You want to lose weight, gain weight or maintain your weight? Then, you should know your daily calorie needs so that you can manage your weight through your diet and daily activity. In this article, you will not only learn how to quickly determine your personal calorie needs& simply calculate, but also what it means in the first place! Basically, the more you exercise, the higher your daily calorie needs will be.
Overview
- Definition: What are calories?
- How many calories contain protein, carbohydrates and fat?
- What does calorie requirement mean and how do you calculate it??
- Overview: Average calorie requirements per day
- Calculate your calorie needs with one click
- Calorie requirements when losing weight
- Do you already know these delicious and healthy recipes?
- Note and conclusion
Definition: What are calories?
Calorie, or kilocalorie (kcal), is the unit in which we measure the energy stored in food Energy indicate.
The exact definition is:
In simpler terms, when your body metabolizes food, it produces heat and therefore energy. This energy is also called calorific value and is expressed in the unit "calorie" shown.
The more calories a food contains, the more energy it provides it provides.
You can usually find the calorie information of a food on the back of the packaging or in Calorie tables on the internet. This way you can easily track your calories to make sure that you do not exceed your daily calorie needs and consequently do not gain weight.
Because excess energy (excess calories) is not burned by the body, but stored in the form of body fat.
If you consume less energy than your body needs (calorie deficit), it will use the energy stored in the form of body fat and you will lose weight.
So, if you know your daily calorie needs, you can calculate your Increase or decrease body fat in a targeted manner. Only if you eat more than you burn – that is, increase your body fat – is your body able to, Build muscle. Of course, this assumes that you train accordingly! What you should consider in your training plan for muscle building, you can find here.
How many calories are contained in protein, carbohydrates and fat?
If you look at the calorie density of the three macronutrients protein, carbohydrates and fat, you will see that they differ:
fat therefore has 9 calories per 1 gram the highest calorie density. If you now think to yourself: "Then I’ll just leave the fat out", then you’re right, we have to prove you wrong!
Because unsaturated fatty acids, such as Omega 3 and Omega 6, are essential Components for a functioning body and our fat metabolism. Since the quality and quantity of fatty acids are crucial, we’d like to give you the following Tip to the hand: Access predominantly Unsaturated fat sources back, like z.B. Avocados, nuts, seeds, vegetable oils and fish.
However, all three macronutrients – unsaturated fatty acids, complex carbohydrates and protein – should not be neglected in a healthy diet!
Nice to know: To burn or lose 1 kilogram of fat, you do not need 9 x 1000 grams = 9.000 calories burned, but only 7.700 calories! Because body fat is not pure fat, but also contains various fluids and proteins.
Therefore, the amount of calories contained in 1 kilo of body fat is less than that of 1 kilo of pure fat.
What does calorie requirement mean and how do you calculate it??
Calorie requirement is the amount of calories you should consume each day to maintain your weight It is the amount of energy your body requires per day to function.
The calorie requirement is made up of the following two factors: The basal metabolic rate and the Power metabolism.
1. Basal metabolic rate
The basal metabolic rate is the amount of energy that a body consumes at absolute rest. Because even when you sleep or relax on the couch, your body consumes energy.
2. Power metabolism
The power metabolism, on the other hand, describes the additional energy you need for physical activities. So if you exercise, go for a walk or ride your bike to work.
Total metabolic rate
If you add up the basic and performance metabolic rate, you get your total metabolic rate. This indicates how many calories you burn per day and therefore how many calories you should consume to maintain your weight.
Overview: Average calorie requirement per day
The Calorie requirements depends on many factors, like among other things from Your age, weight, height and daily activity From.
In the following table you will find Reference values, which normally applies to a person who spends most of his or her day in a sedentary position and has a low level of activity.
If you are more active, your average calorie consumption will also be higher!
Calculate your calorie needs with one click!
Your individual calorie requirements You can easily calculate your calorie consumption with the help of our calorie calculator.
With just a few clicks, we’ll tell you how many calories you should eat and drink every day to maintain your weight.
Do you want lose weight, you can reduce your energy intake a little bit, but at the same time you should exercise. Below you will find out how big your deficit should be.
If you regularly exceed your daily calorie requirement, you will gain weight gain weight.
Tip: However, this value should only serve as a guideline and may differ slightly from your actual value. You can find out your individual needs by trial and error!
Whether it is necessary to gain or lose weight, you can find out with the help of the body mass index and the waist-hip ratio.
You should use the Result this calculator but do not overestimate, so they can also have pitfalls and do not always necessarily correspond to the real picture. For example, the BMI is higher in athletes with muscles, which is why they are considered overweight according to the calculator. BMI cannot take muscle mass into account, and muscle is known to be heavier than fat.
Calorie requirement when losing weight
To lose weight, you need a calorie deficit. So, as already mentioned, you need to eat fewer calories than you consume. After you with our Energy consumption calculator Once you have calculated your daily calorie consumption, you only need to subtract a few calories to lose weight.
How large should the calorie deficit be?
If you set your calorie deficit high, you will lose weight quickly, but you will most likely suffer from food cravings and a yo-yo effect. So, in order to lose weight in a sustainable, healthy and motivated way, it is important that a calorie deficit is not too high!
But what does not mean too high?
We recommend a daily calorie deficit of 300 to 500 calories maximum. Example: If your total body mass is 2.300 calories, you should not eat less than 1 a day for a long period of time.800 calories to you take!
Important to know: If you lose weight as your diet progresses, your weight may also decrease, and with it your total metabolic rate. If you want to continue to lose weight, your calorie deficit must also be adjusted over time!
Attention: You should never consume less calories than your basal metabolic rate.
Our tip: If you are unsure and afraid of damage to your health in the course of dieting, it makes sense to seek the help of an experienced and competent coach/nutritionist.
With a Light calorie deficit, matched to your training goal and physical activities, but you should be able to do it on your own to lose weight healthily and, above all, in the long term.
To you on the way your goal as comfortably as possible To make this easier, we have a few products for you that can make losing weight easier! Because we are of the opinion: Losing weight requires no renunciation of good taste& Enjoyment!