How Many Calories Should An Active Woman Eat — A woman who exercises regularly has a higher metabolism and requires fewer calories than someone who is inactive. That’s why women with active lifestyles often maintain their ideal weight on fewer calories than sedentary women require to maintain theirs.
In general, women need between 1,600 and 2,400 calories per day depending on their activity level and metabolism. If you’re very active, like running or playing sports every day, then you’ll want to add another 200-300 calories per day. If you’re sedentary, then you’ll want to subtract 100-200 calories per day.
How Many Calories Should An Active Woman Eat.? An active woman has a higher energy requirement than an inactive woman. The average calorie needs for an active woman are between 1,800-2,000 calories per day. If you are not sure how many calories you need, consult with your doctor or dietitian to determine your needs based on your lifestyle and health goals.
How Many Calories Should An Active Woman Eat
How Many Calories Should An Active Woman Eat? An active woman needs to eat a healthy diet and get enough calories to maintain her weight. A woman who is physically active is burning more energy than a sedentary woman, but she still requires the same amount of calories per day. The more active you are, the more fuel you need to keep your body functioning properly.
Consuming the right amount and right type of calories gets you through your daily grind, as well as your evening kickboxing class. When you don’t get enough fuel in your system, you feel tired, groggy and may not have enough energy to support your active lifestyle. Determining the right amount of calories for your specific needs requires a few small calculations involving your height and weight.
1. Basal Metabolic Rate
The bare minimum of calories required for basic bodily operations including digestion, cardiovascular processes, and a variety of other processes is known as your basal metabolic rate. By calculating 24 by your weight in pounds and dividing the result by 2.2, you can determine your basal metabolic rate, or BMR. For instance, multiply 24 by 115, which is 2,760, assuming you weigh 115 pounds. Multiply that amount by 2.2. Your daily energy needs are 1,254 calories. You must eat more calories than your individual basal metabolic rate in order to maintain your active lifestyle.
2. Moderate Activity
In general, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 state that women who engage in moderate physical activity require between 2,200 and 2,400 calories daily. Your unique demand, however, can be higher or less. After you know your basal metabolic rate, you can multiply it by a cofactor to determine how many calories you need to maintain your lifestyle. Being moderately active entails exercising at a moderate intensity most days of the week, such as jogging, brisk walking, or low-impact aerobics. Your basal metabolic rate should be multiplied by 1.70 for this amount of activity. This translates to 2,131 calories per day at 115 pounds and a basal metabolic rate of 1,254 calories.
3. Highly Active
If you exercise frequently at a high intensity or are an athlete or aerobics instructor, you probably require between 2,200 and 2,400 calories. Determine your basal metabolic rate, and then multiply the figure by a co-factor of 1.88 to determine your individual needs. Your adjusted caloric need is 2,358 calories if you weigh 115 pounds and have a basal metabolic rate of 1,254 calories.
4. Macronutrient Breakdown
You must calculate how many calories should come from carbohydrates, protein, and fat after determining the appropriate number of calories for your level of activity. As carbohydrates are your primary source of energy, they must make up the majority of your calories. Carbohydrates, which provide 4 calories per gram, should make up 45 to 65 percent of your calories. Depending on your level of exercise, you’ll need 10 to 35 percent of your calories to come from protein. If you lead an active lifestyle, you might require the higher end of the advice. Protein offers 4 calories per gram just like carbohydrates. Finally, you should consume 20 to 35 percent of your calories from fat, which has 9 calories per gram. For instance, a 115-pound woman who is very active needs 2,358 calories, which equates to 265 to 383 grams of carbohydrates, 58 to 206 grams of protein, and 52 to 91 grams of fat.
How Many Calories Should A Woman Eat To Lose Weight
Depending on their gender, age group, and level of physical activity, different people require varying amounts of nutrition to be healthy and active without experiencing episodes of exhaustion and sluggishness.
But, this grid, which was developed using an algorithm from the Institute of Medicine, calculates figures for each degree of physical activity and the number of calories needed to the closest 200.
How can I workout where I fall on this equation?
To understand if you are either sedentary, moderately active or active, let’s break down what each term means according to Institute of Medicine Dietary Reference.
Am I ‘sedentary’, ‘moderate’ or ‘active’?
- ‘Sedentary’ means a lifestyle that includes only light physical activity you would do day-to-day, such as walking to the bus stop
- ‘Moderate’ means physical activity equating to walking 1.5 to three miles per day, at a pace of three to four miles an hour
- If you have an ‘active’ lifestyle, that means you walk more than three miles per day at three to four miles per hour in addition to daily activities you go about
Want to try and take this number to a more exact place? Then you’ll need to follow the formulas below.
Food calorie calculator: how to find out your daily calorie need
How to work out your basal metabolic rate
Without adding exercise or other calorie-burning activities on top, this is the volume of calories your body expends only to keep you alive. This figure should be considered an approximate estimate.
Use it as a recommendation rather than the last word because you could only get this exact information if you were tested in a lab.
For this, you’ll need a tape measure, scales, and a calculator.
According to Livestrong, the equation for women is: your height in centimetres x 6.25 + your weight in kilograms x 9.99 – your age x 4.92 – 161.
For example, if your height is 178 cm, your weight is 78.6 kg and your age is 33, you would use: (178 x 6.25) + (78.6 x 9.99) – (33 x 4.92) – 161 = 1,574 calories per day.
How to work out your calorie need, based on your BMR
From here, you can calculate your daily calorie needs, based on how active you are.
- If you are sedentary (little or no exercise): BMR x 1.1
- If you are lightly active, taking part in light exercise one to three times per week: BMR x 1.275
- If you are moderately active (moderate exercise three to fives times per week) BMR x 1.35
- If you are very active (hard exercise six times a week): BMR x 1.525
It’s not just about the calories, when it comes to a balanced diet
Of course, calories are only part of the picture. Hitting your calorie guide amount with chips means something very different to making it out of lean protein, veg and healthy fats.
Keep a diary of your 5-a-day
We all know we need to be eating five fruit and veg per day but maybe keep a diary of what the fruit and vegetables you’re consuming in a day? It may surprise you see that those numbers may be frequently lesser than you thought.
Remember your morning porridge (or potato skins)
Increase your fibre intake. This means you include some high fibre starchy carbs i.e. wholewheat pasta, high fibre breakfast cereals i.e. porridge and low sugar granola to potatoes with their skins left on.
Milk it
You also need to include calcium: whether you get yours from cow’s milk, natural yogurt or a lot of kale.
Iron out your diet
Also, it’s critical for women, especially those who have recently given birth, to maintain healthy iron levels. Iron is present in spinach, beans, lentils, wholemeal bread, dried fruit, and moderate amounts of red meat.
1. Estimated Calorie Intake for Women
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2015-2020, provides advice on calorie intake depending on factors like gender, age, and degree of activity. The average calorie requirement for males and women is higher, and the calorie requirements of active people are higher than inactive people. Also, as you age, your calorie needs typically decline.
- Women age 18: 1,800 (sedentary), 2,000 (moderately active), 2,400 (active)
- Women age 19-25: 2,000 (sedentary), 2,200 (moderately active), 2,400 (active)
- Women age 26-50: 1,800 (sedentary), 2,000 (moderately active), 2,200 (active)
- Women age 51-60: 1,600 (sedentary), 1,800 (moderately active), 2,200 (active)
- Women 61 and older: 1,600 (sedentary), 1,800 (moderately active), 2,000 (active)
2. Understanding Activity Levels
Everyone’s ideas of what constitutes a sedentary lifestyle versus an active lifestyle differs. For the purposes of these calories estimates, the CDC defines each as:
- Sedentary: The only physical activity you get is through the daily activities of independent living.
- Moderate active: Physical activity is equal to walking 1.5 to 3 or more miles a day at 3 to 4 MPH, plus the activities of independent living.
- Active: Physical activity is equal to walking more than 3 miles per day at 3 to 4 MPH.
3. Daily Calorie Intake for Females
Use a method to determine your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), which takes your present weight and height into consideration, if you enjoy crunching numbers. Your TDEE, also known as your resting metabolic rate, is the term used to describe the number of calories your body burns each day. It is influenced by the energy required by your body to digest food, the energy you expend while exercising, and the calories you burn each day through basic bodily functions (RMR).
Knowing your TDEE will help you determine how many calories you need to consume everyday to maintain your weight.
4. Calculating Your TDEE
Then, figure out your RMR using the following formula: (4.92 x age) – (4.99 x bodyweight in kilos) – (6.25 x height in centimeters) = 161. then divide your RMR by the relevant activity score: 1.45 if you engage in 60 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and up to 60 minutes of high-intensity physical activity each day, 1.12 if you engage in 30 to 60 minutes of low- to moderate-intensity physical activity each day, 1.27 if you do 60 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity each day.
Your TDEE, which is the number that represents how many calories you should aim to consume each day, is the consequence. For illustration purposes, let’s use a 35-year-old lady who weighs 150 pounds, is 5 feet 7 inches tall, and exercises moderately should consume 1,578 calories daily.
5. Calories During Pregnancy
The typical calorie intake for a woman can alter because there are times in her life when she has to consume more to sustain her biological processes. For instance, it is not surprising that a pregnant woman requires extra calories to support the development of a tiny human inside of her. The precise amount will vary, though, because the recommended weight gain, which can range from 11 to 40 pounds, depending on a woman’s body mass index before becoming pregnant.
Have a discussion with your doctor about the ideal daily caloric intake for you, but the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests a range of 2,200 to 2,900 calories, which should be obtained through a variety of nutrient-rich foods.
6. Caloric Intake While Breastfeeding
Typically, a woman who is breastfeeding has to ingest an extra 450–500 calories per day. This indicates that a lady who is between the ages of 19 and 25 and leads an active lifestyle may consume up to 2,900 calories per day.
After giving birth, breastfeeding mothers frequently strive to shed weight. However, restricting calories during this period may reduce milk production. Also, breastfeeding moms need to have two to three meals of protein, three servings of vegetables, two servings of fruit, and nutritious carbohydrates like oatmeal and whole-wheat bread. In order to quench their thirst and create milk, breastfeeding mothers may also need to increase their water intake.
7. Calories for Weight Loss
Calorie-counting is a tried-and-true, although often tedious, tactic for losing weight. Although a variety of factors play into how easily a person sheds pounds, the basic equation is simple: Burn more calories than you consume.
A person needs to reduce their calorie intake by 3,500 calories per day in order to lose one pound of body fat. One pound of fat is equal to around 3,500 calories. This can be accomplished by combining calorie expenditure through exercise with calorie restriction.
How Many Calories Should I Eat To Lose Weight Calculator
Tracking your calorie consumption is the first step you should take if you’re trying to lose weight. You can use this calculator to determine how many calories you need to consume daily in order to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way. Simply enter the name of a meal or dish to find out how many calories are in it. This calculator utilizes a straightforward formula to estimate how many calories are in the food you eat.
1. This simple trick cuts the confusion.
Many of us are making resolutions to save more money, get more sleep, and, you guessed it, become healthier or feel better by losing some weight now that January is well under way. One of the most popular resolutions that millions of individuals make each year is to lose weight. If so, you probably have one thought going through your head: How many calories should I actually consume daily if I want to lose weight?
On average, a moderately active woman between the ages of 26 and 50 should take in about 2,000 calories per day to maintain a healthy weight, according to the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans. But when it comes to weight loss, calories aren’t a one-size-fits-all thing. How many to consume depends on factors like your age, height, sex, and activity level.
If you Googled this query, you probably came across weight loss applications or websites that employ a formula that takes these factors into consideration. Once you’ve entered your personal information, it magically calculates how many calories you must consume each day to reach your ideal healthy weight. Does it seem too wonderful to be true? That most likely is, according to contributing nutrition editor for health Cynthia Sass.
2. How Weight Loss Apps Calculate Daily Intake
Your present weight, height, target weight, sex, age, degree of activity, and the rate at which you want to lose weight will all be inquired about when you sign up for a weight-loss program like MyFitnessPal, for instance (anywhere from one half to two pounds per week).
Sass says most of these apps use a formula that calculates the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight, and then it subtracts 500 calories per day if you want to lose one pound per week (or subtracts 1,000 per day if you want to lose two pounds per week). If you think that sounds like a huge number of calories will be cut from your daily meal plan, you’re right. “The problem is that it will reduce calories below what is needed for someone to achieve and stay at their ideal weight,” she explains.
According to the principle that 3,500 calories equal one pound, cutting 500 calories from your daily intake for seven days will result in a 3,500-calorie deficit and a one-pound loss. Sass says, “There are a lot of issues with that. A person’s metabolism may slow down, they may lose muscle or lean tissue, and they may experience other side effects like intense cravings or hunger, irritability, or mood swings if they consume fewer calories than they need to maintain a healthy weight or reach their goal weight, according to the study.
3. Basing Intake On Your Goal Weight
So how can you figure out how many calories you really need to burn off in order to lose weight without endangering your health? Sass has a hack: enter your goal weight in the box that asks for your current weight rather than entering both weights into the app or formula, and select “keep current weight” as your objective rather than “lose one pound each week.” Enter your present weight as 130 pounds and your aim as “maintain current weight,” for instance, if you currently weigh 150 pounds but wish to weigh 130.
You’ll never underestimate your needs or cause all of those terrible side effects, she claims, and you’ll know exactly how many calories you need to consume to reach and maintain a body weight of 130.
We tested this strategy on MyFitnessPal by first entering the weights of a 35-year-old woman who exercises four times a week for 60 minutes at her current weight of 150 pounds and her desired weight of 130 pounds. “Lose 1 pound every week” was the aim we assigned to her. The app then advised her to consume 1,400 calories daily in order to attain her target. We again input the same data, but this time we said that the woman’s goal was to “keep present weight” and that her current weight was 130 pounds. Her allotted daily caloric intake was 1,780. What a significant difference.
Although you will lose weight a little more slowly with this strategy than if you reduce 500 calories per day, it’s unlikely that you will burn muscle, disrupt your metabolism, or experience mood swings like irritation. Also, most people can’t sustain a 500-calorie deficit per day. At some time, you’ll probably feel so hungry or exhausted that you’ll need to eat more calories, which could cause you to gain the weight back quickly.
4. Tracking Calories Is Not for Everyone
Sass prefers to track her consumption by eating the number of calories required to maintain her desired weight, but she is convinced that not everyone should count calories. You must be aware of your personality, she advises. “Some people are really driven by data, and they enjoy utilizing trackers and figures. To them, this is all just data. It can also be stressful for folks who have a more emotional link with their bodies and numbers and experience anxiety when counting.”
Never force yourself to track calories if it stresses you out. Sass says it could end up being counterproductive and drive you to overeat out of frustration or totally give up on your goal. When it becomes all-consuming, it can even trigger a surge in levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which has been shown to increase belly fat, she adds.
5. Other Ways to Reduce Calorie Intake
Fortunately, there are many other strategies to lower your calorie intake if measuring your food intake isn’t your thing. For example, you may concentrate on portion size rather than calories. For instance, Sass explains that eating more non-starchy vegetables like spinach, broccoli, and mushrooms while eating fewer starchy, simple carb items (like white bread or pasta) will result in a reduction in your calorie intake.
To obtain a sense of what it might be like to consume a healthy number of calories for their target weight, some people might also wish to try using a tracker at first. Sass claims that she has treated patients who didn’t believe they were overeating but who were actually 400–500 calories beyond their recommended daily intake.
Remember that not all calories are created equally. You might lose weight if you stick to your daily calorie goal but only consume fast food all day long. Nevertheless, you won’t feel good while doing it. Whole foods are the best option if you wish to reduce your weight.
Benefits
- Opting for a balanced, adequate and varied diet is an important step towards a happy and healthy lifestyle.
- Vitamins and minerals in the diet are vital to boost immunity and healthy development,
- A healthy diet can protect the human body against certain types of diseases, in particular noncommunicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, some types of cancer and skeletal conditions.
- Healthy diets can also contribute to an adequate body weight.
- Healthy eating is a good opportunity to enrich life by experimenting with different foods from different cultures, origins and with different ways to prepare food.
- The benefits of eating a wide variety of foods are also emotional, as variety and colour are important ingredients of a balance diet.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How many calories should you eat for breakfast?
The amount of calories you should consume during breakfast relies on a variety of elements, such as your daily nutritional needs, tastes, health objectives, and overall dietary pattern.
While many people find that having their morning meal at one-third or one-fourth of their day caloric intake works for them, other people may need to change this amount based on their particular needs.
2. How many calories should you eat for lunch or dinner?
The number of calories you should eat for lunch or dinner varies based on many factors, including your personal preferences.
For example, while some people may enjoy eating a large lunch and smaller dinner, others may decide to distribute their calorie intake more evenly.
Therefore, because everyone’s needs and preferences are different, it’s best to find what works for you and stick to it when planning your meals.
3. How many calories should you eat to lose weight?
The number of calories that you need to lose weight depends on several factors.
To support sustainable weight loss, cut back on ultra-processed items like sugary beverages, ice cream, fast food, and high calorie snack foods. Furthermore, try increasing your physical activity.
A dietitian can help you determine your calorie needs and an appropriate calorie goal to support weight loss.
4. How many calories should you eat to gain weight?
To gain weight, you need to be in a calorie surplus, meaning that you take in more calories than you burn.
Try eating more high calorie, nutrient-dense foods like nut butters, full fat yogurt, and fatty fish.
5. How many calories should you eat to gain muscle?
A calorie surplus, or eating more calories each day than you burn off, is often necessary for building muscle.
Your daily calorie requirements may need to be raised by a few hundred calories. You can create a suitable plan with the assistance of a sports nutritionist.