Calorie Counting Guide: Intake for Muscle & Weight Loss

Determining how many calories you need depends on your fitness goals, whether you are a marathon runner or a weightlifter. Use intake formulas to calculate your needs for muscle gain or sustainable weight loss.

Calorie Requirements for Men & Women

Published Jul,08 2011 | By Maura Shenker

Simply put, calories are energy. Consume more energy than your body needs and excess calories are stored as fat. Fat storage was an important part of human survival--allowing people to survive when food was scarce.

Maura Shenker is a certified holistic nutritionist and health counselor who started her writing career in 2010. She leads group workshops, counsels individual clients and blogs about diet and lifestyle choices. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design, a Master of Fine Arts from The Ohio State University and is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.