People nowadays are conscious about their health. They do a lot of different exercises to keep in shape. They drink 8-10 glasses of water and take their vitamin supplements. They eat more vegetables and less red meat. They practice good sleeping habits and sleep at least 6-8 hours and rest if they need to. They avoid smoking and drinking alcoholic drinks. They take extra precaution of counting their calorie intakes every meal they take.

Most people base their knowledge about the right calorie intake on health magazines and books. They check on the internet for more data. They also take notice of advertisements about different health products that give info about calories.

It will be good to remember to consult a doctor or a qualified dietician to know about your ideal calorie intake. Why? This is because they will tell you that each person has different calorie needs; therefore the calorie intake differs from one person to another.

In general, men need more calories than women because they have more muscles and more calories to burn. So that means that the calorie intake differs between the opposite sexes. It also depends on the height, weight, age and the lifestyle of the person.

Most health articles advise that we all take our regular meals of 3x a day and limit snacks to 2x a day. Women should aim for 300-500 calories per meal. Men should have at least 400-600 calories per meal; snacks should be limited to 100-200 calories.

You would know you have the ideal calorie intake for you when your body is in good form. That means you have the right weight proportion to your height and age. You feel healthy and good about yourself. That means you are not fat and overweight; neither are you too thin. You don’t tire easily and you almost don’t get sick at all.

It is important to know that calories are not that bad at all. In fact, the body needs calories to function. If we have more calories that we have no use of, then these extra calories turn into fats. We don’t need too much fat in the body because too much of it is detrimental to our health. It is just proper that we have to know how many calories we are taking in to keep us in good shape. We can do this if we take time to read food labels, food menus, and checking the labels of vitamins and supplements.

Having an ideal calorie intake goes a long way. It is a good practice to be aware of our calorie intake every day. We have to eat a proper balanced diet and do adequate exercise to have a healthy body.

Here’s a simple chart to manage the ideal calorie intake for you.

1,500 calories per day for women who want to lose weight

1,800 calories per day for women maintaining their weight

1,800 calories per day for smaller stature men who want to lose weight

2,000 calories per day for smaller men maintaining their weight

2,200 calories per day recommended for men who want to lose weight

As stated before, consult your doctor first if you want to follow the chart.

Jason Ladock

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