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How Many Calories Lead To Weight Loss?

For Weight Loss How Many Calories Should I Burn?


      Calories, the small units of energy that you consume, are arguably the most talked about part of healthy eating and weight loss. If you take in more calories than you use, you will gain weight, if you consume fewer calories than you use, you will lose weight, and if they are about the same amount, you will maintain your current weight. In reality, it is a bit more complicated than that. Here, experts explain how to know how many calories you should eat to lose weight, and why that number isn't always the most important (or healthy) thing to focus on.
How Many Calories Should You Eat to Lose Weight

Calories Definition

Calories are units that measure energy. People most often see the term calorie when discussing the energy content of the foods and beverages we consume. From a nutritional point of view, all types of food, be it fat, protein, carbohydrates or sugar, are an important source of calories, which are needed by humans to live and function.

It started in 1863 when scientists first defined a calorie as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water from 0 to 1 degree Celsius. Then in 1925, the calorie was defined scientifically in terms of the joule, the unit usually used by physicists to describe the amount of work required to force one newton to cover one meter. That is why here in Australia and in Europe, we use the term 'kilojoule'.

Are All Calories the Same?

Even though your total calorie intake is most important for weight loss, all calories are not created equal. Calories from nutritious food sources will help you feel full longer, provide fuel for your daily activities, and improve your well-being. So what are these healthy foods?

Colorful vegetables like green leafy salads, bright peppers, crunchy carrots, or turnips. Experiment to find flavors that you like.
Lean meats like chicken and fish. You can enjoy red meat in moderation too.
Whole fruit as a substitute for fruit juice or fruit-flavored snacks.
Whole grains that provide fiber such as oatmeal, whole wheat bread or crackers.
Water instead of sports drinks, sweet tea, or soda.
Nuts, seeds and other sources of healthy fat in small portions.
Empty calories, on the other hand, can make you feel hungry, increase the desire to eat, and even increase fatigue. What are empty calories? You'll find it in processed foods that contain added sugars, trans fats, excess fat, and calories. Empty calories provide you with energy but not the fiber, vitamins, and minerals you need.

Creating a Calorie Deficit

If the number of calories you eat is the same as the number of calories you burn, you will maintain your current weight. If you eat less, you will use up more of the reserve fuel for energy and lose fat and muscle weight. You save more fuel reserves and gain muscle and/or fat, if you eat more, It's the calorie balance equation for weight management: calories in versus calories out.

There is no special diet, pill, or food that can hack the metabolism and change this basic formula. It doesn't matter how much fat or how many calories you burn for fuel, you can't lose weight or lose fat unless you eat less of what you burn through a consistent calorie deficit.

How many calories should you be eating?

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends the following daily caloric intakes:
Calories Person per day
Female, 19-51 years 1,800-2,400
Male, 19-51 years old 2200-3,000
Children and adolescents, 2-18 years old 1,000-3,200
The USDA's recommended calorie count varies depending on your gender, age, and activity level. People who lead a more active lifestyle or those who want to gain weight need to eat more calories.
A guide to choosing healthy foods that meet your daily caloric needs can be found on the USDA ChooseMyPlate.gov website.

Tricks To Reduce Your Calorie Intake Without Starving You

Calorie is just a measure of energy. It is a known fact that in order to gain weight, more calories have to go into your body than leave them. On the other hand, you lose weight if you take in more calories than you take out. That said, cutting calories regardless of the food you eat is usually not a sustainable way to lose weight. (Mayo Clinic)

Even though it works for some people, most end up hungry and eventually give up on their diet.
It is highly recommended to make some other permanent changes to help you maintain a calorie deficit in the long term, without feeling starved.
Here are a few evidence-based dietary and lifestyle changes that have been shown to help people lose weight.

Reduce your carbohydrate intake
Cutting out carbs is a very effective way to lose weight, as it reduces your appetite and makes you eat fewer calories automatically.
Eating a low-carbohydrate diet until you are full can make you lose about two to three times more weight than a calorie-restricted low-fat diet.
Not only that, low-carbohydrate diets also have many other health benefits, especially for people with type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome. But you don't have to go on a low-carbohydrate diet. Just make sure that you are consuming a quality source of fiber-rich carbohydrates, focusing on single-ingredient whole foods.
If you stick to whole foods, the proper composition of your diet becomes less important

Avoid sweetened soft drinks and fruit juices
Another relatively easy change you can make is to remove liquid sugar calories from your diet.
This includes soda, fruit juices, chocolate milk, and other beverages with added sugar.
These products are one of the most fattening aspects of the modern diet, because your brain doesn't register liquid calories in the same way it records solid calories.
For this reason, drinking sugar-sweetened soda doesn't make your brain automatically compensate by making you eat less of other foods.
Sugary drinks are strongly associated with an increased risk of obesity, with one study in children showing an increased risk of 60% for each daily serving of sugary drinks.

The harmful effects of sugar go beyond gaining weight. This can have adverse effects on metabolic health and increase the risk of many diseases.
While small amounts of natural sugar from foods such as fruit are fine, large amounts of added sugar and sugary drinks can harm your health in a variety of ways.
There is no physiological need for these drinks, and the long-term benefits of avoiding them can be substantial.
It is very important to avoid sugary soft drinks and fruit juices, as liquid sugar is the single most fattening aspect of the Western diet.

Eating more protein
Protein is a great source of nutrition in terms of weight loss Adding protein to your diet is the simplest, most effective and most delicious way to lose weight with the least amount of effort.
Protein boosts your metabolic rate and helps curb your appetite.
Since protein requires energy for metabolism, a high-protein diet can increase the calories burned by 80-100 calories per day.
Protein is also one of the most filling nutrients. You can easily increase your calories out and reduce your calories by simply adding protein to your diet.
Protein can also help fight cravings, which are dieters' worst enemy.

In one study, consuming 25% of your daily calories from protein reduced obsessive thoughts about food by 60% and reduced cravings for late night snacking by 50%.
If you're looking to lose weight sustainably and with minimal effort, consider increasing your protein intake permanently.
Not only will this help you lose weight but also prevent — or at least significantly reduce — the weight back.
Increasing your protein intake can increase metabolism, fight cravings, and significantly reduce appetite. This can result in automatic weight loss.

Exercise and weight lifting
When you eat fewer calories, your body compensates by conserving energy, making you burn fewer calories.
This is why long-term calorie restriction can significantly reduce the metabolism.
Plus, it can result in a loss of muscle mass. Muscles are metabolically active, so this can reduce metabolism further.
The only proven strategy to prevent this effect is to work your muscles with lifting weights.
It has been repeatedly shown to prevent muscle loss and to stop your metabolism from slowing down during long-term calorie restriction.

If you're trying to lose weight, you don't just want to lose fat, you also want to make sure you take care of your muscles.
If you can't get to the gym, consider doing bodyweight exercises, such as push-ups, squats, and crunches, at home.
Doing some cardio, including walking, or jogging, is also important, not only for weight loss but for optimal health and general well-being.
What's more, exercise has many other benefits that go beyond weight loss, such as longevity, lower risk of disease, more energy, and feeling better every day.
Lifting weights is important because it reduces muscle loss and prevents your metabolic rate from slowing down.

How to lose weight
If you want to lose weight, the answer is simple, in theory at least. You have to eat fewer calories than you use each day.
Once you find your recommended calorie level, cut back about 500 calories, which will allow you to lose about one pound per week of weight. But beware; diets that promote very low calorie intake, usually under 800 to 1,000 calories per day, can have major negative side effects, such as:
tiredness, nausea, constipation, and diarrhea.

Rapid weight loss may also lead to gallstones. The risk is quite high for female.
To help you determine how many calories you are eating, keep a record of what you eat each day. Make a list in a notebook or use one of the many free calorie counters available online, such as these provided by the USDA.
Just keep in your mind to consume a healthy balance of :
protein, vegetables, fruit, whole grains, healthy fats and
dairy products.
Limit the amount of added sugar you eat daily.

Can you eat whatever you want and still lose weight?

You can lose weight by eating whatever you want as long as you stick to your calorie range. Theoretically, you could eat candy all day and lose weight. But you probably don't want to. Why? Because it will be very difficult to stay within your calorie range if you don't eat nutritious food.
Healthy food helps you feel strong, energized and full. Empty-calorie foods don't provide your body with the nutrients you need to live an active and good life. And when you eat junk food, you tend to be hungry more often and as a result overeat.

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