How Much Should YOU be Eating?

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Did ya’ll know you most likely need to be eating MORE than 1500 calories a day (to be honest: probably way more)? If you’re an active female, you most likely need > 2000 calories a day, while active males should be crushing >2500 calories a day.

If you consistently eat less than 1500 calories you run the risk of metabolically adapting (basically slowing down your metabolism and requiring less fuel).

I want to teach you a quick way to estimate your calorie needs. As a Nutrition Coach, I am happy to point you in the right direction. But remember that having these answers doesn’t always mean we know how to implement, execute, or modify (this is such a HUGE part of any coaching program). And please note that seeing results goes well beyond some math calculations. But I do want to help ya’ll get started!

Abby’s Cheat Sheet on Calculating your Calories:
This is a quick and easy way to get a baseline of how much you should be consuming.

Weight Loss: Body Weight x 10-12 (High Activity: 12-14)
Maintenance: Body Weight x 13-15 (High Activity: 15-16)
Weight Gain: Body Weight x 16+ (High Activity: 17+)

Example:
140 pound female, average activity
Weight Loss: 1400-1700 calories
Maintenance: 1800-2100 calories
Weight Gain: 2250 calories +

*These are vary large calorie ranges. Please work with a Nutrition Coach to help you dial in your goals, and target Macros*

Remember, in order to DIET and not sabotage your metabolism, you must be scoring a 10/10 on the following:

  • Feel amazing
  • Sleep 8-10 hours
  • Healthy hormones
  • Digestion is great
  • PFF at each meal
  • Adequate hydration
  • Eating at MAINTENANCE calories
  • Manage stress/adrenals
  • Hit 8-10K steps/day

From your caloric budget you can start to track your foods on Chronometer to better determine: are you over-eating or under-eating?

Pro Tip #1: Any active person should be consuming > 2,000 calories for maintenance.

Pro Tip #2: Just because you can calculate a deficit doesn’t mean you should. You must earn the right to diet.

Do you need help figuring out not just HOW many calories you need, but also how to adjust your macros based on biofeedback so your body can reflect all of your hard work at the gym?

Good news! We have 1:1 Coaching spots open for August + September!! Reach out for deets!

Schedule a Discovery Call to discuss your goals + my programs.

Let’s see if you are a good fit!

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