How many calories are you supposed to have a day?

Question

i am 15 years old and about 115-119 pounds, height is 5'2''. firstly, how many calories is it suggested that you eat in a day? second, is there a different rule for people who are trying to lose weight? i am trying to tone up and i don't want to stop eating because thats just crazy but it would be helpful to know how much i can eat in a day and lose weight with the help of excercise.

Answer 1

For your body to be able to do all of its necessary functions it needs 1200 calories per day. That is assuming you are eating the perfect combination of foods to get the proper amount of nutrients. This would also mean you aren't doing much of anything else (walking around, daily living).

Your body can function with less than 1200 calories per day, but things will start working incorrectly or shutting down and you may not even notice it until you are not doing very well.

The amount of calories you need per day depends on your height, weight, age, and activity level. There are calculators on the web that can help give you an estimate of how many calories you need.

There are also calculators on the web that you can use to track your food intake and exercise to help you figure out how many calories you actually consume and expend.

At your age and height I doubt you need to lose any weight. You should be working on maintaining. To do this eat the right things: fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats like nuts and seeds, and the occasional treat.

To maintain weight you want the number of calories in (food/beverage consumption) to equal the number of calories out (daily activity/exercise).

To lose weight you want the number of calories in to be less than the number of calories out.

3500 calories equals one pound.

For example if you eat 500 calories less per day than you use you will lose one pound per week.

Any more than 1-2 pounds of weight loss per week is muscle or water weight not fat.

For health (and to look and feel better) do:

Cardio 3-5 times per week for 20-60 minutes

Strength 2-3 days per week with enough resistance to cause muscle fatigue, 1-3 sets of 8-12 reps, doing 8-10 exercises covering all major muscle groups (Don't worry women don't have enough testosterone to "bulk up" and muscles burn calories where fat doesn't).

Flexibility 2-3 days per week stretch to the point of mild discomfort holding each stretch for 15-30 seconds, doing each exercise 2-4 times, focus on stretching all major joints.

Don't forget muscle weighs more than fat. If you are doing strength training you could be losing fat but actually gaining (muscle) weight.

Remember to look in the mirror and pay attention to the way your clothes fit, try not to focus on the scale. Scales are good, they can help you determine if your daily habits are working. Your weight fluctuates throughout the day (five pounds of fluctuation is about normal) so don't hold too much stock in the number, so long as you are within your normal 'weight range'.

Answer 2

2000 calories. If you cut your calories your metabolism will slow down. If you want to lose weight eat healthy food, no junk and exercise. Cut down on some of the easily digested carbs in favor of others that are more slowly broken down. Eg. Whole wheat versus white bread, pasta.

Answer 3

The average person is supposed to consume about 2000 per day, but that's completely generalized. I'm reasonably active, not an athlete, and require about 3400 per day. I had to figure it out for a med class. the average person actually needs more than 2000 a day, but at 2000 you should stay reasonably healthy. It's all subjective

Answer 4

i think the least you can take 1,200 and most is 2000, just eat right and healthy and exercise but don't exercise the same muscle everyday cause you don't want to strain it, also don't count calories that no way to live! but just watch what you eat like eat in portions drink a lot of water and if you go out to eat, eat half of the plate bcuz restaurants tend to give you more then you really need anyway and you can take the other half home for lunch the next day, and i always have a day to spoil myself like fridays have a lil brownie or cookies...don't overdue it and eat lots of protein that helps to build muscle

also plz dont starve yourself cause that wont help you'll put yourself in danger plus your body will just store your fat bcuz it knows its starving therefore you wont lose weight unless you take it far enough that your body starts to eat your fat and then you become a skeleton =(

neway,good luck!

Answer 5

i think about 2000

Answer 6

Depends on how much exercise you do, it's around 2000 if your trying to maintain weight and no lesss than 1300 if your trying to loose weight.

But i eat 7000ish a day and i never put on fat.

Answer 7

I'm 5'4" 110lbs and I'm supposed to eat about 1600 a day.  There is a website that calculate this for you but I don't remember the name...sorry.

Answer 8

i eat around 1000 & im 125 pounds & 5'7"

Answer 9

2,000

Answer 10

You can Have 2500 net       Calories A day I checked in my health education book  For Body Fitness Do Yoja Dont Make Diet you may become sick

thanks

take care sister