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The amount of calories in a pound is: 3,500

So with that knowledge in had you can not calculate how many calories you need to eat per day if you wish to lose weight.

For example if you wish to lose 2 pounds of fat per weeek then you’d need to somehow have a 7,000 calorie deficit over the course of the week. This is the simplistic way of looking at losing weight, but is certainly a good rule of thum from which to start.

However, if you are also doing any kind of exercise you will of course be burning calories too so you don’t have to cut ALL 7,000 calories from your food intake as calories burned during exercise will account for some of the 7,000 calories you need to lose.

PLUS, you also need to take into account your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).

Your BMR calculation will give you the amount of calories your body needs, while just sitting around i.e. the calculation will show you the amount of calories you need to maintain your weight without gaining weight.

Men:
BMR = 66 + (13.75X _____ Wt) + (5 X ______Ht) – (6.8 X _______ A)

Women:
BMR = 655 + (9.56 X _____ Wt) + (1.8 X ______ Ht) – (4.7 X ______ A)

where Wt = weight in kilograms, Ht = stature in centimeters, and A = age in years

Let’s take an example BMR for a Man: 2,500 Calories/day

And if that man eats an additional 500 calories per day i.e. 3,000 calories/day over the course of a week, 3,5000 aditional calories, then that man would gain 1 pound of fat.

And if the man ate 500 calories less per day i.e. 2,000 calories/day then he would lose 1 pound of fat.

Additional articles of interest:

How Many Calories Should I Eat a Day?

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