by Lee Skavydis

Created on: October 21, 2010

Determining how many calories one should eat in a day really depends on a lot of factors.

The official medical guidline states that males should consume 2,500, while women should take in 2,000.

However, your genetics and physical attributes affect how many calories you should consume.

If you are smaller than average height, then the official guidlines probably will not apply to you as your smaller appearance will require less.

Also, if you do not lead a particularly active lifestyle, consuming less than the normal daily amounts is probably a necessity and will keep your weight in check.

The problem with that is, we are all human beings, and even people who are smaller, and do not lead active lifestyles, will want to treat themselves with garbage food every now and again so, they need to take extra care in not allowing their weight become out of control.

However, if you are very active in your life, workout and are physically training for an event , as an example, you will probably need to consume more calories than the guidlines state as your body will need that extra fuel required to run efficiently.

Think of it as filling a car with a full tank of gas to make a long distance journey.

You would probably not fill it up to that extent if you were to make only a local one.

If you have a sluggish metabolism due to a medical condition, such as a thyroid issue, then you need to watch your calorie intake as it is the metabolism that is responsible for burning up calories and excess fat, so overloading it will only cause you to gain weight.

As we get older, it is said that the metabolism slows by as much as ten percent each year we advance, so bare this in mind when consuming calories as you age.

Pregnant women are advised to add three hundred calories to their diet during the last six months of their pregnancy to help their baby develop healthily.

If you lift weights and plan to build muscle, then extra calories are necessary to achieve that but, you will need to workout by yourself just how many are required based on your own unique attributes.

Also, when losing weight, the general rule is that a dieter should consume around 1,500 calories a day but this will vary based on, again, your activity levels and the way your body is built.

You may need to reduce your calorie consumption if you are using medication that affects your metabolism. Ones that are used to treat depression and other kinds of mental illnesses, in particular, have reputations for slowing it down.

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