Calories measure how much energy you get from the things you consume. Thankfully, nutrition labels tell you how many calories are in your food and drink. Planning your meals to lose, gain, or maintain weight may be more challenging without knowing how many calories something has. Furthermore, everyone is different, and various factors influence the number of calories needed daily.
The absolute minimum amount of calories you need is your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). The Resting Metabolic Rate is the energy you need for breathing, circulating blood, and essential neurological and organ functions. In other words, it’s like measuring how much gas a car consumes idle while parked. About 70% of your caloric needs are for all your organs and processes to keep you alive, roughly 20% is from physical activity, and the remaining 10% is for digesting food.
You would think that with so much energy spent to keep your body alive, it would be easy to lose weight. Unfortunately, food is generally abundant and energy-dense, while people are less active. Therefore, it is easy to understand why many people gain weight.
What factors affect the number of calories you need per day?
Interestingly enough, aerobic exercises, such as running or cycling, are great activities to burn calories, but they do not affect your Resting Metabolic Rate. However, anaerobic exercises, such as weight lifting, lead to a higher Resting Metabolic Rate because they build muscle mass. The more muscle mass you have, the more energy you need to sustain your body.
Some factors can lower our Resting Metabolic Rate. For example, you require less energy to sustain your body as you age. Secondly, starving yourself can reduce your Resting Metabolic Rate, similar to how devices go into power-saving mode. Unfortunately, the human body will make sacrifices that can affect your mood, energy level, muscle mass, and brain power to sustain itself when energy isn’t readily available.
On the other hand, some factors can increase our Resting Metabolic Rate. One factor is the outside temperature. When it is warmer or colder outside, your body has to work harder to keep your inside temperature optimal. Another factor is pregnancy. Pregnancy requires more energy to grow a baby. This is also a reason why women tend to eat more while pregnant. Also, certain supplements or stimulants, such as caffeine, can increase our Resting Metabolic Rate. Furthermore, some factors can raise or lower our Resting Metabolic Rate, such as hormone changes from menopause and genetics.
How many calories do you need to maintain your weight?
The Resting Metabolic Rate provides a foundation to estimate your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). Your TDEE can be affected by several factors, such as your work, sleep patterns, everyday chores, and exercise. Therefore, your TDEE includes your Resting Metabolic Rate, the energy needed to digest food, non-exercise, and exercise activities. With all these terms and potential factors, a TDEE calculator can simplify estimating your daily caloric needs.
Although a calculator is helpful, it’s not the most accurate method to determine your TDEE. For a more accurate assessment, a nutritionist or doctor can calculate it using indirect calorimetry. This test measures the gases in the air you exhale to determine how many calories you burn at rest. Also, handheld devices are available online, in health and fitness centers, and weight-loss clinics.
Improving your chances of success
Regardless of the accuracy of these formulas, any calculations, including methods used by specialists, should be treated as estimates. However, it can still be helpful for a health or fitness goal.
Generally speaking, eating roughly the same number of calories each day, equal to your TDEE, maintains your current weight. However, much debate exists about the most “optimal” way to reshape your body. Regardless, the basic premise is to consume fewer calories to lose weight or more calories to gain weight.
Sometimes, being aware of what you’re eating and consciously thinking about it before eating it can affect your caloric intake. For some people, asking themselves whether they should eat or substitute certain foods is enough to control their weight. For other people, it helps to keep a journal to track their meals.
Most importantly, when you know how many calories you need to gain, lose, or maintain your weight, you can eat the foods you enjoy while managing your calories and exercise goals.
FitTrend’s mission is to help you along your self-improvement journey, promote an active lifestyle, and help you achieve your goals. Our journal can help you track your workouts, weight, mood, calories, and more. Also, FitTrend allows you to connect supported gadgets to your account to make it easier for you to update your journal automatically. Create your account today and start using FitTrend for free!
Disclaimer: No content on this site should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
