How Many Calories Should I Eat?

Q: How many calories should I eat? I am a 32-year-old man.

A: That answer varies a little based on your lifestyle. It also depends on whether you are hoping to simply avoid weight gain or you want to lose weight. A male between the ages of 31 and 35 who is sedentary -- meaning you get less than 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity -- can consume roughly 2,200 calories per day and maintain your weight, according to USDA recommendations. If you are active, you can consume between 2,400 and 3,000 calories daily without experiencing weight gain.

You can calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate) using a simple math formula and factor in your own personal activity level. If you want to lose weight (and save yourself some math), check out Calories Needed for Goal Weight at About.com's Calorie Count. Simply enter your current weight and your goal weight to find out your caloric recommendations.

If you do want to lose weight, most people find it most comfortable to cut a set number of calories (around 250-500) per day, rather than making drastic dietary changes. Another option is to burn more calories with exercise, or, ideally to do a combination of both (e.g. cut 250 from your diet and burn an extra 250 with activity). As a rule of thumb, 3,500 calories is equal to one pound, so if you cut or burn a total of 500 calories daily, you could lose one pound a week, which is a safe rate at which to lose.

The following resources can help you understand your caloric needs a little better:

About.com's Calorie Count offers a way for you to enter your personal information to find your daily calorie expenditure. The site also offers free tools to track your caloric intake throughout the day with an online food diary and keep up with your "burn" (the calories you use up).

You may also find mypyramid.gov helpful.

Losing weight by cutting calories isn't just about eating less, but also getting the most "bang" for you calorie buck. It's important to educate yourself on nutrition and healthy food choices. After all, if you're only going to "spend" a certain number of calories each day, you'll want to use them on the most healthful, nutritious foods.

Source:
MyPyramid.gov. Inside the Pyramid - How many discretionary calories can I have?. 11 Sept 2008.

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How Many Calories in Vodka?

Answer:

The number of calories in vodka depends on the amount of alcohol in the product and on the type of vodka that you choose. According to CalorieCount.com, there are 97 calories in vodka if you drink a single shot (1.5 ounces). But if you choose 100 proof vodka, the calorie count goes up to 124.

Several companies have created low-calorie flavored varieties of vodka. Smirnoff Light Lemon Sorbet vodka contains 78 calories per 43 gram serving. Voli Vanilla Espresso contains 81 calories per serving, and according to the SkinnyGirl website, all of their flavored vodkas contain 75.8 calories.

Remember that if you choose to drink vodka, the mixer could easily contain more calories than the alcohol, so choose carefully. In addition, remember that your bartender might pour more than a single serving, causing the calorie count to climb higher.

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. Are you eating the right number of calories?

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How Many Calories in a Hard Boiled Egg?

Answer:

According to CalorieCount.com there are only 5 grams of fat and 78 calories in a hard-boiled egg. This is not a lot of calories, but if you are watching your fat or cholesterol intake you may want to scale back.

If you want to limit the fat and cholesterol in your hard-boiled egg, swap hummus for the egg yolk. You’ll still get plenty of metabolism-boosting protein in the egg white along with the great taste of hummus (and it actually still tastes like a traditional hard boiled egg!).

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Zaggora Hotwear: Does It Burn More Calories?

I love testing exercise apparel, especially when the brand is new and the designs are interesting. So when ads for Zaggora Hotwear started showing up in my Facebook feed it seemed like a good idea to give them a try. The design of the Hotpants Capri looked fun and I love the bold colors. So I got a few Zaggora pieces and gave them a try.

When I got my Zaggora Hotwear in the mail, I could instantly see how people lose weight wearing them. The clothing is very thick, doesn’t breathe and causes your body to sweat. The design and feel of it reminded me of scuba gear. It did not look like the images I saw online. But I put them on with good intentions of wearing them throughout the day and for my evening workout.

After about four hours in the pants, I wasn’t able to keep them on anymore. Sitting in the sweaty, sticky pants was simply too uncomfortable. The top, however, was easier to wear. I did complete a workout wearing the gear, but had to cut it short because it was simply unbearable.

Did I see results? No. I may not have worn the apparel for long enough to see any change, but I would not be surprised if I lost water weight during this experience. I wonder about any exerciser’s ability to wear the pants for long enough to see any difference. And of course, weight lost from water isn't sustainable.

While I was wearing my pants, I decided to take a critical look at the Zaggora science that is outlined on the website. I was disappointed (but not entirely surprised) to see that company quotes percentages of calories and not actual calorie counts in their study results. Without knowing actual numbers, the percentages have no real value. For example, if an exerciser burns “an average of 6% more calories” it might sound significant. But if her total calorie burn during the workout is 200 calories, then she only burned 12 extra calories with Zaggora hotpants. That’s the caloric equivalent of 3 ½ M & M candies.

I asked Zaggora to see the actual research report so that I could view the data and analyze it more carefully. A spokesperson for the company told me that they are “unable to send copies of our research studies.” As a critical consumer, this raised a red flag. After several calls to the University of Southern California, I was also unable to find anyone familiar with the research or with the company that is apparently based there who conducted the study.

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Lose Weight by Counting Calories

There are several ways to determine the number of calories you require each day in order to maintain your weight.

There is something called the Harris-Benedict formula that uses a mathematical formula to determine your caloric needs based on your sex, weight, and activity level; the result is known as your Basal Metabolic Rate. The U.S. government provides a chart of suggested daily caloric needs as part of the My Pyramid.gov Web site. Additionally, Calorie Count Plus allows you to type in your weight, activity level and weight loss goals and receive caloric intake recommendations when you sign up for a free account.

Once you know the number of calories you need in order to maintain your weight, you can create your own caloric goals for losing weight. It's up to you how many calories you cut from your daily diet. Remember, it takes a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories for you to lose a pound. Most people find it easiest and most effective to cut between 250 and 500 calories a day. Beware of cutting calories too low (below 1,200) as doing so can put your health at risk.

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Spare Change and Calories - They All Add Up!

My young son, like most toddlers, has a piggy bank. Every evening he and his Daddy have fun putting spare change from Dad?s pockets into the pig. In fact, we?ve had to empty the pig contents several times in the past months. It sure does fill up quickly. Before the pig, the spare change was just left lying on the dresser, leaving us with a big mess, and no idea how much had accumulated.

What do piggy banks and food choices have in common? I honestly would have had no idea before this past week when I decided to start keeping a food journal. Calories are a lot like the spare change from my husband?s pockets, they add up fast. Unfortunately, before I started writing them all down, they were exactly like the mess on our dresser, only harder to clean up, or loose.

Since having my son two-and-a-half years ago, I have attempted numerous times to loose the extra ?baby weight?. Although becoming harder to do so everyday, I have to laugh at the ?baby weight? excuse. Honey, the so called ?baby weight? was lost when the bundle made his first shrill squeal at the hospital. What I?m packing around is twenty pounds of pocket change with no pig to put it in?

At the end of the first day of ?food journaling?, I expected to discover a miraculous remedy for what?s ailing me?and guess what? I did. I discovered that? I eat too much. Huh? That?s it? I eat too much? Actually, it?s not the quantity, most of the time anyway, but the choices that are the problem. But come on, I had no idea that one stinking piece of American cheese had seventy calories, and forty-five of them came from fat. Boy, nibbling on a few of those through out the day can shoot your entire plan to heck.

The first day I just ate and wrote it all down. Other than trying to remember to jot down the food and calories for each bit I ate, I didn?t change a thing. After needing to use a calculator to add it all up that night, the reality was heavier than all of the piggy bank change in the world. I really needed to make some healthier choices in what I was consuming each day.

Food journaling has opened my eyes not only to how my choices were preventing weight loss, but how easy it is to just pop quick snacks into my mouth rather than planning my meals for the day. I?ve also taken up another foreign concept?the art of exercise. Just like emptying the pig when it gets too full, I?m depositing extra calories everyday with some very much needed walking.

At the end of your day, are you just dumping your spare change on the dresser, or do you keep count of how much you?ve accumulated? Come on. You can do it. You?ll be surprised at how fast those nickels?ahem, calories, can add up! Bank those calories in your own food journal today.

Author Bio: Sherry Frewerd is a WAHM who publishes a number of websites, specifically, http://thedust-freebookshelf.com, where you?ll find tons of free e-books and information about healthy living, parenting, cooking, home improvement and home business.

Author Bio: Sherry Frewerd is a WAHM who publishes a number of websites specifically http://thedust-freebookshelf where youll find tons of free e-books and information about healthy living parenting cooking home improvement and home business.  

View all articles by Sherry Frewerd

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Spare Change and Calories - They All Add Up!

AppId is over the quota

My young son, like most toddlers, has a piggy bank. Every evening he and his Daddy have fun putting spare change from Dad?s pockets into the pig. In fact, we?ve had to empty the pig contents several times in the past months. It sure does fill up quickly. Before the pig, the spare change was just left lying on the dresser, leaving us with a big mess, and no idea how much had accumulated.

What do piggy banks and food choices have in common? I honestly would have had no idea before this past week when I decided to start keeping a food journal. Calories are a lot like the spare change from my husband?s pockets, they add up fast. Unfortunately, before I started writing them all down, they were exactly like the mess on our dresser, only harder to clean up, or loose.

Since having my son two-and-a-half years ago, I have attempted numerous times to loose the extra ?baby weight?. Although becoming harder to do so everyday, I have to laugh at the ?baby weight? excuse. Honey, the so called ?baby weight? was lost when the bundle made his first shrill squeal at the hospital. What I?m packing around is twenty pounds of pocket change with no pig to put it in?

At the end of the first day of ?food journaling?, I expected to discover a miraculous remedy for what?s ailing me?and guess what? I did. I discovered that? I eat too much. Huh? That?s it? I eat too much? Actually, it?s not the quantity, most of the time anyway, but the choices that are the problem. But come on, I had no idea that one stinking piece of American cheese had seventy calories, and forty-five of them came from fat. Boy, nibbling on a few of those through out the day can shoot your entire plan to heck.

The first day I just ate and wrote it all down. Other than trying to remember to jot down the food and calories for each bit I ate, I didn?t change a thing. After needing to use a calculator to add it all up that night, the reality was heavier than all of the piggy bank change in the world. I really needed to make some healthier choices in what I was consuming each day.

Food journaling has opened my eyes not only to how my choices were preventing weight loss, but how easy it is to just pop quick snacks into my mouth rather than planning my meals for the day. I?ve also taken up another foreign concept?the art of exercise. Just like emptying the pig when it gets too full, I?m depositing extra calories everyday with some very much needed walking.

At the end of your day, are you just dumping your spare change on the dresser, or do you keep count of how much you?ve accumulated? Come on. You can do it. You?ll be surprised at how fast those nickels?ahem, calories, can add up! Bank those calories in your own food journal today.

Author Bio: Sherry Frewerd is a WAHM who publishes a number of websites, specifically, http://thedust-freebookshelf.com, where you?ll find tons of free e-books and information about healthy living, parenting, cooking, home improvement and home business.

Author Bio: Sherry Frewerd is a WAHM who publishes a number of websites specifically http://thedust-freebookshelf where youll find tons of free e-books and information about healthy living parenting cooking home improvement and home business.  

View all articles by Sherry Frewerd

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Weight Loss with HCG and 500 Calories

Losing weight with the help of a 500-calorie diet while on HCG is easier than you might expect. Using HCG or human chorionic gonadotropin works by helping your body metabolize fat for energy when other sources are low. Therefore, after two days of loading up on calories, the protocol is to reduce calorie consumption to 500 for an extended period of time. With the HCG diet plan, one can quickly lose weight while keeping up energy levels to do normal daily activities by tricking the body to use its fat stores in cells.

The use of HCG was first recommended by Dr. Simeons who created a dieting protocol after learning that HCG can also curb a person's appetite. The dieting protocol is divided into four phases and is very important the patient adheres to the protocol to achieve success on the HCG diet plan.

The most common forms of the hormone are HCG drops, sublingual pellets and HCG injections. The 500-calorie diet in Phase II is a must no matter which HCG delivery system your doctor uses. When you adhere to the 500-calorie diet regimen, you can easily shed 1 -3 pounds each day, often more. By exceeding the 500-calorie diet of protein and complex carbohydrates, it is more difficult to achieve you goals of rapid medical weight loss . The low calorie diet itself is very strict to limit you to balanced portions of meats, non-dairy liquids and complex fruits and vegetables. Sugars and simple carbohydrates are not part of the Phase II section of this diet.

Dr. Simeon suggests healthy foods consisting of the correct amount of protein such as shrimp, beef, fish, chicken or turkey must be very lean. If the meat happens to have some visible fat, it must be eliminated prior to cooking. In terms of food portions, a dieter is allowed to eat 3.5 oz beef, 6 oz shrimp, 4 oz fish or 5 oz chicken when designing a meal for the 500 calorie diet in Phase II. Phase I is the stage where you gorge yourself for two days on anything you want to eat. Have fun in phase I since it becomes a starvation diet for the next 21 or more days.

By planning and creating your meals ahead of time, you may minimize possible temptations when you are in the kitchen. The planned low calorie snacks are also very important to curbing your appetite. Alternate your dinner and lunch choices between poultry, seafood and beef and avoid eating the same meat choices consecutively. This way, you will not get bored with eating the same kinds of foods.

A dieter is also allowed to eat vegetables while following this low calorie diet plan . There are more than 40 different vegetables that you can choose from and we all know that healthy weight loss in Williamsbridge will include eating your vegetables. In the HCG diet phase I, you can go crazy with pizza, burgers and ice cream. Most diets for women in the Bronx forego snacks altogether. We believe that successful weight loss programs for Bronx men and women should include in between meal snacks to curb the appetite between lunch and dinner. Do not try this type of diet alone. Be sure to consult with a weight loss doctor in the Bronx to administer the HCG and help you design the phase II and phase III sections of the diet.

Steve Neligar writes for a weight loss doctor in the Bronx . NY Weight Loss and Wellness Centers design weight loss programs for Bronx patients that work. Contact them today if you seek healthy weight loss solutions.

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