how many calories should I eat in a day.
How Many Calories Should I Eat In A Day.
I’m going to discuss a favourite topic of mine and it all rotates around food! The question just keeps on coming back, how many calories should I eat in a day? I would like to address this question hopefully for once and for all. We all need to understand that food is a necessity and as such, needs to be eaten but in the right quantities. Too many calories will make us gain weight and not enough will cause us to lose weight, lose energy and strength. We must get the balance right!
Eating to live – not to lose weight!
The balance is simple, we should really be eating to live. How we choose to live is a totally different matter. Life can be or in my case is very busy but that’s no excuse not to eat healthily. Our bodies need food, the basic guideline given to this is that men should consume 2500 and women should consume 2000 calories.
This is great! You now know the answer to your question of how many calories should I eat in a day. Correct? Not quite! If, you’re like me you have a very busy lifestyle or you’re a gym bunny, (Someone who goes to the gym daily) then your daily intake of calories will be depleted quickly.
How many calories should I eat in a day?
In this instance I would say that your intake of GOOD FOOD should be increased. This basic calculation comes down to the fact that you need to eat to live, not live to eat and definitely not live just to lose weight.
Eating the right foods – follow your taste buds.
Over my many years as a competitor, I have found that going on a diet is not the best way forward! If you feel the need to lose weight, then you need to change your lifestyle and the type of foods you’re consuming. On asking the question of how many calories should I eat in a day is good question, but it’s only a small part of the weight management puzzle.
Have you ever heard the saying, “Everything that tastes good is bad for you.” Well that about says it all, but here’s the good news. Only too much food that’s high in bad fats (Saturated fats) or sugars will cause us arm. Keep your sugar intake at a sensible level, what’s a sensible level? You might ask.
This should be your next question, with every piece of food you consume, I would say a sensible level is when you eat and you stop before you get the feeling you’re going to explode! There isn’t any better way to say it!
The optimum time to eat – no not 24 hours!
We all work on a 24-hour clock, our 24 hour day is split up into sections of sleeping, working, eating and for some people working out. The average person should get around 6 to 8 hours sleep per night. This again is a recommended quantity of quality sleep that our bodies need to repair and rest.
We need to eat and knowing how many calories should I eat in a day, will help us lose weight and fuel our bodies adequately.
In between our rest periods, work and hobbies we’ll eat. The courses I have taken and the experience I have gathered over the years, as shown me that I can achieve more with a good breakfast in the morning. Following this simple suggestion will get your body fired up to take on your busy routine. Even though this post is about how many calories should I eat in a day, try not to spend your day calorie counting. Eat a well-balanced lunch and dinner, they should contain Protein, Carbohydrates, Vitamins, Minerals and Fats.
Try to do the same with your evening meal. Enjoy your food. In between your main meals eat sensible snacks, I would suggest fruit and drinking plenty of water.
Change your lifestyle – change your weight.
Use the information you have gathered, by this I mean using the knowledge of how many calories should I eat in a day. Put it into practice, learning what to eat and when to eat, plays a bit part in being healthy. Consuming calories is a part of eating and we must all eat to live. Like I said earlier the key is to eat the good stuff and even then, eating the right amount is key!
Having a workout will burn calories. So try not to dwell too much on how many calories you have consumed. Or even if you’ve gone over your daily quota. If this happens and it will, the last thing to do is to start missing meals!
Remember first and foremost your food is your fuel. Your body relies up on a steady intake of food, to allow it to do its job properly.
I would urge you to change the way you think about food, food is not your enemy.
Night will become day and visa versa, eating will involve calories but that’s a part of life. We just need to learn how to manage it correctly.
The choices we all must face.
This is the part of my post where I say that you have all the relevant information. And now the rest is up to you! You need to put things in place that will allow you to change your outlook on food. You now know how many calories you should eat in a day. Enjoy your life and the variety of foods it brings.
Try to make every encounter with food a sensible one. By this I mean always head for the most balanced meal you can find. Keep your portions small. This should be your basic rule and this one is not open to negotiation!
Eat in moderation and regularly. Your body and metabolism will constantly be at work, this will help towards your weight loss issues.
I hope I have covered all your problems and answered your questions regarding your calorie intake. If you have any more questions or any comments please leave them below and I will answer them as soon as possible.
Please Enjoy!
I think it’s now time for me to adopt this lifestyle of consuming only the right amount of calories, and having enough rest of 6 to 8 hours. I take lots of vitamins and food supplements per day and yet I still look tired by dusk. So, it must be the right amount of sleep too that I need, the 6 to 8 hours requirement. The exercise regimen that I’ve taken as a challenge will be useless if I do not follow your suggestion here about calories and the right amount of sleep.
Food for me has been a big issue. I was a chef and I was taught to worship food from an early age. There is a reason why things in restaurants taste so good. The food is full of cream and wine and other tasty stuff. This as not helped me going forward in to my adult life. Up until about 10 years ago my diet was terrible. I then sorted my self out, started boxing and lost 8 stones in weight. Unfortunately I have gained six stones since becoming sick a few years ago. I try to eat around 2000 calories a day but, I just don’t lose weight due to medical conditions. I am hoping to get back on track over the next couple of weeks. Thanks for the post. Mark
Mark, from every negative comes a positive. The positive here is that you have lost weight before and health permitting you could do it again. Why not change the type of food you eat? Either way -DON’T GIVE UP!
That’s a great question and I appreciate you taking a look into it once and for all here. 2500 calories for men and 2000 calories for women does sound about right for those who don’t burn lots of calories at the gym. Fruit and water are great advice for snacks. Eating regularly and moderately is sound advice. Often we can focus a lot of numbers and it takes the enjoyment out of life, so it’s important like you said to find some enjoyment. You definitely covered all areas here. Great post and I’m looking forward to reading more!
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my post. I do intend to keep you up to date with all your training needs. See you soon.
Hello there,
I liked your article a lot. I have lately realized that sometimes I stress myself so much when I pay too much attention to all the details of how many calories I’ve eaten in a given day, how much more I need to add or what to do to remove the excess. This has always been depriving me of the joy of life. Too much worry about calories!
Eating just the right amount of food, being a balanced meal, should always do the trick. I do not need calculations. Only caution. I have really been living with food as if it was- like you put it- my enemy! Now, this has changed. Thanks very much.
Boniface- from AndroidBix
Thanks for dropping by, you’ve made some good changes to how what and when you eat. It’s a good move, one that will pay you dividends.
Hi everyone. After reading this post I have decided to forego as much sugar from my diet as I can. The great thing about this article is that it has encouraged me to focus more on the quality of food instead of cutting out all my favorite foods. Being healthy with food choices can start small. When I cut out some sugars, my taste preference will begin to change and I will be ready to make another healthy choice.
Hi,
Eating the right things and the right amount is really important for exercise. When I was on a serious training regime, I used to eat five small meals per day. At the start of my plan, I could barely fit all the food in and it was pretty plain tasting stuff too. Eventually, it became habit and actually enjoyable. It was a lot of work to get all the meals cooked and put in to Tupperware boxes for the week though.
The good news is you persevered and made it. That’s exactly what training is all about. GREAT STUFF!