Counting calories is a great strategy when trying to lose, maintain or gain weight, but the question is how many should you be working towards?
How many calories should you eat?
One size definitely does not fit all when it comes to determining your caloric needs. Some of the factors you need to consider are:
- Age: Calorie needs peak around age 25, and then start to decline by about two percent every 10 years. An aging body replaces muscle with fat, which burns fewer calories than muscle so if you aren’t using an exercise regime and other healthy lifestyle habits to keep muscle, your caloric needs will also from those that are.
- Gender: Generally, a man’s calorie level is five to ten percent higher than a woman’s! The exception is during pregnancy and breastfeeding women can need more. But male biochemistry normally has less body fat and a higher percentage of muscle mass.
- Metabolism: Everyone has a minimum number of calories needed to maintain vital functions. This is your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Certain medical conditions, medications, and your gender can affect your BMR. In our nutrition coaching we help you figure your BMR correctly.
- Genetic blueprint: If you have a metabolic disease (e.g., hypothyroidism), factor it in. If you have hormone disorders (e.g., PCOS, PMDD, endometriosis, hashimotos), factor those in. There are SO many ways our genes can affect your calorie needs and a certified coach can help you incorporate these in well.
- Body shape and athletic shape you’re in: These affect a number of calories you need. Did you know there are different body types that burn more calories or hold onto calories more? It is important to look at that and how much you exercise right now too, which is next.
- Activity level: The type, length, and intensity of exercise all affect how many calories you’ll burn.
On average a female can eat between 1,800 and 2,200 calories per day to maintain her current weight. A male can eat between 2,200 and 2,600 calories. These figures are based on men and women between the ages of 30 to 50 who have a BMI of 22 to 23 (a normal weight). But that number can then vary greatly taking in the above factors and more!
All calories aren’t created equal
A calorie is defined as a unit of energy supplied by food. One calorie is one calorie regardless of its source (e.g., carbohydrate, fat, or protein). But how calories are digested, absorbed, stored, and burned differs.
A good example of this is 100 cals of broccoli vs 100 cals of oreos (a classic example I use in coaching). Broccoli is nutrient dense with lots of natural vitamins, minerals, and prebiotics. Plus due to its unprocessed nature, it has strong building blocks for your body building. On the opposite side of that is our 100 cals of oreos – synthetic and made for you to not just eat one, but to eat the whole sleeve and still feel wanting.
Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins along with healthy fats to keep your weight in check and help you to stay healthy and honestly, eat less calories overall because most nutrient dense foods that are less processed are high in volume.
Losing or maintaining weight
If you’re looking to lose weight or maintain your weight, you ought to consider your blood sugar levels and therefore eat 4-6 times a day. This can also keep your metabolism (what uses up your calories) running. Eating 4-6x a day can make it so you don’t get “hangy” and overeat at your next meal.
Counting calories
Adagio FIT teaches a pyramid of nutrition and on the base of the pyramid is mindfulness. With that mindfulness comes awareness of where we are currently at. So in order to know that, we track our intake of calories and then use that as a starting point to then work towards your goals.
Eating too much or too little
Interestingly enough, you can eat too little and not get results. Be sure to eat enough calories when trying to lose weight. Sometimes people restrict too much, which will slow metabolism, hinder weight loss, and actually make you gain weight.
So how much do you need to eat? Hopefully you know now that it can differ for everyone at any time. Adagio FIT would love to help you calculate your needs. There are so many options for calculating caloric needs.
You can calculate them yourself with a website like this one but it can be a really bad reflection of what you need if the calculator doesn’t consider the factors we talked about above.
You can get a macro count session with or without coaching with Adagio FIT or you can dive deep and do a package of nutrition coaching to learn all the whys of your body. It will be an education about you that will serve you for a lifetime.
