How many calories should I eat in a day?

One of the most common questions we are asked is: How many calories should I eat in a day?

Unfortunately there is no standard answer, and for each person the correct number of calories is slightly different.

Although there are guidelines for the number of calories a man or woman should consume a day, in reality it depends on you and factors like:

• Your age
• Your gender
• If your metabolism or strong or weak
• How much exercise you do
• If your job is physical or office based

Why simply counting calories doesn’t work

Many popular diets focus simply on counting calories, but this approach can leave you depleted in essential nutrients. It’s far better to deal with the root cause of any weight gain, and focus on providing the body with the essential nutrients it needs to work at its optimum level.

When your body is working at its peak and your metabolism is high, your body will be able to utilize all the calories/nutrients you provide it with and quickly send them to the areas of the body that need them.

Rather than simply focusing on how many calories you should eat in a day, start by cleansing your body of toxins and impurities (toxins can attach themselves to fat cells which means you can lose weight whilst cleansing), and feeding your body rather than depriving it.

Burn Fat – Don’t Starve Your Body

One of the problems with reducing your calorie intake is that you often slow down your metabolism at the same time. Your body is responding to the ‘fuel’ you are providing it, so when you reduce the amount of fuel it is getting, it has to become more efficient in how it uses it and starts to worry that it will run out. As a result, the body burns fuel less quickly and puts some away – in fat stores – for a rainy day.

Calorie Intake is Still Important

Even though we don’t believe that calorie counting or portion control alone is enough to lose weight and create a lean, healthy body, it is still important to understand how many calories your body needs to maintain your current weight.

There are some different ways to work this out, and they are explained in more detail here.

Getting Beyond a Weight Loss Plateau

Many people want to know how to lose weight fast, but if you lose weight too quickly you can hit a plateau and might struggle to get past it. This is because your body has adapted to your diet and is controlling how quickly it burns nutrients. In order to get past this, you need to ‘shock’ your body and give it a jump start. You could do a cleanse day or even start eating one high calorie meal a day for a few days, to confuse your body and raise your metabolism again.