To determine how many calories to eat, start where you are first. In other words, find out how many calories it takes to maintain your current height, then cut it from there. You can do this in several ways.
Most people just pick an arbitrary number such as 1200 calories and that's what they eat, but in almost all cases there aren't enough calories to ensure adequate nutrition, let alone the deprivation that happens, ”he installed.
As I have lost weight to date, I have averaged over 2000 calories per day and have maintained a healthy weight for my height for over 17 years. Remember, your body needs calories to keep working.
Calculation of basic caloric needs according to the level of activity:
Sedentary: 13 X Weight = Average. cal / day
The sedentary does not exercise at all
Moderately active: 16 X Weight = Average. cal / day
Moderately active exercise 3-4 times per week
Very active: 19 X Weight = Average. cal / day
Very active, it is 5 to 7 sessions of intense exercise per week.
If you're over 200 pounds now and want to weigh closer to 150, here's a calculation you can use to get started: Assuming you add enough exercise to quality as moderately active, we'll use 16 as a modifier. :
150 pounds X 16 calories per pound = 2,400 calories
Minus 500 (using the common reduction of 500 calories per day) gives us an average total of 1900 calories per day.
If you started a diet that allowed an average of 1900 calories per day, you would start to lose weight. The mistake most people make is cutting calories too much, which ultimately sacrifices muscle and predisposes you to feel hungry. In the long run, it's best to slow down, maintain as much muscle as possible, and burn calories with exercise.
Also, keep in mind that while you may not be consuming as many calories over several days, you may be eating more on weekends, for example, and therefore getting closer to your goal of 1900 on average per day. Take your total calories for the week .
Remember, this average calorie count gives you a lot of leeway during the week. You can eat treats with everyone or add more on the weekends. Instead of constantly saying "I can't, I'm on a diet", you can now say "Thanks, that looks delicious" and enjoy it.
It doesn't spoil your diet because you have enough calories that if you pay more attention on some days than others you will get the average number of calories you want. I tend to eat significantly fewer calories during the week than on the weekends, and my totals are typically between 2,000 and 2,200 calories per day.
The reduction of 500 calories is a well accepted amount. You can cut your calories even more, but I wouldn't recommend it. There is no benefit to anyone trying to lose weight faster, in fact if you cut back on calories too much you end up losing muscle in the process which is exactly what you don't want to do.
If you want faster results, you'd better add more activity, thus burning more calories while at rest.
You might think I'm crazy and recommend 1900 calories a day, but I can say for sure that if you eat very little (1000 to 1200 calories is very little in my opinion) then you are preparing yourself. to all of the following:
Deprivation. You will feel helpless, mentally and physically. 1000 calories are not enough for your basal metabolic needs, let alone fuel your activity needs.
Add more food! Eat just a little more than you already have, so for example, if they allow you 1/2 cup of veg, will a whole cup ruin all your progress? I doubt. Eat a whole cup or have two oranges. Fruits and vegetables are very low in calories but provide high nutrition.
Of course, some vegetables and fruits are high in sugar, but this is natural sugar. I seriously doubt our planet produces killer food; the food industry is more likely to turn these foods into nothing more than a dry powder and then add more sugars and chemicals to make it look like the original product, this is more harmful than a simple apple. or banana?
If you have diabetes or need to watch out for sugars, eat protein in addition to foods with a higher glycemic index, like an ounce of cheese with your apple. Notice I said an ounce of cheese, not a slice big enough to feed a little country.
Metabolic Slowdown Eating too few calories sets you up for metabolic slowing. Studies have repeatedly shown that a heavier person can have a hard time losing weight, even with very few calories, simply because their body's metabolism is burning at such a slow rate. As you probably already know, exercise helps speed up your metabolism, just like diet.
This is why they say breakfast is so important, not just for fueling you, but because it starts the metabolic oven and continues to burn throughout the day. If you don't eat anything before noon, you also won't be powering your oven to start burning before noon.
Has the ultra-low calorie approach worked for you so far? Otherwise why not try something more reasonable? Go with a friend who doesn't have a weight problem and you will see how sometimes they eat more, sometimes less, but on average they eat enough to fuel their bodies and maintain their weight.
Adding more food gives it extra appeal. If you spread 1,000 calories over an entire day, you will have fairly lean portions on your plate every time you eat. I like to feel like I have enough to eat and I do this by supplementing my plate with extra vegetables.
If I have a frozen meal, for example, I'll cook a cup or more of frozen vegetables to add to my plate. The extra veg really fills me up, gives me the satisfaction I need and often I have a little extra veg to throw away. Is it a waste of food?
It's not smart. It's much better for me to have extra food to throw away than to lick the plate because I'm still hungry. It is also unlikely that I will start wanting anything else right after dinner if I am happy with what I have eaten.
Make an effort to learn to love food as it is. Simple mixed greens with nothing on them are delicious. It took me a while to stop buttering it and even stop using Molly McButter (just chemicals and sodium). I eat them on their own and yes, they are excellent.
Nature has made our fruits and vegetables naturally sweet and all those "extras" that we are used to using, like butter on vegetables or potatoes, certainly make things delicious, but they also make us more. bigger than what we don't have to be. These "extra" calories add up.
Slowly adjust what you eat or how much you eat
Avoid adding sugar to your cold cereal. Read the label; all processed grains have a ridiculous amount of added sugar. No need to add more. My only exception is the brown sugar in oatmeal.
I no longer add sugar to my cereal, but it took a while to make the switch. Start by adding a little less, then next week reduce a little more until you completely break the habit. Small changes outweigh big results over time.
If you eat well and focus on increasing your activity even a little, you will continue to lose fat, build muscle, and get fitter, while also increasing your metabolism so you can eat. more.
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