Once a link is made between the amount of exercise that some snack equates to, many people find abstaining from that bag of chips to be the preferred option rather than performing an equivalent amount of exercise — which can lead to healthier eating habits.

In the end, however, what's important is picking a strategy that works for you. Calorie counting is only one method used to achieve weight loss amongst many, and even within this method, there are many possible approaches a person can take.

Finding an approach that fits within your lifestyle that you think you would be able to adhere to is likely going to provide the most sustainable option and desirable result. Zigzag calorie cycling is a weight loss approach that aims to counteract the human body's natural adaptive tendencies.

Counting and restricting calories, as described above, is a viable method to lose weight, but over a period of time, it is possible for the body to adapt to the lower number of calories consumed. In cases where this happens, a plateau in weight loss that can be difficult to surmount can result.

This is where zigzag calorie cycling can help, by not allowing the body to adapt to the lower calorie environment. Zigzag calorie cycling involves alternating the number of calories consumed on a given day.

A person on a zigzag diet should have a combination of high-calorie and low-calorie days to meet the same overall weekly calorie target.

For example, if your target calorie intake is 14, calories per week, you could consume 2, calories three days a week, and 1, the other four days of the week, or you could consume 2, calories each day.

In both cases, 14, calories would be consumed over the week, but the body wouldn't adapt and compensate for a 2,calorie diet. This also allows a person more flexibility in their diet, allowing them to plan around occasions, such as work or family gatherings, where a person may consume more calories.

Consuming a lower number of calories on other days can allow a person to enjoy these gatherings or even have a "cheat day" where they eat whatever they want without feeling guilty, since they can make up for the excess calories on their low-calorie days.

There is no concrete rule or study that dictates the most effective way to alternate or spread out calorie consumption. How to vary calorie intake is largely up to personal discretion. Depending on a person's activity, it is generally recommended that the high-calorie and low-calorie days vary by approximately calories, where the high-calorie day is often the number of calories a person needs to consume to maintain their current weight.

For a person with a higher activity level, the calorie difference should be larger. The calculator presents two zigzag diet schedules. The first schedule has two higher calorie days and five lower calorie days.

The second schedule increases and reduces calories gradually. In either case, the total weekly calorie consumption is the same.

In the end, regardless of what method you choose to use when approaching weight loss, what's important is picking a strategy that works for you. Calorie counting and zigzag calorie cycling are only two methods that are fairly interrelated used to achieve weight loss among many, and even within these methods, there are many possible approaches a person can take.

Finding an approach that fits within your lifestyle that you think you would be able to adhere to is likely going to provide the most sustainable and desirable result.

Many people seek to lose weight, and often the easiest way to do this is to consume fewer calories each day. But how many calories does the body actually need in order to be healthy?

This largely depends on the amount of physical activity a person performs each day, and regardless of this, is different for all people — there are many different factors involved, not all of which are well-understood or known. Some factors that influence the number of calories a person needs to remain healthy include age, weight, height, sex, levels of physical activity, and overall general health.

For example, a physically active year-old male that is 6 feet in height requires considerably higher calorie intake than a 5-foot-tall, sedentary year-old woman. Though it differs depending on age and activity level, adult males generally require 2, calories per day to maintain weight while adult females need around 1,, according to the U.

S Department of Health. The body does not require many calories to simply survive. However, consuming too few calories results in the body functioning poorly, since it will only use calories for functions essential to survival, and ignore those necessary for general health and well-being.

Harvard Health Publications suggests women get at least 1, calories and men get at least 1, calories a day unless supervised by doctors. As such, it is highly recommended that a person attempting to lose weight monitors their body's caloric necessities and adjusts them as necessary to maintain its nutritional needs.

The main sources of calories in a typical person's diet are carbohydrates, proteins, and fat, with alcohol also being a significant portion of calorie intake for many people though ideally this should be limited since alcohol contains many empty calories. Some studies have shown that the calories displayed on nutrition labels and the calories actually consumed and retained can vary significantly.

This hints at the complex nature of calories and nutrition and is why many conflicting points of view on the "best" methodology for losing weight exist.

For example, how a person chews their food has been shown to affect weight loss to some degree; generally speaking, chewing food more increases the number of calories that the body burns during digestion. People that chew more also tend to eat less, since the longer period of time necessary to chew their food allows more time to reach a state of satiety, which results in eating less.

However, the effects of how food is chewed and digestion of different foods are not completely understood and it is possible that other factors exist, and thus this information should be taken with a grain of salt in moderation if weight loss is the goal.

Generally, foods that take more effort to chew — fruit, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, etc. It also results in the feeling of satiety for longer periods of time.

Furthermore, certain foods like coffee, tea, chilies, cinnamon, and ginger have been found to increase the rate of calories burned, due to the ingredients they contain. The "quality" of calories consumed is also important. There are different classifications of foods in terms of calories.

This includes high-calorie foods, low-calorie foods, and empty calories. Consistent with their naming, high-calorie foods are foods that are calorically dense, meaning that there are a high number of calories relative to serving size, while low-calorie foods have fewer calories relative to serving size.

Foods such as fat, oils, fried foods, and sugary foods are examples of high-calorie foods. Being a high-calorie food does not inherently mean that the food is unhealthy however — avocados, quinoa, nuts, and whole grains are all high-calorie foods that are considered healthful in moderation.

Low-calorie foods include vegetables and certain fruits, among other things, while empty calories, such as those in added sugars and solid fats, are calories that contain few to no nutrients. Studies have shown that there is a measurable difference between consuming calories of carrots compared to calories of popcorn.

As previously mentioned, this in part can be attributed to differences in how the foods are consumed and processed. Carrots require far more chewing and can result in more calories burned during digestion. Again, the mechanism for these differences is not fully defined, but simply note that for weight loss purposes, the general formula of calories in minus calories out determining weight gain or loss does hold, but that the number of calories on a nutrition label is not necessarily indicative of how many calories the body actually retains.

While there is no clear-cut or ideal amount of macronutrient proportions a person should consume to maintain a healthy diet or lose weight, eating a "healthy" diet replete with a variety of unprocessed foods such as vegetables, fruits, and lean meats is correlated with being healthier, and is more likely to result in sustainable weight loss.

Many of these calories fall under the category of empty calories. While sodas are an obvious culprit, drinks such as juices and even milk have large amounts of sugar and should be consumed in moderation to avoid negating their nutritional benefits. Ideally, a person should drink water, tea, and coffee without adding sugar in order to reduce calories gained from drinks.

Remember: All foods, including "healthful foods," should be consumed in moderation, and distinctions can often be misleading since even natural foods like fruits can have large amounts of sugar, and foods labeled as "health foods" such as low-calorie foods, reduced-fat foods, etc.

can potentially replace one unhealthy component with another. Many reduced-fat foods have large amounts of added sugar to compensate for taste lost through fat reduction. It is important to pay attention to, and consider the different components in a food product in order to determine whether said food should have a place within your diet.

People judge the intensity of their activities differently. And activity levels can change over time. So think of your calorie estimate as a starting point and adjust it up or down as you alter your activity level.

Created by Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research based on Harris Benedict Equation and Institute of Medicine Dietary Reference Intakes. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.

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Javascript is required in order to use this web app. Calorie Calculator. Switch to Metric Units Age years Height ft. Weight lbs. Select the statement that best describes your usual activity level. Examples Close Examples Light activity: walking or gardening Moderate activity: fast walking or water aerobics Vigorous activity: jogging, bicycling or lap swimming.

Your estimated daily calorie needs rounded to the nearest 50 calories are:. See how your daily calorie needs change if you alter your activity level: calories Inactive calories Somewhat Active calories Active calories Very Active.

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