Fueling Your Body: How Proper Eating Supports Energy, Muscle Growth and Overall Health
If your goal is to lose weight, aim for a daily calorie deficit of about 500 calories; a simple starting estimate is to multiply your body weight (in pounds) by 10 to set your intake, then adjust based on progress, while tracking your food with a scale and an app like MyFitnessPal. Staying active with at least 30 minutes of walking every day will help create a deficit as well. If your goal is to gain weight, estimate your maintenance calories by multiplying your body weight by 14 and add a surplus of around 300 calories, using MyfitnessPal to refine your intake based on your activity level. This app pretty much does everything for you once you enter your stats and can give you a more accurate amount of calories to eat per day if you want to be really precise. Preparing your food at home is the best scenario for your health and wallet. Focus on whole foods, fruits, vegetables, protein rich foods. Avoid extreme diets and fear mongering individuals online. Aim for at least 0.7g of protein per pound of your target lean body weight and you’ll become the best version of yourself!
