Daily Calorie Intake
The number of calories needed each day can vary greatly depending on lifestyle and other factors. Factors that affect your personal daily calorie needs include your age, height and weight, your basic level of daily activity, and your body composition.
Healthy Weight
Maintaining a healthier weight is important for protection against obesity related illness and disability. If your weight is currently over the healthy range for your height, losing some weight may be beneficial to your health, your looks, and how you feel. The important thing is to aim for a weight loss that is realistic and healthy for you.
How many calories do you need?
Up until age 20, we require more and more calories. But then our metabolism starts to slow down. By the time men reach their 50’s, they rarely require more than 2200 calories per day if they are sedentary.
In order to lose weight you need to eat fewer calories per day than your body needs.
To lose 1 lb. a week you need a negative calorie balance of 500 calories per day. To lose 2 lb. a week you need to reduce your calorie intake by 1000 calories a day.
According to the UK Department of Health a daily calorie intake of 1940 calories per day for women and 2550 for men should maintain you at your current weight. We all know eating too many calories can cause weight gain, but did you also know not eating enough can cause you to store fat?