Daily Caloric Intake

How Many Calories Do You Need

Many formulas calculate how many calories you need each day to maintain your current weight or to lose weight.  Here is a quick and easy way to determine approximately how many calories you need each day to maintain your present body weight and how many calories you need to lose weight.

To Maintain Weight: multiply your weight in pounds by 15 if you're moderately active (you do housework, gardening, and brisk walking for 30 to 60 minutes most days) or by 13 if you're sedentary (you sit all day with no planned exercise).  For example, if you're moderately active and weigh 200 pounds, your average intake is 3,000 calories per day (200 x 15).

To Lose Weight: you need to take in fewer calories than you currently do.  For example, to lose 1 pound per week you need to reduce your calories by 500 per day.  That's because 3,500 calories (500 calories x 7 days) equals 1 pound of body fat.  Losing 1 to 2 pounds a week is considered a healthy rate of weight loss.  If that's too much calculating for you, just consume fewer calories than you do now.  Most women lose weight if they take in 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day; most men lose weight if they consume between 1,600 to 1,800 calories per day.