Calories In, Calories Out

Now that we've got our diet challenge slated for next Monday, you may be wondering how many calories should I eat per day?  Weight loss results when you take in less calories than you need.  This can be accomplished by diet or exercise, or both!  One pound equals 3500 calories, so if we divide that by 7 days a week that would mean that we need a deficit of 500 calories per day to lose one pound of weight a week.

Most women will have weight loss on a meal plan of 1200 to 1500 calories per day.  For men, 1500 to 1800 calories works.  Please note, there are always exceptions to this guideline as calories needed are based on height, weight and age.  For example, a young-very tall-large framed man will need more calories than an older-short-small framed man.  One thing is for sure: Never drop below 1200 calories per day!  That's just not enough calories to get in the nutrients your body needs.

A word on exercise, the current recommendation for exercise is 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day!  That's seven days a week, folks!

So, what of you eat 1200 calories per day for a week and you don't lose weight?  Nine times out of 10, you didn't eat 1200 calories.  This is why journaling your meals is very important.  You'll need to record the food, amount and time that you ate.  Make sure to journal right after eating as memory might not be as honest!  This is based on scientific facts, if you take in less than you need, you have to lose weight!