How many calories should a person consume per day? Daily calorie intake

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

A fairly relevant topic today is how many calories a person should consume per day. In fact, everyone understands that this concept is rather ambiguous and depends on many factors, such as weight, height, age, degree of activity. For each person, this rate can be calculated.

Minimum daily calorie requirement

There are several formulas for an accurate calculation. The first one is for women:

• weight in kilograms should be multiplied by 10;
• height in centimeters times 6, 25;
• age multiplied by 5;
• next, add the second to the first number, then subtract the third and minus 161.

For example, for a woman 25 years old, weighing 70 kg and 170 cm tall, the calculation would be:

7010+1706, 25-525-161=700+1062, 5-125-161=1476, 5.

This is the minimum number of calories a woman should consume per day. That is, thisenergy is spent on metabolic processes in the body, which means that the daily norm should not be lower than this figure for the he althy functioning of the body.

For men, the calculation is, except that in the end you need not subtract 161, but add 5. For example, for a man aged 35, weighing 110 kg and 180 cm tall, the calculations would look like this:

11010+1806, 25-535+5=1100+1125-175+5=2055.

Accordingly, each of us can at home calculate how much energy is spent on servicing his body, even if a person is at rest. These calculations give an answer to the question of how many calories a person should consume per day. The daily norm is the metabolism, which is calculated according to the above formula, and the level of physical activity, and each has its own.

How many calories per day depending on lifestyle

Now you should determine how much energy a person spends on metabolism and their physical activity. This will help you roughly calculate how many calories a person should consume per day to maintain their weight at the same level.

So, the previous calculations should be multiplied by the coefficient:

• 1, 2 - for a sedentary lifestyle;
• 1, 375 - for those whose activities are not active, but there is a place to be sports up to 3 times a week;
• 1, 55 - moderately active, such as exercising 5 times a week and office work;
• 1, 725 - for athletes and those whose workassociated with physical activity;
• 1, 9 - with heavy physical daily work.

Thus, the main exchange should be multiplied by the coefficient that characterizes the current lifestyle as accurately as possible. The resulting number of kilocalories is necessary to maintain weight.

Another way to calculate

There are several other methods to calculate how many calories a person should consume per day to maintain weight. For example, on average, each person consumes approximately 1 kcal per kilogram of their weight every hour. Accordingly, to calculate the daily minimum, the weight should be multiplied by 24.

For example, for a woman weighing 70 kg, you should consume about 1680 kcal. But here the degree of physical activity is not taken into account, so the first method is more accurate and objective.

Keeping a diary

But there is the surest way to determine how many calories a person should consume per day individually. This can be done through observation, that is, for several days you should keep a food diary.

For example, for 10 days you need to record all consumed foods, their calorie content and volume. This is provided that the weight is in place. After the scheduled time has elapsed, you need to calculate on average how many calories a person should consume per day. The calculation according to this scheme can be considered as accurate as possible, because the body is individual, and the metabolic rate is different for everyone.

How muchneed calories for weight loss

Since the problem of excess weight is acute today, attention should be paid to this issue. Really, how many calories should a person consume per day to lose weight? If you know for sure your basic metabolism, that is, the amount of energy that is currently supplied with food and contributes to maintaining weight.

Nutritionists do not recommend sharply reducing the caloric content of the daily diet, by a maximum of 10%. If you do not adhere to this rule, then you can cause serious damage to he alth, well-being worsens. That is, the body goes into energy saving mode, the metabolism slows down, as a result, this can lead to weight gain.

The issue of losing weight should be approached wisely. This is easier for those who keep a food diary to determine how many calories a person should consume per day. Here you can clearly see what can be easily excluded from the diet or replaced with lower-calorie foods.

How to properly distribute calories

First you need to learn that we get energy from three main elements - proteins, fats and carbohydrates. You can’t categorically refuse any of them, because each element plays an important role in the functioning of the human body, he althy weight loss is impossible without them.

For example, fats are not only a source of energy, but also necessary for transporting nutrients to the cells in the body. Protein is a building material, without itit is impossible to form muscle tissue and lose weight, respectively, too. Carbohydrates are processed into energy, which is necessary for normal human performance.

Proteins, fats and carbohydrates should be present in the daily diet in the following percentage ratio 20/50/30. But here it is important to know which nutrients we need on a daily basis, because some foods will have to be eliminated completely in order to lose weight.

Good and bad calories

The most important thing is not only how many calories a person should consume per day for weight loss, but where they come from. We are talking about "bad" and "good" calories. This is, of course, a figurative definition, in fact, you need to correctly understand which products contain energy that is consumed immediately, and which are stored in reserve.

For example, carbohydrates are simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are sugar and all foods that contain it, including fruits. They do not saturate, but are necessary for brain function, in reasonable amounts. That is, people engaged in intellectual activities should consume simple carbohydrates in their natural form - honey, fruits. Complex carbohydrates are vegetables and cereals, they saturate for a long time and bring maximum benefit, therefore it is recommended to eat them daily.

The same goes for fats, the most useful of them are vegetable, and animals do not carry any benefit to the body. Therefore, the diet must contain vegetableoils, they are in nuts, seeds, avocados.

What calories should I eat for a he althy and beautiful figure

Now the key point is how many calories a person should consume per day for weight loss and where they should be drawn from. After all, you can, for example, eat 1500 kcal with vegetables, fruits and cereals and at the same time feel great and lose weight, or eat less fast food, pastries and other unhe althy foods in terms of calories and at the same time gain weight and increase body fat.

The moral is that it is important not only to correctly calculate the calorie content of the diet, but also to remove unnecessary products that do not carry any benefit from it. This can be done only if you clearly see everything that has been eaten lately. Many complain that they eat very little and at the same time do not lose weight. Refusal to eat is not a way out, you need to eat enough so that you do not experience a constant feeling of hunger, but do not overeat.

How to lose weight without sacrifice

So, if you determine as accurately as possible how many calories a person should consume per day, then you can easily create a he althy eating program for yourself. It will not be difficult to find the calorie content of each product or this information can be found on the packaging. No need to go on diets and restrict yourself in nutrition, just switch to wholesome and he althy foods: vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy products, meat and fish, seafood.

Now you can dooutput how many calories a person should consume per day. The daily norm for each is individual, it is enough to determine it yourself, after which you can adjust your menu. And at the same time, there is no need to contact a specialist, unless, of course, the cause of excess weight is associated with malnutrition. But calorie intake should not be reduced sharply and much, the process of losing weight is long and should not exceed 1.5 - 2 kg per week.