The idea of how many calories we need is confusing to a lot of folks. Like most things that confuse us, there’s a simple answer and a more complicated answer. The simple answer is, if you’re overweight and you want to lose weight, you need fewer calories than you’re currently getting. If you’re underweight and you want to gain weight, you need more calories than you’re currently getting. If you’re at a healthy weight and you would like to stay right where you are, you need about as many calories as you’re currently getting.
It’s sort of like the Goldilocks and the Three Bears story. Imagine yourself driving through the forest and stopping for a bite to eat at Grizzly’s Roadside Diner. You can either eat too many calories, too few calories, or just the right amount. Of course, eating just the right amount of calories at a roadside diner is pretty hard to do.
According to the USDA, most average adult women need between 1800-2200 calories a day. Most average adult men need between 2200-2800 calories a day. (By average, I don’t mean “not special.”) If you’re not active, then you’re at the lower end of the scale. If you are active, then you’re at the higher end of the scale. Active, for the record, does not mean getting out of bed. Active means getting out of bed, going about your day and getting some additional physical activity, like talking a 2-mile walk.
Also, in general, if you’re an adult between thirty and fifty, you need fewer calories than if you’re an adult in your twenties. That’s because adults over thirty don’t jump up and down as much as adults in their twenties. Adults over 50 need even fewer calories still because most adults over fifty hardly get up at all.
The problem with calories is that, like dirty laundry, they add up quickly. Let’s say, for example, Lisa needs 2100 calories a day. If Lisa has a medium Caffe Mocha (260 calories) and a Cranberry Orange Scone (490 calories) from Starbucks for breakfast, she’s had 750 calories already. Add a Full Chipolte Chicken on Artisan French Bread Signature Sandwich (990 calories) and a lemonade (90 calories) from Panera Bread for lunch, and that’s another 1080 calories. That leaves Lisa only 270 calories for the rest of the day.
On the other hand, if Lisa skipped the Cranberry Orange Scone and ate a banana, she would save 385 calories. And if instead of that full sandwich, she ordered the half sandwich, that’s another 490 calories saved. Now Lisa has 875 calories left for the rest of the day.
I’m not saying Lisa should eat a banana for breakfast. (Lisa doesn’t even like bananas.) And I’m not saying Lisa shouldn’t eat a Cranberry Orange Scone. I’m just saying that Lisa, like all of us, should have approximately some idea of how many calories she needs and how many calories she’s consuming or she’ll turn into a blimp.