To maintain weight how many calories to eat

After consuming carbohydrates carbs , insulin levels will rise significantly more compared with eating fats or protein. Some carbs in particular get into the bloodstream in the form of sugar, or glucose, much faster than others.

Refined flour is a fast carb, while legumes are slower. Slow-release carbs are better for body weight control and overall health than fast carbs. A calorie meal of fish or meat, salad, and some olive oil, followed by fruit, is more healthful and will stave off hunger for longer than a calorie snack of popcorn with butter or toffee. To work out how many calories you need, you need to know your basal metabolic rate and an activity factor. To calculate your BMR automatically, follow this link and enter your details into the calculator.

This will give a rough idea of the daily calorie intake you need to keep your body weight where it is. The result is still not perfect, as the equation does not take into account the ratio of muscle to fat. A very muscular person needs more calories, even when resting. As with calories requirements, an ideal body weight depends on several factors, including age, sex, bone density, muscle-fat ratio, and height.

Body mass index BMI is one way of working out what a person should weigh. If you know your height and weight, you can use this calculator to find out your BMI. Imagine a top athlete who weighs pounds, or 91 kilograms kg and is 6 feet, or 1 metre m and 83 centimeters cm tall. They may have the same BMI as an inactive person of the same height. The athlete is not overweight, but the inactive person quite possibly is.

Researchers have found that many people whose waist circumference is less than half their height have a longer life expectancy. People with a smaller waist to height size have been found to have a lower risk of diabetes , cardiovascular disease, stroke , and other health conditions that are related to obesity.

An adult male who is 6 feet cm tall should have a waist that does not exceed 36 inches 91 cm. An adult female who is 5 feet 4 inches cm tall should have a waist that does not exceed 32 inches 81 cm. This measurement may be more accurate than BMI at determining a healthy weight. Some of these are safe and effective and help people lose weight and keep it off in the long term. Others are hard to adhere to, or when the person stops following the diet they put weight back on quickly.

The rankings for these diets were based on how many articles mentioned them favorably, how popular they were generally and which ones received the most positive feedback. The "quality" of calories consumed is also important. There are different classifications of foods in terms of calories. This includes high-calorie foods, low-calorie foods, and empty calories. Consistent with their naming, high-calorie foods are foods that are calorically dense, meaning that there are a high number of calories relative to serving size, while low-calorie foods have fewer calories relative to serving size.

Foods such as fat, oils, fried foods, and sugary foods are examples of high-calorie foods. Being a high-calorie food does not inherently mean that the food is unhealthy however — avocados, quinoa, nuts, and whole grains are all high-calorie foods that are considered healthful in moderation. Low-calorie foods include vegetables and certain fruits, among other things, while empty calories, such as those in added sugars and solid fats, are calories that contain few to no nutrients.

Studies have shown that there is a measurable difference between consuming calories of carrots compared to calories of popcorn. As previously mentioned, this in part can be attributed to differences in how the foods are consumed and processed.

Carrots require far more chewing and can result in more calories burned during digestion. Again, the mechanism for these differences is not fully defined, but simply note that for weight loss purposes, the general formula of calories in minus calories out determining weight gain or loss does hold, but that the number of calories on a nutrition label is not necessarily indicative of how many calories the body actually retains.

While there is no clear-cut or ideal amount of macronutrient proportions a person should consume to maintain a healthy diet or lose weight, eating a "healthy" diet replete with a variety of unprocessed foods such as vegetables, fruits, and lean meats is correlated with being healthier, and is more likely to result in sustainable weight loss.

Many of these calories fall under the category of empty calories. While sodas are an obvious culprit, drinks such as juices and even milk have large amounts of sugar and should be consumed in moderation to avoid negating their nutritional benefits. Ideally, a person should drink water, tea, and coffee without adding sugar in order to reduce calories gained from drinks.

Remember: All foods, including "healthful foods," should be consumed in moderation, and distinctions can often be misleading since even natural foods like fruits can have large amounts of sugar, and foods labeled as "health foods" such as low-calorie foods, reduced-fat foods, etc. Many reduced-fat foods have large amounts of added sugar to compensate for taste lost through fat reduction.

It is important to pay attention to, and consider the different components in a food product in order to determine whether said food should have a place within your diet. US units metric units other units. Results unit:. Calories Kilojoules. BMR estimation formula:. Mifflin St Jeor. Revised Harris-Benedict. Katch-McArdle Body Fat:. W is body weight in kg H is body height in cm A is age F is body fat in percentage. Fitness and Health Calculators.

Financial Fitness and Health Math Other. Calorie [Nutritional, kcal] calorie [cal] Kilojoules [kJ] joules [J]. The term calorie is commonly used as shorthand for kilocalorie. You will find this written as kcal on food packets. Kilojoules kJ are the equivalent of kilocalories within the International System of Units, and you'll see both kJ and kcal on nutrition labels.

To find out if you are a healthy weight, use the BMI calculator. To maintain a healthy weight, you need to balance the amount of calories you consume through food and drink with the amount of calories you burn through physical activity. To lose weight in a healthy way, you need to use more energy than you consume by eating a healthy, balanced diet with fewer calories while increasing your physical activity. Empty calories can leave you feeling hungry, increase your food cravings, and even increase fatigue.

You'll find them in processed foods that contain added sugars , trans fat, excess fat, and calories. They may provide energy but not the fiber , vitamins, and minerals you need. There are many factors that contribute to weight loss success. If you don't lose weight right away, it doesn't mean that you have failed or done something wrong. It might simply mean that you need to stick to your program longer for weight loss to happen. Evaluate your eating and exercise habits to see if there are adjustments you can make to reach your goal.

There may also be medical reasons that you can't lose weight. So talk to your healthcare provider if you are concerned. Your doctor may be able to refer you to a registered dietitian for personalized nutrition advice.

If you have a higher amount of weight to lose, they might also talk to you about weight loss medications or weight-loss surgeries to help you lose weight. Looking to lose weight? Our nutrition guide can help you get on the right track. Sign up for our newsletter and get it free! Macronutrients and caloric intake in health and longevity. J Endocrinol. Dietary Guidelines for Americans Published December American Heart Association.

Dietary recommendations for healthy children. Reviewed April 16, In: StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing; updated August 25, Direct effects of thyroid hormones on hepatic lipid metabolism.

Nature Rev Endocrinol. Verhaegen A, Van Gaal L. Drugs that affect body weight, body fat distribution, and metabolism. Updated February 11, Food and Drug Administration. How to understand and use the Nutrition Facts label.

Updated March 11, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What is healthy weight loss? Reviewed August 17, Sanford Health. How to gain healthy weight. Published January 18, Micronutrient deficiency in obese subjects undergoing low calorie diet. Nutr J. Henry Ford Health System.