Our body needs energy. Basically, it is spent on maintaining its own temperature, but all the necessary functions are carried out due to its daily replenishment. The consumption of its quantity depends on gender, age, body weight, professional activity. At rest, we spend the minimum amount of energy, and with intense physical exertion, it increases. How to calculate - how many calories per day does a person need ? Proceed from the average figures - for women this number should be less than for men, but the recommended norms also range from 1800 to 3500 units.
We can get energy from food. For general convenience, we agreed to measure energy in units such as calories. We must spend a certain amount of them per day. Since many people have a problem of excess weight, which they want to get rid of, they have the ability to control the number of calories that enter the body with food. There are approximate figures recommended for adults, this is 2500 kcal per day. Of course, this value can vary both in the direction of increase, and vice versa.
The theory of calories says the following: how much a person has consumed, how much he should use up. If there are not enough of them, he will take from his reserves (body fat), and if there is too much, they will be deposited there. But in practice it turns out not quite so. Many obese people have gained excess weight precisely as a result of the fact that for many years they consistently followed low-calorie diets. After some time, their body adapted to what it received and reduced its consumption in order to put something in reserve. Of course, the use of a low-calorie diet gives some positive results, but if you consider them for a sufficiently long period of time, you will notice that this effect is unstable.
The theory of calories was put forward in the 30s of the last century by two American doctors - they suggested that obesity occurs as a result of consuming too many calories in food, and metabolic disorders in the body do not play a role. This idea was picked up, made publicly available. Subsequently, the authors tried to make reservations and amendments, but this went unnoticed - everyone was carried away by counting calories. Product packages are now provided with numbers indicating the amount of protein, fat, carbohydrates.
Evidence of this theory’s fallacy is, for example, the following facts: how does a ballerina not spend disproportionate calories on the day of the premiere, while observing a constant rigid diet? How did all the prisoners in the camps not die with such poor nutrition and despite the fact that they were forced to work and live in the winter cold? How do lean people get obviously excess calories per day - 4000 to 5000 each? After all, after some time they should gain enormous weight.
The body is smart. With any insufficient amount of calories supplied with food, it will settle down in such a way that, having lowered its energy needs, it will postpone something for a "rainy" day. Of course, when it comes to any lengthy period of time.
So there is hardly an answer to such a question - how many calories should be eaten per day. The main thing in nutrition is maintaining its balance, i.e. the correct ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates received with food and their distribution throughout the day. If you are preoccupied with the problem of excess weight - try not to eat fatty and carbohydrate-rich foods in the afternoon - it, having no time to be consumed, will be left in reserve for you. When calculating calorie consumption per day, use these numbers: oxidizing in the body, 1 g of fat releases 9.3 kcal, 1 g of carbohydrate - 4.1 kcal, proteins can be ignored, since here they are secondary.