This post is part of the how many calories to lose weight series. You can also read how many calories to lose weight- where to start for more information.
How Many Calories Do I Need To Lose Weight
After maintaining my weight around the 165lbs mark for the best part of a year, I am looking to drop a few more pounds over the next 6 weeks. As many people wonder about how many calories they should eat when looking to lose weight, I thought I would help explain this using my own situation.
How Many Calories Do I Need To Lose Weight – My RMR
If we first understand that I have to keep my calories below my maintenance level in order to lose weight, then I have to know what that level is. This means I need to know my resting metabolic rate or RMR . As a 46 year old male with a height of 5ft 10 inches, and a weight of 165lbs My current RMR is calculated to be around 1650 calories per day. This is the daily amount of calories I will use up at rest. My aim will be to eat below this figure. I take my calorie total and calculate it for a week. I find it easier to plan my weight loss on a weekly level, not daily. This is because certain days are easier to create a calorie deficit than others. In this example I will need to eat below 11,500 calories per week in order to lose weight. How much weight I lose is dependent on how many calories I save below this figure. I can of course use exercise to increase what I lose, but the trick with exercise is to not compensate for the calories burned by eating more food, and certainly don’t drink the calories. If you go for a 3 mile run , then come back and have post work out shake, you may as well have just stayed home in the first place.
How Many Calories Do I Need To Lose Weight – The More I Lose The Less I Need
When I first started losing weight back in January 2009, I was 231lbs, so back then my RMR calories were closer to 2000 calories a day. This means I could cut down to be below 14000 calories per week and lose weight. This was obviously easier than my current plan, and also one reason that as you get closer to your target weight, it becomes harder to lose weight.
As you can see, no matter what your own weight loss target is, you first need to know your daily calorie needs, once you know this, then its easier to plan your calorie deficit.
So the take home message from this post, how many calories should i eat to lose weight ? well the answer is ” below my weekly rmr total” ( in this case 11,500 calories ) Your own number will vary from mine, this should help you get your own personal weight loss number.
If anything is unclear or you have some question, then please leave a comment below. You can also read this post on how many calories to lose a pound.
Related posts: