How to calculate your daily calorie intake

Losing weight is a calorie deficit, and this is how any diet works. Most diet plans beautifully disguise this fact, relieving the person losing weight of the need to count every calorie. Counting calories is a rather tedious and boring process, in which a beginner can easily make a dozen mistakes.

But counting calories is not the main problem, because in our information age it is easy to find instructions on how to count calories. The only problem is how to calculate the daily calorie intake? Each person has different individual data that affect the expenditure and use of calories: activity during the day, amount of sleep, number of meals, love of forbidden food, training, etc.

You are a beginner in losing weight. You have learned to count calories, but you do not know how much to consume daily. This article is for you.

Calorie norm

First, determine the maintenance level - the calorie norm. By consuming this amount of kilocalories, your weight remains practically unchanged. The calorie norm is the amount of energy per day, sufficient to maintain all metabolic processes (metabolism).

Simply put: the number of calories at which you maintain your current weight (you don’t gain/lose weight, fluctuations of 0.5-1 kg due to water are acceptable).

The calorie norm is individual for everyone, so everyone calculates it for themselves. There are many formulas and methods. Each of them has a right to exist. We will tell you about the simplest one. However, before continuing, we note that any calculation of the calorie norm and deficit are approximate values ​​that serve as your initial beacon. You take the obtained figures as a given, try them in practice, and based on this, adjust the number. Sometimes it can be ideal, sometimes it needs to be changed.

First, multiply 30-35 kcal by weight (kg). For example: Misha is 27 years old, 176 cm, 83 kg. Office worker, does nothing, minimal activity.
30kcal x 83kg = 2490 kcal.
This means that Misha needs 2490 kcal per day without physical activity to maintain his current weight. That is, household chores, a moderate amount of walking and mental activity. However, if he starts running/swimming/doing cardio or going to the gym, the needs increase.

Therefore, there is a whole range from 30 to 35 kcal per kilogram of weight. The more active you are, the more calories you need, therefore, the higher the number you use. Another example: Sasha, 24, 182 cm, 75 kg. Student with a part-time job and 3 workouts per week.

He needs more calories, so:
35kcal x 75kg = 2625 kcal
Sasha weighs less, but to maintain his weight he needs to eat more, because he is much more active. Similarly, you choose a suitable activity coefficient of 30-35 kcal for yourself. For average activity, 32-33 kcal will do, and we have considered other cases above.

How to calculate calorie intake for weight loss
It's very simple: calculate the maintenance calorie intake and subtract 10-20%. Let's calculate Olga's calorie intake. Let's start from zero. Olya is a manager who sometimes runs once a week. Otherwise, her physical activity is limited to going to the store for shopping. She is 32 years old, weighs 76 kg and is 173 cm tall.

We choose average activity, therefore 32 kcal x 76 kg = 2432 kcal for weight maintenance. Subtract 20% = 1945 kcal for weight loss.

The greater the deficit, the greater the chances of eliminating the error. There will be no difference in the speed of weight loss with different deficits, but this is only true for accurate calorie counting. As practice shows, people often make mistakes because they do not know how to count calories. Therefore, by choosing the largest deficit of 20%, you insure yourself against possible errors.

Why not 22% or 25%? Scientific research has shown that 20% of the calorie norm is the maximum permissible calorie content. A more significant reduction in calories will cause a protective reaction in the body.

Style summary

You know the calorie norm for maintenance and for weight loss, but this is not the end. Now eat according to the selected calorie content and record your weight. Choose the same time and the same conditions for measuring body weight. For example: in the morning, after waking up and after bathing. Place the scale on a hard surface, tiles or tiles in the bathroom are best.

Men weigh themselves every day, or every fourth day. It is more difficult for women because of their cycles and variable hormonal levels. If you want an objective assessment, weigh yourself 2-3 times a month on the same days of your cycle, for example, on the first, third, fifth.

If your weight does not decrease within 2-3 weeks, try to reduce your "norm" by 75-100 kcal. Again, track your weight fluctuations over 2-3 weeks. We do not recommend increasing the calorie deficit by a more significant amount. At first glance, it seems that 75-100 kcal is a trifle, but this is not so. In a week, this is 7x100 = 700 kcal, and in 3 weeks - 2100 kcal deficit. If you make the deficit too pronounced, the body will launch protective reactions in order to protect itself from stress. You will want to eat more, become lazy, your hormonal background will change, and much more.

One way or another, the body will force you to break down, because a calorie deficit is stress for the body. Your task is to make a minimum deficit in order to lose weight steadily, but at the same time not to anger the body, and not to provoke it to defensive actions.
It should also be noted that the speed of weight loss is limited by strict frameworks. A huge calorie deficit is equal to a small deficit in terms of fat loss. A shortage of 5000 kcal or 2100 kcal for 2-3 weeks will give the same amount of fat lost. However, in the first case, it will be several times more difficult for you due to an acute feeling of hunger and other minor negative nuances.

P.S. the formula 30-35 kcal is not ideal, but it is the easiest way to calculate your calorie intake taking into account your activity and individual data. Any such formula only shows an approximate number of necessary calories, which must be adjusted later.