How Many Calories Should I Be Eating Each Day?
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So yesterday, I talked about how to lose body fat and stressed the importance of eating properly which brings me to the next question I get asked often.
How many calories should I be eating each day?
The number of calories you need to eat each day depends on several factors, including your age, size, height, sex, lifestyle, and overall general health along with what your health and fitness goals are.
There’s not a one-size-fits-all when it comes to calorie intake. Whether you’re looking to lose or gain weight is also a huge factor in how many calories you take in a day. YOu can use all the calorie calculators out there but some are far from accurate. I’m not bashing them at all, they are a great way to keep track of things, it’s just that you can come up with 3 or 5 different recommendations when using the different calculators.
I go with the “eat according to your goals” saying. I can also tell you that if you’re eating 1200 calories, you’re setting yourself up to fail. NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE should be eating less than that. I’m not sure where that became the be-all-end-all to weight loss.
See, your body requires a certain amount of calories just to survive. this is called your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Your BMR is the number of calories your body would burn in a day if you didn’t move at all. You NEED this amount of calories JUST TO BREATHE!! What is that amount? It’s different for each person.
So, the way I work it with my clients is I find out their goals. Are they looking to lose, gain or maintain their current weight? From there I look at their current fitness level along with HOW MUCH they are currently eating at the present moment. MOST people I work with are actually NOT eating enough. this would then cause you to gain more body fat and eventually gain weight. We see this a lot in you-yo dieting.
Once I have set a calorie goal for my clients, we set things up and follow it CONSISTENTLY for AT LEAST 6 to 8 weeks. This way we can see if things are adjusting accordingly and if we need to adjust anything or not.
Hers is one thing I can say for sure about how many calories you should be eating each day…It all depends on your goals. You shouldn’t drive yourself insane trying to be EXACTLY on point with it all every day. I’ve found it to make me a bit crazy at times if that’s all I’m focusing on.
My suggestion is not to stress too much over the whole calorie thing. Be sure you are fueling your body properly, eat according to your goals, eat healthy foods, and train to be a BAD ASS not SKINNY!! Train to be healthy and feel good about yourself.
Latest posts by Melanie Sobocinski (see all)
- Why Your Metabolism and Hormones May be a Little Slow - November 5, 2020
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