CDC- Calories and Weight Loss

If you are maintaining your current body weight, you are in caloric balance. If you need to gain weight or to lose weight, you'll need to tip the balance scale in one direction or another to achieve your goal.

If you need to tip the balance scale in the direction of losing weight, keep in mind that it takes approximately 3,500 calories below your calorie needs to lose a pound of body fat.¹ To lose about 1 to 2 pounds per week, you'll need to reduce your caloric intake by 500—1000 calories per day.²

To learn how many calories you are currently eating, begin writing down the foods you eat and the beverages you drink each day. By writing down what you eat and drink, you become more aware of everything you are putting in your mouth. Also, begin writing down the physical activity you do each day and the length of time you do it. Here are simple paper and pencil tools to assist you:

• Food Diary (PDF-33k)
• Physical Activity Diary (PDF-42k)

An interactive version is found at My Pyramid Tracker.gov, where you can enter the foods you have eaten and the physical activity you have done to see how your calorie intake compares to your calorie expenditure. This tool requires you to register, simply to save the information you are tracking.

By studying your food diary you can be more aware of your eating habits and the number of calories you take in on an average day. Check out MyPyramid Plan to see how that number compares to the suggested food pattern for someone of your gender, age and activity level.

Physical activities (both daily activities and exercise) help tip the balance scale by increasing the calories you expend each day.

Recommended Physical Activity Levels

• 2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (i.e., brisk walking) every week and muscle-strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).

• Increasing the intensity or the amount of time that you are physically active can have even greater health benefits and may be needed to control body weight.
• Encourage children and teenagers to be physically active for at least 60 minutes each day, or almost every day.
• For more detail, see How much physical activity do you need?

The bottom line is… each person's body is unique and may have different caloric needs. A healthy lifestyle requires balance, in the foods you eat, in the beverages you consume, in the way you carry out your daily activities, and in the amount of physical activity or exercise you include in your daily routine. While counting calories is not necessary, it may help you in the beginning to gain an awareness of your eating habits as you strive to achieve energy balance. The ultimate test of balance is whether or not you are gaining, maintaining, or losing weight.