As you are starting to get into grind of working out and watching your calories, you may be wondering what the proper amount of calories to consume and burn a day are to adequately maintain following your weight loss goal. With the various workout plans that you may looking at, what is a safe bet on the amount of calories you can eat and burn within a day?
Following a 1,200 calorie diet as well as getting your daily exercise in is by far one of the safest strategies for weight loss. Having said that, as you are more active you will need more energy – which is why you feel the need to start consuming more. The maximum recommended rate that is needed for weight loss consist of around 2 pounds a week, unless a health official or doctor states otherwise for you. Weight management is an individual process that entirely depends on locating the right balance between calorie restriction and exercise. Therefore, there are four things to consider within your weight loss plan; diet, exercise effects, energy needs, and number crunching.
Diet – Eating Approximately 1,200 Calories a Day
Having a healthy diet is one of the key factors within weight loss. You can exercise all you want, but without a healthy diet you will ultimately cancel out any progress that you make and remain in the same spot that you began. Having said that, it is okay to splurge sometimes and have cheat days where you enjoy yourself and consume more calories than you normally do.
Shooting for a goal of 1,200 calories a day will easily help you with achieving your weight loss goal. While this amount is surely enough to achieve your goal, you will feel the need to eat more solely based off of the amount of calories you are burning a day. Your hunger and activity level will play a huge role in your weight-loss potential. If you are finding yourself hungry even with a 1,200 calorie diet, it is recommended to add on around 100 to 200 more calories to your diet. As long as you are maintaining a calorie deficit, which means that you are taking in less calories than needed for weight loss/maintenance, you will continue to lose weight. Therefore, count your calories and if you are seeing progress and feel energized with your current diet, keep it up!
Exercise Effects
In order to burn 300 calories a day, it takes about an hour of moderate exercise. If you find yourself being time constrained, you may want to take it up a notch and up the amount of calories you are burning within a time frame, ultimately condensing it down to around 30 to 45 minutes of vigorous exercise. When you are increasing your activity level, your energy needs also will increase. If you are consuming 1,200 calories in less active times, you may also find out that you need more calories to achieve satiety when you are following a rigorous exercise regimen. Obviously, weight loss requires self control, restraint, and self discipline. Without it, you will be unable to achieve your goal within the time frame you desire. Having said that, you need to respect your body’s cues and make the adjustments needed in order to fulfill your energy needs. Otherwise you may find yourself giving up based off of a lack of energy to conduct exercises. Don’t refrain from eating or overeat, but find a happy medium where you feel energized and ready to continue your weight loss plan.
Energy Needs – The Amount of Calories Needed to Consume
Once again, a 1,200 calorie diet combined with a daily 300-calorie workout plan is a safe goal for you to pursue. You need to consider your energy needs as well. In order to properly estimate your energy needs before factoring in exercise, you should multiply your body weight by 10 if you are a woman or by 11 if you are a man. Once you have done this, add another 10 percent for the amount of calories you will burn through digestion and another 20 percent to account for sedentary activities.
This will aid you in properly estimate the calorie intake needed before you will factor in regular exercise. For example, if you are a 150 pound woman, you will need around 1,950 calories to maintain your weight, ultimately leading to a sedentary lifestyle. It is important to consume the correct amount of calories daily in order to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle. Without it, you will feel tired and somewhat unbalanced within your physical day to day life – which once again may push you to abandon your workout plan. If you are struggling to locate the perfect amount of calories you should consume daily, speak with a dietarian or your doctor and have them help you with this.
Number Crunching
It is important to check with your doctor before you begin any serious diet or workout plan, especially if you have any past problems with your heart/health. Once your doctor has confirmed that this is a good idea, then you should compare your energy needs to your weight-loss strategy. Your daily calorie deficit should be no more than 1,000 calories after you factor in exercise. In the case of a 150-pound woman, who will need approximately 1,950 calories for weight maintenance, a 1,200 calorie diet will produce a daily deficit of 750 calories. To stay within the maximum recommended deficit of 1,000 calories, she would need to ensure that she does not exceed over 250 daily calories. Your current weight is the determining factor on whether or not it is considered safe to eat 1,200 calories per day while also burning off around 300 exercising. Always make sure to do the math using your own weight to determine what your calorie needs are for exercise, your energy, and your diet.
