What is the Correct Calorie Intake to Lose Weight?

If you want to make sure you are eating at the correct calorie intake to lose weight, it is important to learn your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This is the number of calories your body burns off in a day just to maintain normal functions such as breathing, heart rate, and processing food. This number tells you how many calories you need just to sit still all day long.

Once you know your BMR you know the minimum number of calories to eat every day to maintain your body as it is right now. There seven factors that determine your BMR, and essentially how many calories you can consume each day. Some of these you have some control over, others you are just stuck with.

Age. Every year your metabolism goes a little slower. This is typically because as you age you have less muscle in your body and muscle is what largely carries out the work of fat burning. You cannot stop yourself from aging, but you can incorporate strength training into your life to keep as much lean muscle in your body as possible as you get older.

Activity Level. The correct caloric intake to lose weight depends in large part on how active you are during your everyday life. The more your body moves the more calories you burn off, and therefore the more energy you will need. If you have an office job that requires sitting at a computer than you will have to make more conscious efforts to increase your activity level than someone who is constantly on the move most days. You can either accept your activity level and adjust your calories accordingly, or get creative and find ways to get on your feet a little more during the day. Of course, the more you exercise the more calories you will need for energy.

Current Weight. The more you weigh, the more calories you need to keep your body functioning. On the surface it appears an obese person is blessed with a faster metabolism, but in reality everything is just working a little harder because there is a lot more space in a big body to pump blood around. The heart must work harder to circulate blood and this strain is a great risk to your health in the long term. To ensure the correct caloric intake to lose weight, you will need to revise your BMR as you lose weight. Do not be surprised when you need fewer and fewer calories as your weight drops there is less of you to take care of now!

Height. The taller you are, the higher your BMR will typically be for the same reason a heavier persons is a little higher. There is simply more area to be maintained, but unfortunately this is one factor you have no control over whatsoever.

Gender. Males usually have more lean muscle in their body than females, so they also tend to have a higher metabolic rate. This is why men should consume more calories on a daily basis than women, the burn more off over the course of their day. For women, strength training on a regular basis will build new muscle and help boost your metabolic rate more.

Obviously, you can not control a lot of these factors but what you can do to boost your metabolic rate in some of these areas is to build more lean muscle in your body and get in as much exercise throughout the day as possible. It is easy to find a BMR calculator online to help determine the correct caloric intake to lose weight for your body right now.

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