Looking to Lose Fat? Exactly How Much Food Should You Be Eating?

So, you still have a little extra baby weight left, are trying to look your best for the summer, are a bride to be, got those last x# of lbs to lose, or you are looking for that “eat your heart out” moment with an ex.

I got it, been there.

You have heard me over and over like a broken record repeat things such as “no amount of exercise will make up for a crappy diet”, “starve fat and feed muscle”, and “be smart about what and how much you eat”.

You know that one of the things you need to do to lose weight is eat less.

But exactly how much food should you be eating? Exactly how much is “less”?

The answer is that we use something called our resting metabolic rate (RMR) to calculate exactly how many calories your body needs to run all of its systems at complete rest. Imagine yourself laying in bed for 24 hours and not moving a muscle. RMR is your body’s energy requirements (calories required) minus what it needs to move and get you through a day.

This amount of calories is the minimum amount of calories you should consume for the day. Eat any less and your body will get freaked that you are not eating enough calories to run all of its systems. As a result, your metabolism will slow way down to conserve calories. You will NOT lose weight, and you may even pack on a few.

RMR is determined by several factors: gender, age, height, and weight. As an adult, only age and weight have the potential to change all that much. Therefore, as we age or gain or lose weight, our body’s energy requirements change and therefore, the minimum amount of calories our bodies require will also change.

How do we caluclate our RMR? Click on this link http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php to find an RMR calculator. Just plug in the relevant information and you will get the minimum amount of calories you should consume each day.

And remember to recalculate as your weight goes up or down.

Stay tuned to find out how your activity level plays a role in how much you need to eat to lose weight!

Tagged as: calories, Fat loss, resting metabolic rate