How can i lose weight calculator

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. However, if a person loses weight unintentionally over months, due to some underlying health issues, this is called unintentional weight loss. Use Medindia's Weight Loss Calculator to know the right amount of calories you need everyday to achieve your target weight.

It is to be noted that cutting calories to attain healthy weight is desirable. However, taking pains to lose weight to fit social stereotypes, when you already have healthy weight, is NOT recommended. Book Appointment Know More. Show More Related Topics.

Follow Medindia. The blood sugar chart gives you the fasting glucose values and glucose tolerance test values for normal people and people with early diabetes and established diabetes. Also use the calculator to find out if you have diabetes. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Cookie Policy , Privacy Policy , and our Terms of Use. English Hindi. Daily Activity Levels Sedentary Bare minimum activity e. Govardhani Mathiyazhagan MSc 2 years experience.

Karthi Priya Mj MPhil 10 years experience. You have to ensure that the calories, which are nothing but units of energy, that you burn, are more than the calories you take in on a daily basis. Remember to set realistic weight loss goals The first step to keep in mind is that fad diets, and food deprivations are not the best ways to go about losing weight. It is vital to set a goal that is both realistic and doable.

Set short-term, specific goals such as light physical activity, for example, walking daily for half an hour. Know your calories 1 pound is equal to 3, calories. This means that setting a target to lose calories daily will make you lose a pound in a week, and bring you closer to your goal. Remember that every calorie counts.

So start keeping track of your daily calorie intake. Eat a healthy breakfast Starting the day with a good, heavy breakfast can reduce your hunger during the day. Avoid meager breakfasts or skipping breakfasts altogether. A healthy breakfast helps to to rev up your metabolism for the rest of the day.

Small meals throughout the day keep extra calories away Do not starve yourself as that slows down metabolism and hinders the burning of calories.

Take light meals during the day every hours so as not to overeat or binge eat. It also helps eat smaller portions. Cutting back on food portions is a great beginning if you are serious about weight loss. Consume home-cooked food Home-cooked meals tend to be low on sugar.

Find time to go shopping, choose your ingredients and prepare healthy food in the comforts of your home. Try to avoid eating out and consuming processed foods as much as possible to avoid excess calories. While losing weight involves many variables that change from person to person, there is still a core science that can be the basis behind planning a weight loss strategy. The widely-accepted science behind the weight loss calculator is:.

It is not useful for highly fit people who won't be using this calculator anyway. It is also not useful for very tall people. Use the color coding as a guideline for evaluating your body weight. Don't use it as a medical diagnosis. This is a reduction compared to your estimated nominal calorie consumption, meaning the amount of calories you consume while staying the same weight. If you are currently gaining weight, you need to reduce your calories even further.

Keeping track of how many calories you consume is not easy. WebMD has a good food calorie list. Just added to your cart.