Simply put, a calorie is a unit that measures energy. Calories are usually used to measure the energy content of foods and beverages. To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than your body burns each day. Conversely, to gain weight, you need to consume more calories than you expend 1.

Calories are units that measure the energy content of foods and beverages. While many factors can influence weight loss, you generally need to eat fewer calories than you burn to lose weight.

When it comes to losing weight, protein is incredibly important. Studies show that increasing your intake of protein may help keep you full and curb your appetite 10 , Protein may also help fight cravings.

According to some research, high protein snacks help enhance feelings of fullness while decreasing hunger and appetite In addition to promoting weight loss, some research suggests that maintaining a high protein diet may prevent or reduce weight regain and help maintain muscle mass 13 , Therefore, if you want to achieve long lasting, sustainable weight loss, consider increasing your protein intake by eating more eggs, meat, poultry, tofu, nuts, seeds, or legumes.

Another change you can make is to limit your intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, including sodas, fruit juices , chocolate milk, and other drinks with added sugar. Additionally, studies associate drinking sugary beverages with an increased risk of obesity 16 , The harmful effects of sugar also go far beyond weight gain.

In fact, added sugar may contribute to other health issues, including heart disease, liver problems, and type 2 diabetes One thing you can do for your health is to drink more water. Adequate hydration is associated with improved brain health and weight management, as well as a reduced kidney stone risk When combined with a healthy diet, drinking more water — especially before meals — appears helpful if you need to lose weight.

Resistance-training activities like weightlifting have been shown to limit muscle loss, which may help minimize metabolic changes during long-term calorie restriction Cardio exercises, such as walking, swimming, or jogging, are also important — both for increasing weight loss and supporting overall health Additionally, exercise has a variety of other benefits that go beyond weight loss, such as increased longevity, enhanced energy levels, improved mental health, and a decreased risk of chronic disease 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , It also includes sugar and other sweeteners.

Refined grains typically lack fiber, which supports weight loss by decreasing your appetite and increasing feelings of fullness Eating fewer refined carbs may promote weight loss by altering levels of specific hormones that regulate your appetite, such as peptide YY Eating more protein, exercising, staying hydrated, and limiting your intake of refined carbs and sugary beverages are a few simple ways to decrease your daily calorie intake.

In addition to cutting calories, there are several steps you can take to lose weight in a sustainable, long lasting manner:. In addition to decreasing your daily calorie intake, the tips outlined above may support long-term weight loss. If you do decide to cut calories, be careful not to decrease your intake too much, as doing so may cause several serious side effects 4.

Research shows that young adults who use calorie-tracking apps to monitor how many calories they consume may be more at risk for developing disordered eating patterns that could develop into eating disorders That said, for people who are not at risk for developing disordered eating habits, restricting how much you eat can be a successful weight loss strategy, at least in the short term However, eating too few calories may also slow your metabolism, making it harder to maintain weight loss in the long term 5.

Cutting calories too much may harm your health and make it harder to maintain weight loss. Although it may help you lose weight, eating calories or less a day does not provide enough energy or nutrients for most healthy adults.

The number of calories you should eat for breakfast depends on many factors, including your daily needs, personal preferences, health goals, and overall diet. While some people may enjoy eating a large lunch and smaller dinner, others may decide to distribute their calorie intake more evenly.

To gain muscle , you may have to increase your calorie needs by a few hundred calories per day. A sports dietitian can help you develop an appropriate plan The number of calories that you should eat at each meal or to reach a specific weight goal can differ.

How many calories you need per day depends on whether you want to maintain , lose, or gain weight, as well as various other factors, such as your sex, age, height, current weight, activity level, and metabolic health. Many websites and apps can help you track your calorie intake.

That said, working with a registered dietitian RD can also help you gain, maintain, or lose weight while ensuring that your nutrient needs are being met. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

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Plus, here's our list of the best fitness trackers , the best healthy meal delivery services and the best home exercise equipment.

Weight management is simply a game of calories in and calories out. A calorie is a unit of measurement that describes how much energy a given food or drink has. The same unit of measurement is used to describe how much energy you exert in a day calories burned.

To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume, and to gain weight, you must consume more calories than you burn. If you're interested in changing your weight one way or the other, you'll need to create a calorie deficit or a calorie surplus -- and to make sure you stay in your desired surplus or deficit, you need to keep track of the calories you eat and burn.

You can create the calorie balance you desire by counting the calories you eat and burn. Say you want to lose 10 pounds over 10 weeks one pound per week. One pound of body fat is roughly equal to 3, calories , though there is potential for variation among individuals depending on the density of body fat and how your body composition changes over time.

Based on the 3,calorie estimate, you need to create a calorie deficit of 3, calories each week to lose that one pound. You can do this in a few ways:. The bottom line of all weight-loss programs is a change in your calorie balance through dietary habits and exercise, though that bottom line might be disguised by other tactics, like intermittent fasting or food group exclusions.

Purple Carrot is one of the only fully plant-based meal kit services, which scores points for its inventive and interesting fresh meat-free ingredients.

Calorie counting isn't for everyone. Nor is any sort of food-tracking or logging, for that matter. Some people just want to eat food and enjoy it without worrying about caloric value.

Some people don't have the time or energy to count calories that's most of us, probably , and others have health goals that don't involve counting calories.

You already know your Apple Watch can do a lot. But with the right apps, your wrist-borne personal health assistant can do so much more than you ever imagined. Try these 17 wellness apps for Apple Watch to up your health and fitness game. One of the most comprehensive meditation apps for Apple Watch, Calm offers guided meditations, breathing exercises, mindful movement sessions, guided stretching and more all just a tap away on your wrist.

You can start the day with the minute Daily Calm session, complete an Emergency Calm when you feel anxious, take a quick Mindful Walk after lunch, and play a Sleep Story before bed. The walks and stretching sessions count toward your daily activity rings on your watch too.

If you ever feel like you could use a random positive reminder couldn't we all? The first thing you need to do is determine how many calories you need each day. Counting them does you no good if you're eating too few or too many.

The absolute best way to determine your daily calorie allowance is to work with a registered dietitian, physician or certified nutritionist who can take your weight, height, health history and goals into account for an ideal daily calorie number.

If seeing a pro isn't on the table, however, you can use an online calorie calculator, like this one from Mayo Clinic , to find out. Most calorie calculators use the same formula, the Mifflin-St Jeor equation , which accounts for gender, height, weight, age and activity level.

Like the disclaimer on Mayo Clinic's calorie calculator says, other factors also influence your daily calorie needs. Pregnancy, illnesses and occupation contribute, too. Once you have your number, you can start counting your calories. To create a deficit, eat fewer calories than your maintenance number, and to create a surplus, eat more.

You can keep track in a pen-and-paper journal or use a calorie-counting app. The See How You Eat food journal app focuses on taking photos, rather than logging words. This is a great approach to food journaling if you find yourself forgetting to write down the details. Counting the calories in packaged foods is easy: Just look at the nutrition label and write down the calorie amount.

Don't forget about serving sizes, though -- if you eat two servings, double the calorie count that's on the label. Tracking fresh foods is a little harder than tracking packaged foods because there's typically no label. But it's easy to find calorie data online.

You can search virtually any food on the FDA's FoodCentral database to find complete nutrition info. Most food-tracking apps have massive databases of foods, too, so don't let the lack of a nutrition label deter you from eating fresh foods.

Logging the calories in restaurant meals can be tricky if the restaurant isn't a chain. In , the FDA mandated that all restaurants with more than 20 locations must disclose calorie information for all menu items, so it's easy enough if you're eating at a regional or national chain restaurant.

Local restaurants aren't required to disclose calorie counts, but if you ask your server, there's a good chance they can find out. Don't forget to count the calories in the beverages you drink throughout the day. Unless you drink nothing but plain water and zero-calorie beverages including black coffee and tea without sweeteners or milk , your drinks contribute to your daily calorie intake.

Make sure to count the calories from the creamer in your coffee, sports drinks , alcohol, soda and juices.

Try these 17 wellness apps for Apple Watch to up your health and fitness game. One of the most comprehensive meditation apps for Apple Watch, Calm offers guided meditations, breathing exercises, mindful movement sessions, guided stretching and more all just a tap away on your wrist.

You can start the day with the minute Daily Calm session, complete an Emergency Calm when you feel anxious, take a quick Mindful Walk after lunch, and play a Sleep Story before bed.

The walks and stretching sessions count toward your daily activity rings on your watch too. If you ever feel like you could use a random positive reminder couldn't we all? The first thing you need to do is determine how many calories you need each day.

Counting them does you no good if you're eating too few or too many. The absolute best way to determine your daily calorie allowance is to work with a registered dietitian, physician or certified nutritionist who can take your weight, height, health history and goals into account for an ideal daily calorie number.

If seeing a pro isn't on the table, however, you can use an online calorie calculator, like this one from Mayo Clinic , to find out. Most calorie calculators use the same formula, the Mifflin-St Jeor equation , which accounts for gender, height, weight, age and activity level.

Like the disclaimer on Mayo Clinic's calorie calculator says, other factors also influence your daily calorie needs. Pregnancy, illnesses and occupation contribute, too. Once you have your number, you can start counting your calories. To create a deficit, eat fewer calories than your maintenance number, and to create a surplus, eat more.

You can keep track in a pen-and-paper journal or use a calorie-counting app. The See How You Eat food journal app focuses on taking photos, rather than logging words.

This is a great approach to food journaling if you find yourself forgetting to write down the details. Counting the calories in packaged foods is easy: Just look at the nutrition label and write down the calorie amount.

Don't forget about serving sizes, though -- if you eat two servings, double the calorie count that's on the label. Tracking fresh foods is a little harder than tracking packaged foods because there's typically no label. But it's easy to find calorie data online.

You can search virtually any food on the FDA's FoodCentral database to find complete nutrition info. Most food-tracking apps have massive databases of foods, too, so don't let the lack of a nutrition label deter you from eating fresh foods.

Logging the calories in restaurant meals can be tricky if the restaurant isn't a chain. In , the FDA mandated that all restaurants with more than 20 locations must disclose calorie information for all menu items, so it's easy enough if you're eating at a regional or national chain restaurant. Local restaurants aren't required to disclose calorie counts, but if you ask your server, there's a good chance they can find out.

Don't forget to count the calories in the beverages you drink throughout the day. Unless you drink nothing but plain water and zero-calorie beverages including black coffee and tea without sweeteners or milk , your drinks contribute to your daily calorie intake.

Make sure to count the calories from the creamer in your coffee, sports drinks , alcohol, soda and juices. While calories are useful for intentional weight loss or weight gain, they don't tell you anything in the way of micronutrients.

The quality of your diet is arguably just as important as the number of calories you eat each day: Where your calories come from makes a big difference in your overall health. A calorie is more than a simple unit of measurement when assessing how foods influence your overall health.

A calorie serving of almonds affects your body much differently than calories worth of a Twinkie, for instance. Click here to take our survey. Page last reviewed: 17 April Next review due: 17 April Home Live Well Healthy weight Managing your weight Back to Managing your weight.

Understanding calories. The amount of energy in food or drink is measured in calories. Why calories are important You need energy from calories for your body to work properly. For example: you're likely to put on weight if you eat and drink more calories than you use.

This is because your body stores the extra energy as fat you're likely to lose weight if you eat and drink fewer calories than you use.

This is because your body uses its stored fat for energy Daily calories Calorie information is often given in kcals, which is short for kilocalories. As a guide: an average man needs 2,kcal a day an average woman needs 2,kcal a day This could be different based on your: age weight height how much exercise you do Information: BMI calculator Body mass index BMI is a measurement that works out if you're a healthy weight for your height.

Find out your BMI. Burning calories through physical activity, combined with reducing the number of calories you eat, can help with weight loss. Physical Activity Basics Physical activity can make you feel better, function better, and sleep better. Learn about the benefits and how to measure progress.

Move Your Way Tools, videos, and fact sheets with tips that to make it easier to get a little more physically active. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to search.

Español Other Languages. Finding a Balance of Food and Activity. Español Spanish. Minus Related Pages. Food and Nutrition Counting calories all the time is not necessary, but it may help to see how many calories you need.

On This Page. Food and Nutrition Physical Activity Other Factors Want to Learn More? Here are simple tools to assist you: Food and Beverage Diary [PDFKB] Physical Activity Diary [PDFKB]. Physical Activity How much physical activity you need depends mostly on your age.

Preschool-aged children ages 3 through 5 years should be physically active throughout the day for growth and development. Children and adolescents ages 6 through 17 years need 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity each day.

Children and adolescents need aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and bone-strengthening activities. Other Factors Getting enough sleep can help you manage your body weight. Want to Learn More? Connect with Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity.

Last Reviewed: June 28, Source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity , National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.