You probably have heard that the recommended daily intake for women is of about 2,000 calories, while for men - 2,500 calories. Now let's see what exactly calories are and how are they related to weight loss.
Calories are measure units for energy. The kind of energy which is used to raise your body temperature. One calorie equals the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water with 1 degree Celsius.
Calories are used for measuring the amount of energy, contained in the foods we eat.
Another metrical tool used to measure energy are joules, these measure food energy too and are also displayed on the labels with the nutritional content. Here is the relation between Kcal/kJ and the basic nutrients.
1 Kcal= 4.1864 kJ
1 g of protein = 17 kJ (4 Kcal)
1 g of fat = 38 kJ (9 Kcal)
1 g of carbohydrates = 17 kJ (4 Kcal)
When it comes to dieting and weight loss, we usually speak of Kcal as a calorie, so you just have to remember that: 1 g of protein equals to 4 calories, 1 g of fat to 9 and 1 g of carbohydrate to 4 calories.
Calories and Weight Loss
There is a popular rule, which states that to lose some pounds, you have to burn more calories than you consume. But this is not exactly correct. If you have maintained your current body weight for too long, and you decide that you need to lose some of it - this can be generally achieved in two ways: by lowering your daily calorie intake (in time the body will adjust to the new intake and will maintain the new lower weight), or by expending more calories than you usually do (by exercising on more regular basis). Let me give you more correct idea with the next example.
In order to lose 1 lb of your weight, you need to burn 3,500 calories. You may assume the obvious solution that through sudden decrease in your daily intake - you can achieve fast weight loss results, but in fact it is one of the biggest dieting mistakes that many people may make. First this is called hunger and it is not a natural state for the body. It is rather an extreme situation with sudden harsh changes. In return the body will react in self-preservation mode of burning fewer calories and slower metabolic rate, because it will try to maintain its current state. Second, this will lead to calorie, respectively to important nutrient deprivation. Maintaining such a state for too long is hazardous to your health. Cutting your calorie intake below 1,200 a day can lead to many serious health problems.
Therefore, more sensitive and gradual approach is needed. If you manage to lower your daily amount with 300 to 500 calories - it should lead to a loss of between 1-2 lbs of body weight per week, which is generally safe. For even better results, you do not need further calorie-reduction, just implement more physical activity to burn more calories and achieve more weight loss.
Target Your Healthy Weight
As already mentioned, the body will adjust to your daily caloric supply and will maintain the respective weight, according to this amount. If you want to lose some weight, first you have to estimate your goal (new weight to achieve) and find out the general recommended values for the calorie allowance - needed to maintain such weight. The rest is not a secret - with gradual changes and small adjustments to your eating plan, and exercise routine, you have to strive toward leading a healthy lifestyle.
Diyan Dimitrov specializes in health and fitness, diet and nutrition, urging and motivating people to start leading healthy lifestyle and lose weight naturally. It is not a matter of how much you know about dieting and exercising, but how much of your knowledge you implement into your life.
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