How many calories should I eat per day?

A calorie is just a unit of energy. When deciding your food/energy goals, you have three options:

get bigger, get smaller, or maintain your current weight.

If you want to get bigger, your body needs to consume more energy than it burns (energy input>energy output). This caloric surplus is known as a “bulk”, where the extra energy allows your body to put on mass.

If you want to get smaller, your body needs to burn more energy than it consumes (energy output>energy input). This caloric deficit is called a “cut”, where the lack of energy leads to weight loss.

If you want to maintain your current weight, your body must burn and consume the same quantity of energy (energy output=energy input). This phase is known as the maintenance stage, where your weight tends to stay the same.

Once you decide which of the three options is right for you, use a calorie calculator (Mayo Clinic Calorie Calculator) to quantify how many calories you need to consume per day. Using your height, weight, age, gender, and activity level, the calculator calculates your daily maintenance calorie requirement. If you want to bulk (get bigger), add 300-500 calories to that number. If you want to cut (get smaller), subtract 300-500 calories.

As always, please reach out directly if you have any personalized questions!