It would be nice to know that there is a certain amount of food we should eat that will help our efforts to lose weight. Giving a clear-cut standard number is not the answer. Instead, we need to understand how weight gain and weight loss work first. Then we can determine how much to eat, and when to stop.
First, we gain or lose weight based on how much we eat compared to how much food we use. Calories are units of energy, much like liters are units of liquid measure. If you eat 500 Calories, then you ate 500 units of energy. Once you eat the Calories, your body needs to put the energy into use. If I fill my car with gas, it burns it in order to run. Meanwhile it stores the gas it hasn't used yet in the gas tank.
If you eat 2,000 Calories of food in a day, and you don't use it, your body will store it on your body. That is how body fat is accumulated. You eat more energy than your body needs, and in turn, your body stores the unused energy on your hips, belly, and wherever else your heredity says to store it.
Imagine what happens when you go to the Italian restaurant for dinner and eat an appetizer, salad, meal, two soda pops, and a dessert, totaling 2,400 Calories, which isn't uncommon at all, in addition to breakfast (400 Calories) and lunch (620 Calories). That day, you will have had 3,420 Calories in that one day. If you only burn 1,500 Calories, you will store 1,920 Calories on your body as fat! That could be three or four hours of exercise to burn it off.
Conversely, if you eat 1,500 Calories in one day and burn 2,000 Calories that same day, your body will use the energy, or fat, that is stored on your belly from the months that you ate too much. The way you burn the extra Calories is to exercise. Cardiovascular exercise will get your heart pumping and blood flowing. This needs to be done at least thirty minutes a day. If you want to be aggressive, do an hour of cardio, and you will burn 600-800 Calories more than if you were inactive.
If you are really serious and want to lose weight, do strength training (after consulting with your doctor). It will help you to burn fat long after you are finished with your workout. The way it works is when you lift a dumbbell your muscle fibers tear, and need to begin repairing. Your body begins breaking down protein into amino acids to rebuild your muscles stronger. Because it is active, the more muscle you have, the more body fat you will burn.
How do you find out how many Calories you need to eat to lose weight? Instead of giving you a formula that could be inaccurate, start with an eating plan. Eat 1,500 Calories per day. Then get involved in an exercise program, such as purchasing a gym membership, going to an aerobic class, or purchasing an exercise video or tutorial, or even joining up with a friend to exercise together for at least a half hour a day. If you don't lose one or two pounds each week, increase your exercise.
Just don't eat less than 1,200 Calories a day, because that is what you need to keep from starving. Make sure you are eating a balanced meal and get enough carbs to keep from burning out.
How much you weigh depends on how much you eat versus how much you burn. If you eat more than you use, you gain weight, but if you eat less than you use, you will lose weight. The amount of Calories you should eat to lose weight may vary, but it is still controllable if you know how much you are eating, so measuring your intake is important. Then you can adjust your weight by how much you use, or burn, each day. That is how you determine how much you need to eat.
