Answers to Everyday Questions : How many calories should I eat each day if I want to lose weight?

How many calories should I eat each day if I want to lose weight?

One Response to “How many calories should I eat each day if I want to lose weight?”

1. Chiristnia John said :
   October 21st, 2010 at 4:28 am

   Question. Is calorie a bad word?

   Answer. No, it’s not bad-just misunderstood! Most people who use the word calorie simply don’t know what it means. Also, in my experience, most people to go pale at the mere mention of the word. Based on those facts alone, I would eliminate calorie from the English vocabulary if I could.
   http://www.thedietsolutioncourse.com/weight-loss-diet6.html
   Question. Why is calorie such a misunderstood word?

   Answer. The American public has been told, time and time again, that people who consume more calories than their bodies burn will gain weight. As I explain in The Diet Solution: Start Eating and Start Living, this statement is only partially true. All calories are not created equal; lose stomach fatcalories consumed from healthy foods and unhealthy foods are quite different.

   Question. What exactly is a calorie, then?

   Answer. According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (11th edition), a calorie is “a unit equivalent to the large calorie expressing heat-producing or energy-producing value in food when oxidized in the body.” In plain English, a calorie is a unit of energy released from the food you eat to power the body.

   Question. How are calories “burned”?

   Answer. The body needs energy from food-calories-to perform many functions, the most obvious of which are physical activity and exercise. However, the body also requires energy to function at the most basic level: to breathe, digest food, and maintain organs and systems.

   Question. How many calories should I eat each day?

   Answer. The short answer is “enough.” The calories you consume must provide enough energy for your body to perform all necessary functions and activities-and bring about optimum health. The long answer is that the number of calories needed varies from person to person and depends on weight, foods consumed, sleep, stress and activity levels, age, and a long list of other factors that affect metabolism. In The Diet Solution: Start Eating and Start Living, I provide a calorie equation to help you estimate, according to these factors, how many calories you should consume to lose weight or maintain weight. It also includes charts to help you choose the right sources of those calories to support your efforts.

   Question. Is it possible to eat too few calories?

   Answer. Believe it or not, yes! The most serious problem with low-calorie diets is that although they may bring about weight loss, they also can cause serious health problems. One common side effect of low-calorie diets is muscle breakdown, which can occur when the body doesn’t consume enough calories from protein. Especially vulnerable is the heart, a muscular organ. If a person does not consume an adequate amount of calories each day, the heart muscle begins to break down, possibly leading to serious cardiac conditions (e.g., cardiac atrophy).

   Question. What are the consequences of following low-calorie diets off and on over time?

   Answer. Low-calorie diets typically do not supply enough energy to keep organs and systems healthy. In effect, they can lead to malnourishment. For clients who have repeatedly followed such diets, I recommend high-calorie meal plans that will provide their organs with adequate fuel to repair themselves and regain healthy function. Most of my clients are surprised, at first, to see how much food they can consume on a healthy weight-loss diet-not to mention the high level of health that they can achieve.