How many calories to eat a day to lose weight effectively?

In this article, Soumaki will share with you how many calories to eat a day to lose weight effectively. Stay tuned until the end to see suggestions on weight-loss foods, and mistakes to avoid during the weight-loss process. 

Source of calories for the body

Most of the foods we consume daily contain calories. In food, there are 3 main macro-nutrients which are protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Through the 3 macro-nutrients above, we can classify foods into high-calorie and low-calorie groups, which are as follows:

1. High-calorie foods

• Protein: Red meat, pork, chicken with skin, salmon and many types of seafood, beans, whole milk, eggs, cheese, full-fat yogurt...

• Carbohydrate: Potatoes, brown rice, whole grain pasta, whole grain cereals, whole grain bread...

• Fat: Nuts and nut butters, olives, avocados, butter, salad dressing, mayonnaise, high-fat cheese…

2. Low-calorie foods

• Protein: Tilapia, chicken breast, eggs, tofu, Greek yogurt, tempeh...

• Carbohydrate: Seaweed, tomatoes, various types of beans, quinoa, asparagus, wheat, whole grains, brown rice...

• Fat: Unsweetened milk, avocado, cold-pressed oil, low-fat cheese...

3. Calories in 1 gram of nutrients

• 1g protein = 4 calories

• 1g carbohydrates = 4 calories

• 1g fat = 9 calories

How many calories to eat in a day to lose weight effectively?

In the previous article, Soumaki shared about how many calories you should eat in a day for each target group. And there was a mention of meals for weight loss:

• For men: should consume from 2000 - 2500 calories/day

• For women: should consume from 1500 - 2000 calories/day

You can lose 0.5 kg in a week if you apply the recommended calorie intake as above. However, this is only an average calorie calculation and is for reference only. The calorie intake of each person will vary and depend on many factors (height, weight, age, gender, metabolism, level of physical activity...).

Below is the recommended calorie intake for 3 meals a day, please refer to it:

1. Recommended calorie intake for 3 meals a day

According to NHS UK, the researched and proposed calorie intake for 3 meals is:

1.1. For women

Based on consumption of 1400 calories/day:

• Breakfast: 280 calories

• Lunch: 420 calories

• Dinner: 420 calories

• Snacks: 280 calories

1.2. For men

Based on consumption of 1900 calories/day:

• Breakfast: 380 calories

• Lunch: 570 calories

• Dinner: 570 calories

• Snacks: 380 calories

With the above partition, your meals will be more specifically controlled. You can monitor your weight and body changes on a weekly/monthly basis, and adjust accordingly to suit yourself.

2. Suggested weight-loss menu for 3 meals a day

Here are 7 suggested menus for the whole day from the Nutrition Science Institute at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB):

Mistakes to avoid during weight loss

There are some misunderstandings about weight loss and calorie control such as:

1. Misconception about calories

There is an issue in understanding calories, that is, all calories are equal. Soumaki will give an example for easier understanding:

• 340g of broccoli provides 100 calories and 8g of fiber

• Half of a medium-sized donut (50g) provides 100 calories and a high percentage of refined carbs + fat

We can see that: 100 calories of broccoli = 100 calories of donut

Although the energy level is the same, the way they affect the body is very different. Broccoli, with its high fiber content, makes us feel full quickly and is easy to digest. On the other hand, half of a donut, with its "plentiful" energy of starch and fat, will contribute to weight gain when consumed.

Therefore, you should not be obsessed with controlling the amount of calories consumed. The core here is to pay attention to the quality of each meal. Pay attention to the nutritional components of the foods, and how to combine them in daily meals to achieve balance and sufficient nutrients.

2. Excluding fat

Fat is a superior source of calories. 1g of fat = 9 calories. Therefore, many people often avoid consuming foods containing fat because they are concerned about their body shape or health.

However, fat is also a necessary nutrient for a healthy body. For example, unsaturated fats (found in seafood, oysters, nuts, cold-pressed oils...) are good for the heart, eyes, and internal organs. Avoid using trans fat which have no nutritional value and reduce the amount of saturated fats consumed daily.

Therefore, when building a scientific weight-loss meal, it is necessary to balance the ratio of nutrients, not ignore any nutritious food, including fat.

Conclusion

With the above sharing, perhaps you now know how many calories to eat per day to lose weight, right? Keep following Soumaki to receive more useful information about healthy eating and nutritional science.