The one question I get all the time is “How many calories should I eat a day to lose weight?”
Hmmm….good question…well, that depends…
There are a few things to consider when trying to figure out your caloric intake, not everyone is the same or burns calories at the same rate. Are you sedentary, active, extremely active? Calculating your Basal Metabolic Rate is a big help to maintaining or losing weight.
Calculate my BMR here! BMR is the amount of calories you burn just running the bodily functions that keep you alive.
Once you calculate your BMR you now have the minimum amount of calories you need to consume daily to maintain good health. This is basically the number of calories to keep you healthy and functioning if you basicallyy did nothing but stayed in bed all day. You should NEVER go below this number.
Once you calculate your BMR then you will bump up your calories based on your activity level.
If you are pretty sedentary, sit around at a desk all day, multiply that number by 1.2
If you’re active, exercise 1-3 days a week multiply that number by 1.375
If you’re extremely active and exercise 4-6 times a week, multiply that number by 1.55
This gives you your calories to maintain your body weight. If you are looking to lose weight, you can subtract up to 500 calories a day but NEVER go below your BMR!
Keep in mind this is a guideline and you may need to play with the numbers a bit up or down to dial it in for you. Eating correctly with the proper amount of protien, carbs, fruits, veggies, healthy fats, seeds and dressings is a huge factor as well. You can learn about this in my Free 5 day group. If you need any help or have questions you can Contact me and I will be happy to help.
