Calories (Energy) IN
Calories have gotten a bad rap in recent years with obesity at epidemic level in the US. Sure, EXCESS calories are a problem as they do get stored as fat. But calories are not all bad because they provide the fuel to run our bodies.
Calories are Energy! Calories fuel our body and without them we would not survive for long. Just like your car won't run without fuel, our bodies require calories to run. The three nutrients that provide calories are carbohydrate, protein and fat and our bodies have a minimum requirement for each of these nutrients.
Why do we need calories?
We all have a baseline need for calories. Think about your heart beating throughout the day and the other organs in your body that all require energy or calories. For most people, this accounts for about 65-75% of your total calorie needs. The baseline (sometimes called basal) calorie requirement varies depending on a person's weight, height, gender, age and lean body mass. For example, the more you weigh the greater your baseline calorie needs. Taller and more muscular people also have higher calorie needs. As we age, we need fewer calories.
The second major need for calories is for movement and exercise. The more active a person the more calories they need to fuel that activity.
Calculating your calorie needs
On the web
There are various formulas that you can find on the web to calculate your calorie needs.
Or a quick and easy way
If all of those calculations seem too confusing or tedious, you can roughly estimate your daily calorie requirements using this simple formula. Use your desired weight instead of your actual weight to get an estimate of calories needed to lose weight.
For sedentary people: Weight (lb.) x 11 = estimated cal/day
For moderately active people: Weight (lb.) x 13 = estimated cal/day
For active people: Weight (lb.) x 15 = estimated cal/day