Healthy diet how many calories a day

The most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans estimates that men between the ages of 19—30 should consume approximately 2,—3, calories per day to maintain their weight. Energy needs decrease as you get older. In fact, men between the ages of 31—59 need about 2,—3, calories per day to maintain their weight 7. Meanwhile, men who are over 60 generally require 2,—2, calories per day to maintain their weight. Men who are very active or have certain health conditions may require a higher number of calories.

The number of calories that you need can also vary within this range based on your height and weight. Energy needs for children and teens vary based on their sex and age. A 3-year-old child might need only 1, calories, but a teenager can require closer to 3, calories 7. Simply put, a calorie is a unit that measures energy.

Calories are usually used to measure the energy content of foods and beverages. To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than your body burns each day. Conversely, to gain weight, you need to consume more calories than you expend 1.

Developing a healthy diet and lifestyle plan that will help you lose weight and keep it off in the long term requires much more than determining your current calorie needs and then eating fewer calories on a daily basis 9. Although decreasing the number of calories you consume can be effective for weight loss, cutting calories without considering which foods you eat is not a sustainable way to lose weight.

For example, choosing more nutrient-dense foods — think whole grains, nuts, vegetables, and fruits — will benefit your health more than opting for nutrient-poor ones like soda, donuts, and candy. When it comes to losing weight, protein is incredibly important. Studies show that increasing your intake of protein may help keep you full and curb your appetite 10 , Protein may also help fight cravings. According to some research, high protein snacks can help enhance feelings of fullness while also decreasing hunger and appetite Plus, in addition to promoting weight loss, some research suggests that maintaining a high protein eating pattern could help prevent or reduce weight regain and help maintain muscle mass 13 , Therefore, if you want to achieve long-lasting, sustainable weight loss, consider increasing your protein intake by adding foods like eggs, meat, poultry, tofu, nuts, seeds, or legumes to your diet.

Increasing your protein intake can help you stay satisfied and consume fewer calories. This may help you lose weight and keep it off. Another relatively easy change you can make is to limit your intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, including sodas, fruit juices , chocolate milk, and other beverages with added sugar.

Additionally, studies suggest that consuming sugary drinks is associated with an increased risk of obesity 16 , The harmful effects of sugar also go far beyond weight gain. In fact, added sugar can contribute to other health issues, including heart disease, liver problems, and type 2 diabetes Sugar-sweetened beverages are high in calories and added sugar.

Additionally, they affect your hunger and satiety less significantly than solid foods and have been linked to a higher risk of obesity.

One simple thing you can do for your health is drink more water. Imagine a top athlete who weighs pounds, or 91 kilograms kg and is 6 feet, or 1 metre m and 83 centimeters cm tall. They may have the same BMI as an inactive person of the same height.

The athlete is not overweight, but the inactive person quite possibly is. Researchers have found that many people whose waist circumference is less than half their height have a longer life expectancy.

People with a smaller waist to height size have been found to have a lower risk of diabetes , cardiovascular disease, stroke , and other health conditions that are related to obesity.

An adult male who is 6 feet cm tall should have a waist that does not exceed 36 inches 91 cm. An adult female who is 5 feet 4 inches cm tall should have a waist that does not exceed 32 inches 81 cm. This measurement may be more accurate than BMI at determining a healthy weight. Some of these are safe and effective and help people lose weight and keep it off in the long term. Others are hard to adhere to, or when the person stops following the diet they put weight back on quickly.

The rankings for these diets were based on how many articles mentioned them favorably, how popular they were generally and which ones received the most positive feedback.

More important than counting calories is to eat a healthful and well-balanced diet that you can sustain long-term, for longer than 6 months. Equally important is to be physically active and to balance the calories consumed with the energy used each day. Water loss during sleep can lead to people weighing less in the morning, while their bodies have also burned calories overnight.

Learn more. Weight loss apps can help people reach their fitness and health goals. Learn more about which weight loss apps are available to download. A recent review investigates the potential health benefits of time-restricted eating. The review examines both animal and human studies. This article explores the Galveston Diet, how it works, what to eat and avoid, the research behind it, and its benefits and drawbacks.

How many calories should I eat a day? Medically reviewed by Natalie Butler, R. Recommended intake Burning calories Tips Activities Food choice Daily needs Ideal body weight Diets We include products we think are useful for our readers. Recommended intake. Share on Pinterest Checking the calories is one aspect of following a healthful diet. Burning calories. Share on Pinterest Counting calories is not just a matter of what we eat, but how much we burn, too. Food choice. Daily needs.

Ideal body weight. Share on Pinterest Check the nutrition label to make sure your food provides the right number of calories and other nutrients. Latest news Scientists identify new cause of vascular injury in type 2 diabetes. Also, although this is not necessarily directly related to calorie counting, studies have shown that portion control by simply eating from a smaller plate can help reduce calorie intake, since people tend to fill their plates and eat everything on their plates.

Many people do not realize that they are overeating, since they have become accustomed to restaurant-sized portions being the norm, when said portions can be up to three or more times larger than necessary for a typical meal.

Once a link is made between the amount of exercise that some snack equates to, many people find abstaining from that bag of chips to be the preferred option rather than performing an equivalent amount of exercise — which can lead to healthier eating habits.

In the end, however, what's important is picking a strategy that works for you. Calorie counting is only one method used to achieve weight loss amongst many, and even within this method, there are many possible approaches a person can take. Finding an approach that fits within your lifestyle that you think you would be able to adhere to is likely going to provide the most sustainable option and desirable result.

Zigzag calorie cycling is a weight loss approach that aims to counteract the human body's natural adaptive tendencies. Counting and restricting calories, as described above, is a viable method to lose weight, but over a period of time, it is possible for the body to adapt to the lower number of calories consumed. In cases where this happens, a plateau in weight loss that can be difficult to surmount can result. This is where zigzag calorie cycling can help, by not allowing the body to adapt to the lower calorie environment.

Zigzag calorie cycling involves alternating the number of calories consumed on a given day. A person on a zigzag diet should have a combination of high-calorie and low-calorie days to meet the same overall weekly calorie target. For example, if your target calorie intake is 14, calories per week, you could consume 2, calories three days a week, and 1, the other four days of the week, or you could consume 2, calories each day.

In both cases, 14, calories would be consumed over the week, but the body wouldn't adapt and compensate for a 2,calorie diet. This also allows a person more flexibility in their diet, allowing them to plan around occasions, such as work or family gatherings, where a person may consume more calories. Consuming a lower number of calories on other days can allow a person to enjoy these gatherings or even have a "cheat day" where they eat whatever they want without feeling guilty, since they can make up for the excess calories on their low-calorie days.

There is no concrete rule or study that dictates the most effective way to alternate or spread out calorie consumption. How to vary calorie intake is largely up to personal discretion. Depending on a person's activity, it is generally recommended that the high-calorie and low-calorie days vary by approximately calories, where the high-calorie day is often the number of calories a person needs to consume to maintain their current weight. For a person with a higher activity level, the calorie difference should be larger.

The calculator presents two zigzag diet schedules. The first schedule has two higher calorie days and five lower calorie days. The second schedule increases and reduces calories gradually. In either case, the total weekly calorie consumption is the same. In the end, regardless of what method you choose to use when approaching weight loss, what's important is picking a strategy that works for you. Calorie counting and zigzag calorie cycling are only two methods that are fairly interrelated used to achieve weight loss among many, and even within these methods, there are many possible approaches a person can take.

Finding an approach that fits within your lifestyle that you think you would be able to adhere to is likely going to provide the most sustainable and desirable result.

Many people seek to lose weight, and often the easiest way to do this is to consume fewer calories each day. But how many calories does the body actually need in order to be healthy? This largely depends on the amount of physical activity a person performs each day, and regardless of this, is different for all people — there are many different factors involved, not all of which are well-understood or known. Some factors that influence the number of calories a person needs to remain healthy include age, weight, height, sex, levels of physical activity, and overall general health.

For example, a physically active year-old male that is 6 feet in height requires considerably higher calorie intake than a 5-foot-tall, sedentary year-old woman. Though it differs depending on age and activity level, adult males generally require 2, calories per day to maintain weight while adult females need around 1,, according to the U.

S Department of Health. The body does not require many calories to simply survive. However, consuming too few calories results in the body functioning poorly, since it will only use calories for functions essential to survival, and ignore those necessary for general health and well-being.

Harvard Health Publications suggests women get at least 1, calories and men get at least 1, calories a day unless supervised by doctors. As such, it is highly recommended that a person attempting to lose weight monitors their body's caloric necessities and adjusts them as necessary to maintain its nutritional needs.

The main sources of calories in a typical person's diet are carbohydrates, proteins, and fat, with alcohol also being a significant portion of calorie intake for many people though ideally this should be limited since alcohol contains many empty calories.