With the increase in popularity of calorie counting tools such as books, directories and websites there has similarly been an increase in the number of people who desperately want to know just how many calories they need to consume.

 

It is true that these days it is very easy to count your calories. The easiest way is to jump on the computer, find a free calorie counting site and enter in all of the food you eat. But this valuable weight loss tool is completely useless if you don’t know just how many calories you need to aim for to lose weight. This article helps solve the conjecture, confusion and questions.

 

These days everyone has a ‘magic formula’ that they claim by simply plugging in your numbers you can come up with a precise number of calories that will result in weight loss. “Enter your weight, subtract the number of people on your right, divide by 7 and times by your age.”

 

But these formulas are ALWAYS going to be guesses. It doesn’t matter how much of an expert the person is, they are still guessing. And, might I add, there is nothing wrong with using these formulas when looking for a general answer. This is why you see experts give general formulas and then everyone jumps on them and uses them as set in stone rules.

I must admit that as a fitness professional I use formulas when people ask me for general advice. They come in handy for things like protein intake, strength testing and even calorie intake.

 

However, whenever I work closely with a client I never rely on formulas because they are always rough estimates. And estimates can cost time when trying to lose weight. If it takes you two or three weeks to fiddle around with your intake until you get your calories right, that is three weeks you could have been losing weight.

The 24 hour recall is perhaps the most accurate tool for measuring total calories consumed in a day. It is so accurate that it is generally the process used by dieticians and nutritionists when working directly with clients.

 

The way it works is simple. Over a 24 hour period write down everything you eat and drink. It is important to write down everything! No leaving out things as you will only be cheating yourself.

 

Make sure that you eat as normal on the day of the 24 hour recall. This is often the mistake people make and means they do not get an accurate representation of what they are eating.

This is where the internet calorie counters come in handy. Before the internet you would have had to use books or professionals to count up all the calories recorded in the 24 hour recall. Now you simply enter all of the food in the exact measurements into an online calorie counter.

 

This number will be your current daily intake. It is important to record, measure and count EVERYTHING. This means drinks, spreads, teaspoons of sugar, small snacks – everything. It all adds up. This is very important.

Now that you have your daily intake of calories the next step involves adjusting those calories to suit your goals. To lose weight at a steady, safe and consistent rate reduce your total calories by around 500 calories. If weight loss is too slow then reduce it another 500. You generally do not want to be more than 1000 calories below maintenance.

 

You can continue to use the online calorie counters to monitor your calories and ensure you are staying on track. When weight loss stalls, simply lower the calories again.

One important tip: always reduce calories in as small amounts as possible that still yield results. This may mean reducing by 100-200 calories at a time to ensure the weight continues to drop.

 

This really is the best way to find out how many calories you need to lose weight. Rather than relying on a formula you will get to know your body and eventually be able to control your weight without counting calories at all.

 

Use the 24 hour recall method, find out how many calories you are eating and reduce calories from there. You will find that this method, when done correctly, is a fantastic weight loss monitoring tool.