Have you always been wondering how many calories your body needs in a day? Most of us want to know this number in order to lose weight or gain weight. This number is somewhat important, but it really depends on the day. If you are growing, pregnant, breastfeeding, sick, training for a particular sport, or just doing more physical activity in general your body needs more calories on a day-to-day basis. Below are the answers to some common questions asked about calories:
What are calories? Why do we need them?
Calories are what your body uses to produce energy. The body will not function the way it should on a day-to-day basis if you do not give it the proper amount of calories it needs.
How many calories should I eat per day?
The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) Estimated Energy Requirements (EER) is an equation used to tell you the amount of calories your body needs to maintain its current weight. This equation is for healthy adults and it factors in sex, age, weight, height, and physical activity. This equation is on the USDA ChooseMyPlate website so you can insert your own information (age, sex, weight, height, and physical activity level) and it will tell you approximately how many calories your body needs per day. Click on the link below to find out how many calories your body needs:
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
Basic rule of thumb is to subtract 500 calories from the number you received from the ChooseMyPlate website. This allows for a 0.5-1 lb loss per week. If you are planning to subtract greater than 500 calories from your diet ask your doctor before doing so as this can be dangerous.
How do I know how many calories are in my food/drink?
You can look up how many calories your food or drink has on the following websites:
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