“How many calories do you eat?”
This is a fine question to ask out of curiosity, however it shouldn’t be asked for comparison’s sake.
The number of calories someone requires to maintain their bodyweight is unique and specific to them. Therefore, it’s unreasonable to assume that two individuals of the same height, weight, age and gender should consume the same amount of energy per day.
As this infographic infers, daily caloric requirements are influenced by many factors including:
▪️ Occupation (active vs sedentary)
▪️ Weekly training frequency & level of intensity
▪️ Recent history of weight loss phases (metabolic adaptation)
▪️ NEAT levels outside of work
▪️ Diet quality and thermic effect of food (whole foods vs highly-processed)
▪️ Overall health and nutrient status
▪️ Quality and duration of sleep
▪️ Level of muscularity
It’s important to recognise that what is deemed “a lot of calories” is highly subjective, as different people will have different interpretations of what they consider to be “a lot of food”. Also, bear in mind that eating a COPIOUS amount of calories should not be considered gold standard, as everyone has a different threshold of energy of which they thrive on. Therefore, rather than comparing definitive numbers, determine if the number of calories you currently require to maintain your weight satisfies the below:
▪️ Energy availability is in a good position to optimise health, performance and recovery
▪️ Your diet includes diversity and satisfies your essential nutrient requirements
▪️ Food focus is relatively low and you’re well in-tune with your hunger and satiation cues
▪️ Your appetite does not heavily influence your quality of sleep or quality of life
Many people can be left feeling disheartened when calorie calculators estimate numbers that aren’t in line with what they realistically eat or expend. Therefore, recommendation is to collect individual data related to your daily caloric intake, NEAT levels, frequency and intensity of exercise, quality of your diet, quality of sleep and the like. Following, use this data to your advantage to identify trends and determine how many calories YOU need to specifically achieve YOUR goals!