We talk a lot about cutting calories and eating reduced-calorie foods. But when you get right down to it, do you really know how many calories you should consume – and how many you actually consume?
The average adult requires about 2,000 calories per day to maintain good health and control weight. For women, the numbers may be slightly less; for men slightly more. And if you’re very active (which doesn’t apply to most of us), you probably need more. But for most adults, 600 – 700 calories per meal is a good rule.
Unfortunately, most of us eat considerably more than 2,000 calories a day. And in fact, the average American consumes 300 more calories per day than in 1960. And every 3,500 extra calories you consume translates to about one extra pound of weight. If you consume 150 extra calories a day, you can do the math – it only takes a month or so to gain a pound.
But here’s the flip side: reducing your calorie intake by that same 150 calories, back down to 2,000 a day, would mean you’d maintain roughly the same weight. And not gaining weight is the easiest way to control your weight.
Dr.Mike
