How many calories should I consume each day?
Determining the number of calories a person should consume on a daily basis is decided by many factors. You must take into consideration the age, size (height, weight), level of physical activity, and your fitness and weight goals. To maintain your current weight, each day you must burn the same number of calories that you consume. If you want to lose weight, your daily calorie intake must be less than the number of calories that you burn. And to gain weight, you would take in more calories than the number you burn.
Females aged 14-18 years old that get less than 30 minutes of physical activity per day should take in 1800 calories daily. Physically active females in this age range may need between 2000 to 2400 calories daily. Females aged 19-30 years of age that are physically active less than 30 minutes per day may require up to 2000 calories daily. Physically active females that get at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily will require 2000-2400 calories daily. Females from age 31 to 50 that get less than 30 minutes of daily physical activity should limit their calorie intake to 1800 each day. And physically active females in this age range will need 2000-2200 calories daily.
Males 14-18 years old that are getting less than 30 minutes per day of physical activity require up to 2200 calories daily. Physically active males in the same age range will need 2400 to 3200 calories. Males 19-30 years of age that get less than 30 minutes of physical activity each day will require up to 2400 calories. Physically active males in this age range will need 3600 to 3000 calories. And males 31-50 years of age that are not physically active need only 2200 daily calories. Physically active males in this age range will need 2400 to 3000 calories.
The number of calories above is an average for each identified group. The number of calories allowable includes food and beverages. To determine the correct number of calories you need each day, you should identify your goal (i.e. weight loss, maintenance, or gain), assess your level of physical activity, and set the maximum number of calories you should consume within your range above. If you want to lose weight, you should consume 500 calories less per day than the recommended number for your group. Increasing your physical activity will burn additional calories.
