors must be excluded:

• Rare meals. Any adequate diet involves eating small, but frequent meals (5-6 times a day). This is necessary because only in this case it is possible to stimulate metabolic processes in the body. The more active the metabolism, the more fat and carbohydrates are broken down. Infrequent eating, on the contrary, slows down the metabolism.
• Disturbed ratio of nutrients contained in food products. In order to lose weight, it is important to eat more protein while reducing the amount of carbohydrates and fat you consume. This is the only way to preserve muscle tissue and reduce fat reserves. In order to determine how much protein, carbohydrates and fat are contained in foods, you should use the appropriate tables.
• Lack of active physical activity. It is important to understand that it is not necessary to exercise while dieting, but adequate energy expenditure is necessary. The more a person moves, the more actively fat reserves are broken down. Therefore, it is important to exercise daily or walk several stops at a calm pace.

Counting the number of kilocalories eaten per day undoubtedly occupies a leading place in the fight against excess weight. A lasting and noticeable weight loss result is only possible if you follow the chosen comprehensive dietary program step by step.

Daily calorie intake for a woman with a child

Let's try to calculate how many kcal a woman named, say, Nadya, needs to consume. She is a young mother, does not work, dances 3-4 times a week, and at home is busy with household chores, cooking, cleaning, etc.

We calculate the calorie deficit for the Nadya woman using a formula or calculator: 1733 kcal

Please note that Nadya is 10 kg less than Katya, but at the same time there are more calories for weight loss. Why? Because the woman Nadya goes to dances, walks, worries around the house and spends more energy. That is, the more a person moves, and the more active his life is, the more kilocalories he needs to eat per day, even on a diet.

As you can see, the day is quite eventful in terms of food, there are even sweets. The bulk of calories comes from lunch, but this is not necessary - the distribution of calories and the choice of foods can be anything. However, eating Snickers at 234 kcal per piece, you will not be able to get rid of the feeling of hunger and will simply lose your temper.

And with a competent diet, you will always be full, even on a deficit of 1733 kcal. That is why for weight loss it is recommended to choose low-calorie foods - salads, cottage cheese, soups, fish. So that, with a low calorie intake, you still have a feeling of fullness.

All nutritionists and nutritionists unanimously argue that for proper metabolism you need to know the individual number of calories per day for weight loss and eat according to the daily caloric intake - this will help you gently lose weight. However, the number of formulas and different online calculators is confusing for beginners. How to make all the calculations correctly and what to do with the resulting numbers?

What does the number of calories per day mean for weight loss?

All food that enters the body has a certain “weight”. In proportion to this indicator, the amount of energy released from food when it begins to be burned. This “weight” or energy value is indicated in kcal. If a person eats a number of calories per day that is equal to the amount of energy produced, not a single gram of food goes into “fat depots.” When the “weight” of food exceeds energy costs, the body stores it unnecessarily, turning it into fat. The opposite situation gives rise to weight loss, since the shortage will be replenished from existing glycogen reserves.

Calorie intake per day for weight loss

WHO has established a daily calorie threshold, below which one cannot fall, since these figures are the basic minimum required by the body to maintain life. This means not only motor activity, but also the work of all organs, blood circulation, even cellular renewal. However, nutritionists later found that the “total” calorie intake per day is not entirely reasonable, because... it takes into account only the division by gender, absolutely not taking into account age characteristics, physical activity, and muscle mass.

Daily allowance for a woman

According to WHO, girls need to consume 1200 kcal or more per day. This amount is assumed to be minimal even when losing weight, and while maintaining weight, the calorie norm for a woman can increase to 1600 kcal. Afterwards, these data were supplemented taking into account age, recalculated, and, as a result, the following average daily calorie values ​​were obtained:

• Girls under 25 years old need to keep the range of 2000-2400 kcal.
• For women under 50 years of age, these limits should be lowered to 1800-2000 kcal.
• After 51 years, it is advisable not to consume more than 2000 kcal in the presence of physical activity, and 1600 kcal in the absence of physical activity.

Daily allowance for a man

Representatives of the stronger half need significantly more energy than women, since their body weight is a priori larger, and they often have a higher level of activity. The minimum daily calorie intake for a man is 1800 kcal, but nutritionists consider the following data to be more accurate:

• Boys under 25 years old need to eat from 2400 to 3000 kcal.
• Men under 50 years old already need 2000-2800 kcal.
• After 51 years, the limits shift to 1800-2400 kcal.

How to correctly calculate calories for weight loss

It was mentioned above that a simple division by gender does not give the correct result, since representatives of both sexes can have completely different builds and needs. Experts say that an individual calculation of calorie intake for losing weight and even maintaining weight should be based on the following parameters:

• age (in years);
• height (in cm);
• level of physical activity.

For children, the number of permissible calories per day for weight loss is not counted, because... their food is used primarily for the “construction” of the body and internal organs; only a clear excess is stored in fat reserves. Older people, on the contrary, need to consume less, especially if they are aiming to lose weight, because... their metabolism slows down. Human activity also plays an important role, which includes sports, walking, and household chores (ironing, cleaning, etc.). Additionally, you need to understand that calculating calories for weight loss:

• requires taking into account hormonal levels, which often make their own adjustments;
• for pregnant women is produced according to separate formulas, because they immediately feed the fetus;
• takes into account physical status - during illness, the body will not burn calories as actively.

Harris-Benedict formula

The oldest, but still working method of calculating the number of calories per day for weight loss is called a formula derived at the beginning of the 20th century. It is based on 3 main parameters - body weight, height and age. Using this formula, experts obtain an indicator of basal metabolism, and in order to calculate calories per day for weight loss, you need to find the product of the result and the energy expenditure coefficient, and then reduce this number by 20%. Similarly, it can be used to calculate the number of calories per day to increase muscle mass.

The basic calorie intake according to Harris-Benedict is calculated as follows:

• Women's: 655.1 + 9.6*Hkg + 1.85*Hcm - 4.68*Hlet.
• Male: 66.47 + 13.75*Hkg + 5*Hcm - 6.74*Hlet.

Muffin Jeor Formula

One of the methods, the result of which is recognized by doctors as reliable, is a relatively recently (in 2005) formula compiled by the American Dietetic Association, which received the name Muffin-St. It is a little easier to remember than the previous one, since only the last digit changes, and the rest are identical for both sexes. The accuracy of the data obtained during calculation is slightly lower than with the Harris-Benedict formula. First of all, you should find out the dose of calories at - 9.99 * weight, add to this 6.25 * height and subtract 4.92 * age. After:

• women subtract 161 units from the result;
• men add 5 units.

How to calculate the number of calories for weight loss online

If you don’t want to use formulas and do your own calculations or don’t have time, an online calorie counter will help. This is a calculator that works according to one of the above schemes, although the Ketch-McArdle formula can also be used, or the principle that guides WHO staff. All these counters help you calculate the number of calories with which you can maintain your figure. However, if you are aiming to lose weight, you will have to:

1. Additionally, determine the level of daily physical activity.
2. Find 80% of the resulting number. If you plan to lose weight if you are obese, 90% or even 95%. The deficiency should not be more than 20% of basal metabolism.

Basal metabolic rate

As already mentioned, a number of formulas help to calculate the daily amount of calories, the choice between which is made individually. You need to know your basal metabolic rate per day, which is an indicator of calorie consumption without much activity, in order to take care of your figure. It must be multiplied by the activity coefficient if the person is not bedridden, because the fact of moving from home to the place of work/study also requires additional energy consumption. Please note that the online calculator is only suitable for persons over 18 years of age.

Determine the level of physical activity

You can gently lose weight without multiplying the minimum caloric intake by your activity level, but only in the absence of serious physical activity. For a person who has a sedentary job, the 20% difference that exists between the basic result from the calculation using formulas and the adjusted one will be an easy way to lose weight. In other cases, the existing basal metabolic rate must be multiplied by:

• 1.375 – if there are short training sessions up to 3 per week;
• 1.55 – when training up to 5 times a week for 1-1.5 hours;
• 1.725 – for daily training for 3-4 hours;
• 1.9 – during professional sports (preparing for competitions, etc.).

Calorie table for foods and ready meals

Calorie intake per day for the purpose of losing weight is not a starvation diet. If you study the calorie content of the dishes and products allowed on the diet given here, you will notice that you can create a menu even with some “violations” in the form of cookies or dried fruits. Vegetables, berries and fruits are not indicated, because... their calorie content ranges from 22 to 70 kcal. An approximate picture is like this:

Zigzag calories

An alternative name for this method of losing weight is cheating. This program is designed for people who at some point noticed a weight loss, although the caloric content of the diet did not change upward. Zigzag calories for weight loss does not allow the metabolism to slow down, so fat burning occurs at approximately the same speed. There is even a day when the calorie intake is higher than the basic one - a relaxation in nutrition is allowed.

1. 3 days of minimal carbohydrates, caloric intake is reduced by 10% daily.
2. 2 days – a large amount of carbohydrates, caloric intake at the level of basal metabolism or 5% higher.
3. 3 days – a balanced proportion of BJU, and the number of calories jumps like “the norm, a surplus of 10%, a deficit of 15%.”

Minimum calories per day for weight loss

It was mentioned above that it is not advisable for women to lower the calorie content of their diet per day below 1200 kcal, and for men - below 1800 kcal. However, there is also a safe calorie deficit, i.e. decreasing the individually determined basal metabolic rate by a specified number of units. According to doctors, representatives of both sexes need to consume “BOO - 500 kcal” every day. So, if your BOO is 1480 kcal, if you want to lose weight quickly, crossing the border of 980 kcal is prohibited.

Video: Calorie intake for weight loss