How Many Calories Should I Eat A Day? Your Guide!

Being calorie-conscious is the latest trend among health freaks. Every article and feature on losing weight or gaining weight solely focuses on this term. And we often use and misuse it in our daily interactions without knowing what it exactly means. In this article, we will be discussing a crucial question that is ‘ how many calories should I eat a day’.

The discussion will also explain what is meant by calories and how one can calculate it. It also deals with an important question of whether counting calories is beneficial or not. So start reading and find the answers to your ‘calorie questions’ below!

What Are Calories?

Today, everyone seems to be ‘calorie conscious’ but what exactly are these calories? A bit of trivia here, the word calorie comes from ‘calor’ which is the Latin word for ‘heat’. So in simple terms, calories are just some units of energy provided by the food or drink you consume. Every kind of food you consume has calories and this means any kind of food you eat provides you with energy.

This energy is released when food is broken down during the process of digestion. You can usually find the calorie count of each food item on the product label or packaging itself. Some food items such as processed foods and fried ones tend to possess more calories while foods like vegetables and fresh fruits have fewer calories.

So if your body consumes more calories than you burn, the rest of it can be stored as fat. And this leads to what we call weight gain. Also, if you tend to consume fewer calories than you burn, your body experiences calorie depletion and subsequently weight loss. So knowing calorie intake is of utmost importance as it helps you to maintain your weight whether you want to lose or gain weight. 

Factors That Affect Your Calorie Intake

Certain factors affect your calorie intake. You can find the details on this in the section below:

1. Age- One of the factors that can affect your calorie intake is your age. According to the reports on Nutrition and Hydration Requirements in Children and Adults published under NCBI, the calorie intake and associated age factor are like this:

• Children (2-3 years old)- 1,000-1,400 calories/day
• Adults (19-30)- 2,400-3000 calories/day

As you age, the calorie needs decrease due to a reduction in Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).

2.  Sex- Studies show that on average men need more calories than women. This is mostly because they have more muscles compared to females and muscles tend to burn more calories than fat does. 
3. Metabolism- Another factor that determines your calorie intake is BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), the minimum amount of calories needed to maintain vital functions in your body. You can determine your BMR by multiplying your current weight in pounds to10 (for women) and to11 (for men)
4. Weight- Your body shape and weight can be another factor in determining how many calories you need to consume per day. You can calculate this simply by multiplying your current weight by 15. This number indicates a rough amount of calories you need to consume to maintain your weight if you are moderately active.
5. Activity level- So if you have an active lifestyle, you tend to burn more calories. When you burn more calories than the calories you consume, you start losing weight. And if you want to gain weight, you need to consume more calories than you burn.

Some other factors that determine your calorie intake include genetics,  hormones, height, medications, etc.

How To Calculate Your Perfect Calorie Intake

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the average calorie intake for both women and men is given in the following tables.

For women

Age	Calories: sedentary	Calories: Moderately active	Calories: active
21-25	2,000	2,200	2,400
26-30	1,800	2,000	2,400
31-50	1,800	2,000	2,200
51-60	1,600	1,800	2,200
61+	1,600	1,800	2,000

For men

Age	Calories: sedentary	Calories: Moderately active	Calories: active
21-25	2,400	2,800	3,000
26-35	2,400	2,600	3,000
36-40	2,400	2,600	2,800
41-45	2,200	2,600	2,800
46-55	2,200	2,400	2,800
56-60	2,200	2,400	2,600
61-65	2,000	2,400	2,600
66-75	2,000	2,200	2,600
76+	2,000	2,200	2,400

For children

Age	Calorie intake
Boys, 2-3 years	1000-1200
Girls, 2-3 years	1000
Boys, 4-8 years	1200-1400
Girls, 4-8 years	1200-1400
Boys, 9-13 years	1600-2000
Girls, 9-13 years	1400-1600
Boys, 14-18 years	2000-2400
Girls, 14-18 years	1800

How To Reduce Calorie Intake?

• Know your calories- Using some apps, you can count the calories you usually consume. This will help you to assess how many calories you need to cut down.
• Limit eating from outside- Often eating from outside can lead you to overconsume and fail you to check the calories. Try to eat food you have cooked at home.
• Hydrate yourself- Drinking plenty of water can help you curb your appetite and can aid in reducing your calorie intake.
• Consume more protein- Studies have shown that consuming more protein can increase your satiety level and help you rid of binging on extra calories.
• Limit sugar intake- You can avoid consuming sugary drinks as they can add up to your calorie intake.
• Lower your stress level- Often stress can be a contributing factor to increased calorie intake. Limiting stress and practicing activities that lower stress can help you control your calorie intake.

How Do You Calculate Your Calorie Intake?

There are plenty of calorie calculators available online through which you can calculate your calorie intake.  One such method employs the BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) of your body to calculate calorie intake. You can calculate your BMR levels by using the following equations:

For women:

BMR= 655+ (9.6X body weight in kg)+ (1.8x height in centimeters)- (4.7x age in years)

For men:

BMR=66+ (13.7X weight in kilograms)+ (5x height in centimeters)- (6.8x age in years)

Once you have found your BMR, you can now determine your daily calorie needs by following the equations listed below:

1. Sedentary: BMR x 1.2
2. Lightly Active: BMR x 1.375
3. Moderately active: BMR x 1.55
4. Very Active: BMR x 1.725
5. Extra Active: BMRx 1.9

Should You Count Your Calories?

Even though counting calories can help you keep track of the amount of food you consume, there are opinions that this can in fact cause adverse results. One downside of counting calories is that you might lose the ability to listen to your body. Merely counting calories might prohibit you from understanding what your body needs as this is important whether you are planning to lose weight or gain weight.

Also, another argument against calorie counting is that food is more than just calories. Even though some foods have the same number of calories but can have different nutritional values. Also, your body is a complex mechanism and a simple calorie counting system can’t be appropriate for meeting its needs.

A study published in the Eating and Weight Disorders journal found that eating disorders are rampant among college students who count calories and weigh themselves regularly. 

Conclusion

Calories are units of energy released by the food or drink you consume. Understanding how many calories your body needs as per the requirements based on weight and age can be helpful. If you are planning to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume.

And if you are planning to gain weight, you need to consume more calories than you burn. Calorie requirements can be affected by factors such as age, sex, physical activity, genetics, basal metabolic rate, etc.

On average men need at least 2,500 kcal per day while for women it is 2,000 kcal. Counting calories can help you track the food you consume but it has its downsides too. It is better to practice a method where you can listen to your body and also reduce the portion sizes and consume what your body needs.

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