#43 How Many Calories Should I Eat?
One of the things most commonly clients ask when hiring me to assist them on their fitness journey is this, how many calories should I be eating to lose weight, to maintain weight ect.
And while calorie intake is a frequently used benchmark individuals who are trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It has some challenges to being used as it both is a very difficult thing to precisely measure AND number of calories an individual should consume varies depending on their age, gender, weight, height, and activity level.
A very common thing I hear is “I am eating the same but all of the sudden I started gaining weight” or “I am eating like my next door neighbour who is thin, why am I gaining weight”.
In this blog, I am going to explain some of the factors and try to break down the recommended daily calorie intake for the average person, as well as for those looking to lose weight, gain weight, pregnant ladies, and those who train 5-10 hours per week. Perhaps this will help you understand the complexity of the issue. Make sure to listen allllll the way to the end, as I also want to share with you a more easy going, and some say effective way to measure your portions.
The Science & The Struggle
There are a few dilemas when it comes to using calories as measurement, one is about us, and the other one is about the way we count calories.
Generally speaking, the recommended daily calorie intake for adults is 2,000 for women and 2,500 for men. This is based on an average level of physical activity, for an average sized person and a healthy lean muscle mass / body fat ratio. BUT the kicker is that this number, that is your maintenance weight, status quo is dependent on multiple factors like your body size, the climate you live in, physical activity and NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis), genetics, metabolism, digestion and physical functions this can greatly vary. The
strange thing is that you will notice that some of those factors mentioned are INTERNAL and others are EXTERNAL factors. This is why even if you eat the exact same diet in DUBAI and on the NORTH POLE, you might be gaining weight in one place, and losing weight in the other place. And in the same way someone that has developed digestive issues might be GAINING or even LOSING WEIGHT on the same diet as before due to production of bi-products in the digestive system OR lack of absorption of nutrients.
When counting calories, we also have a fundamental issue witch is the nutrient availability of the food changes depending on the cooking of it / processing. This means that the healthy carrot, that lets just say contains 20 cal when you eat it raw, changes to about 45 cal when you cook it, not to say that it is not healthy anymore, but it has almost doubled in the amount of calories that are available for you to absorb.
This and a few other factors is why the regular advice of a given calorie amount you should eat, or using just a CALORIES IN vs CALORIES OUT equation, commonly talked about as the Eat Less and Workout More does not work until you have a few fundamental things in place with your diet.
When I work with clients, before giving them a certain calorie number to hit, we need to do some tracking and habit changing to achieve the following:
1. Eating more food items that look more like they do in nature, and I am not talking about going RAW or that you can never cook your food but double baked, deep fried and cooked then fried food should be kept to a minimum. Lean proteins, complex carbs and 3-6 fist sizes of fresh veggies should be a part of your daily consumption.
2. Establish and figured out what your status QUE or maintenance weight is in your current internal and external circumstances, you can use calorie trackers or portion size guides to assist you with figuring out what kind of portion sizes or quantities keep you on your SAME LEVEL over 2-4 weeks. (Keeping in mind that this changes when you travel, when you change your daily habits and routines. Can be different on the weekend relative to your regular days ect. )
Once these two things are relatively settled
Now you can start looking at TWEAKING your nutrition depending on your goals:
If you are looking to lose weight, you will need to reduce your calorie intake. It is recommended that you reduce your daily calorie intake by 250-750 calories (reducing size of meals, skipping snacks or desserts) / day to lose 1-2 pounds per week. It is important to note that reducing your calorie intake too drastically can be harmful to your health, so it is best to consult a healthcare professional before making any significant changes to your diet.
If you are looking to gain weight should increase their calorie intake. It is recommended that you increase your daily calorie intake by 250-750 calories (increasing size of meals, adding a snack or a dessert) in order to gain 0.5-1 pound per week. It is important to focus on consuming healthy, nutrient-dense foods rather than food that contains empty calories and side from junk food.
For pregnant ladies, calorie needs will vary depending on their pre-pregnancy weight, age, and activity level. On average, pregnant women need an additional 300 calories per day (increasing size of meals, adding a snack or a dessert) during their second and third trimesters.
For those who train 5-10 hours per week, and want to increase their performance it is important to increase your calorie intake to fuel your workouts and aid in muscle recovery. The exact amount of additional calories needed will depend on the type and intensity of your workouts, as well as your individual needs but a good reference is to add 250-750 calories (increasing size of meals, adding a snack or a dessert) / day.
How to move on from here
If you are sitting, listening or reading this feeling frustrated that your body is NOT DOING WHAT IT IS SUPPOSED TO aka you have lowered the calories and are staying away from the desserts and still nothing is happening, or you are trying to gain weight and have added a new meal in for the past 4 weeks and nothing is going on.
Then I would like to encourage you to take a step back and evaluate before moving forward. In the past 6 months have any of the internal and external factors changed? Could there be anything affecting how your body is processing the food? Could there be anything about the food that you are eating that could be making it “too easy or to hard digest” ? Is your digestion regular?
Summing it up, the recommended daily calorie intake varies based on individual needs. It is important to focus on consuming balanced meals and less processed foods for optimal health and to always do research on your own body before implementing strategies, numbers or dietary advice of the internet.
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All the best
Coach Eik
