Semaglutide and Tirzepatide are prescription medications used for weight management. They work by mimicking a hormone called GLP-1, which helps regulate appetite and food intake.
While taking either Semaglutide or Tirzepatide it is critical that you also maintain a healthy, balanced diet that puts you in a calorie deficit. The medication is effective with healthy diet and lifestyle.
How Many Calories Should I be Eating?
The number of calories you should consume in a day for weight loss can vary widely depending on several factors, including your age, gender, current weight, activity level, and individual metabolic rate. That said, to lose weight you need to create a calorie deficit, which means consuming fewer calories than your body expends. You should aim for a deficit of 500 to 1000 calories per day, which can lead to a healthy and sustainable weight loss of about 1 to 2 pounds per week. You can find numerous calculators online to calculate your calorie needs for weight loss. Here is a link to one. https://www.verywellfit.com/how-many-calories-to-lose-weight-3495659 Most food tracking apps like MyFItnessPal, LoseIt, or Carb Manager also have this feature. Most food tracking apps will also calculate goals for Macros (Protein, Carbs, and Fat) for you.
It is important to ensure you’re still getting essential nutrients for overall health. In general, for women, it’s often not recommended to go below 1200 calories per day, and for men, it’s typically not recommended to go below 1500 calories per day.
What about Protein, Carbs, Water?
In general, a high protein, low carb diet works well and is sustainable over the long-term.
For Protein there are a LOT of varying recommendations. Generally for weight loss it is recommended that you get 0.8 Grams of protein per kg of body weight.
To get your weight in kg – divide your weight in lbs by 2.2.
If your weight is 220 lbs – then 220 divided by 2.2 = 100 kg. So your daily protein intake goal should be 100 x 0.8 = 80 Grams of protein.
Water intake is the other crucial factor – a minimum of 64 oz daily, and many weight loss specialists recommend drinking half your body weight in oz of water daily. If you are 220 lbs then they recommend 110 oz of water daily.
