How Many Calories Should I Eat Per Day?

The answer to this question depends on many more factors than I can cover deeply in one five-minute email.

I’ll do my best to frame it!

1. The Big Picture 🖼️

2. Explain It To Me Like I’m 5 👦

3. Start Basic 🔤

4. Personalize 🎯

5. Why I Sometimes Eat Over 3000 💪

6. Parting Zen 🧘‍♂️

The Big Picture 🖼️

Some (not all) of the variables to be considered when determining how many calories you should eat daily are:

Current and target body weight, current and target lean body mass, activity level, goals, genetics, age, biological sex, height, body shape, mental and emotional health, medical history, prior experiences with diets, and more.

This is why I do a thorough intake.

There are several ways to calculate.

I use a professional online nutrition calculator.

I often do it with a pencil and calculator as a double-check.

Some tools, such as MyFitnessPal or your home digital body-fat scale, will give you target caloric intakes, but those lack context.

You can get an answer from Google, ChatGPT, or my favorite AI-based search tool, Perplexity.

Those can be helpful starting points - or confusing rabbit holes.

Keep reading, and I’ll keep your head above ground.

Explain It To Me Like I’m 5 👦

Today’s topic, as simply as possible:

“Eat like Goldilocks … not too much, not too little … just enough.”

Start Basic 🔤

Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Going too far outside the ranges of 1600-2400 for women and 2000-3000 for men is atypical and carries risks, some serious.

In last week’s email, I talked about crash diets. Those are typically in the 500-1200 kcal/day range.

Spend too much time there, and you can get sick or worse.

Personalize 🎯

From there, it’s all about personalization.

Whether you’re at your target body weight and curious or looking to make changes, begin with a measurement.

A digital app, paper journal, hand measurements, and photos can all work.

If you’ve never measured before, it can be eye-opening.

Most people are surprised at how much they eat and which foods register the most calories.

Some foods add calories up quickly and are not even satiating!

I won’t make specific recommendations unless I know your situation.

I will suggest that if you are looking to make adjustments on your own:

• A professional should be consulted;

• Gradual increases or decreases of 10-20% are safest;

• Periods of change should be mixed with periods of stability;

• Going below 1600 or above 3000 is unusual and potentially dangerous and should only be done in specific short-term situations with professional guidance.

Why I Sometimes Eat Over 3000 Kcal/Day 💪

This is a comment from one of my posts on LinkedIn:

“3000 calories a day is too much for most people. You can only eat that much if you have a fun way to burn the calories and a schedule that allows it."

I agree.

I weigh 160 pounds, have 12% body fat, and exercise intentionally 10 hours per week.

My maintenance zone is 3200-3500 kcal/day based on those factors.

I don’t eat 3000 calories daily but must eat a lot to maintain my muscle mass and not lose weight.

I’ve built my body into a muscle machine over the past decade.

If you do that, you’ll also need to eat plenty of food to stay strong.

Parting Zen 🧘‍♂️

A simple word, phrase, or thought to take with you:

Be well,

Coach Matt

PS: Here are other awesome newsletters I’m reading:

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