How Many Calories Do I Need?

A plate of vegetarian meal on a grey surface | Hurry The Food Up

Let’s keep things simple.

Who are you?

First of all – are you female or male?

Secondly – are you sedentary or active?

Sedentary = less than 150 minutes moderate exercise or less than 75 minutes vigorous exercise per week.

Active = at least 150 minutes moderate exercise or 75 minutes vigorous exercise per week.

Very active = much more than 150 minutes moderate exercise or 75 minutes vigorous exercise per week. May also include a very physical job.

Senior women are jogging together outside | Hurry The Food Up

Examples of moderate exercise:

  • brisk walking
  • water aerobics
  • riding a bike
  • dancing
  • doubles tennis or pickleball
  • pushing a lawn mower
  • hiking
  • rollerblading

Examples of vigorous exercise:

  • running
  • swimming
  • riding a bike fast or on hills
  • walking up the stairs
  • sports, like football, rugby, netball and hockey
  • skipping
  • aerobics
  • gymnastics
  • martial arts

As a side note, we don’t count dog-walking as it’s not normally brisk enough for either moderate or vigorous activity.

Three meals in bowls and two ramekins with sauce on a table | Hurry The Food Up

Sedentary female – let’s start with aiming for roughly 1300kcals a day. This means you should follow the 3 main meals on the meal plan, and none of the snacks.

Active female – let’s see how 1500kcals a day goes. Follow the meal plan with the 3 main meals, and the 2 small snacks.

Very active female – If you’re a very active female trying to lose weight, get in touch with us so that we can check the plans are right for you.

Sedentary male – let’s go with 1800kcals. This would be all 3 main meals, and the large snack, too.

Active male – 2000kcals. All 3 main meals, 2 small snacks, and 1 large snack.

Very active male – If you’re a very active male trying to lose weight, get in touch with us so that we can check the plans are right for you.

We recommend following the plan for your chosen tier in The Vegetarian Protein Fix or the Weekly Vegetarian Weight Loss Meal Plans for at least 3 weeks. This gives enough time to see trends in your weight.

If you aren’t losing weight at this point, or you’re unsure where you would fit on this list, just give us a shout and we’ll help you figure out the right amount for you personally 🙂