This Is How Many Calories You Should Be Eating For Weight Loss

Hi Tara

I’m all signed up for the detox week and I’m really looking forward to it.

I have a question about calories. How many should I be eating to lose weight? What does being in deficit mean in terms of a number and how in deficit should I be? 

^^^^^^^ Got this from one of the girl in the Detox Week Team which is kicking off on Monday.

Such a good question so I thought I’d share my answer with you.

When we did the Q&A Meeting on fat with the Inner Circle girls Thursday night the questions came up about calories too so lets cover it again.

Now there is no definite answer to this question as we are all different but there are a few things you can learn which will help you get a bit more clarity.

You’ll see as an estimate guideline that women should eat approx 2000 kCals and men 2500kCal, but whilst this may work for some, it may not for others.

We’re all a different height, weight, body composition, so we’d all burn a different amount each day.

I could then go on to say that 1lb of fat is approx 3500kCals…so if you reduce your intake by 500kCals each day, you should lose 1lb per week…in theory.

Again, we know things just aren’t as simple as that.

Different types of food like carbs, fat & protein have different effects on our body.

So if person a) ate 1500kCals of high sugar/fat, processed food and person b) 1500kCals of good balanced meals with plenty of vitamins & minerals, it would have a drastically different effect on the body and subsequently your feelings, energy and success.

The amount of deficit you’re in (consuming less calories than you burn) will also have different results.

Now…if you go too low you may initially have a fast weight loss, but how sustainable will this be. It won’t be long before you run the risk of possible nutritional deficiencies, affecting your metabolism and slowing things down or completely caving and falling off the wagon because you’ve been too restricted.

Slow and steady would be best, so it soon becomes a lifestyle to eat better. So thinking about cutting your calories by about 250-300kCals could work.

Another thing about calorie counting is, how accurate is your counting?

In an already super busy day, measuring every single ounce or gram is going to be time consuming and not something you’ll be able to keep up for long.

So YES, Calories are important and what they are made of is also something you need to consider but to stay consistent towards your goals and get the results you want…keep it simple.

And make it simple:

Track your meals

Cut out the unnecessary snacks & treats.

Don’t go back for more food

Be mindful of your choices when eating out.

Ensure you control your portions better

Drink more water

Exercise regularly

Get better sleep (important for cravings)

Mange stress as best you can (Also important for cravings)

I’m sure as you read thing you could think of a few bad habits and mindless eating that happens most days.

Focus on being organised, prepped & accountable and I guarantee that when you keep those good habits up, the weight will start to go down.

……and if you want to break free from time-consuming calore counting and being stuck in a rut, you can get all the recipes, meal plans & support in Detox Week which is NOW OPEN!

https://tarahammett.com/programs/7-day-detox/

Hope this gives a bit of clarity