How to Calculate Calorie Needs

Whether you're trying to lose weight, gain weight or maintain your weight, understanding the amount of calories your body needs each day is important. If you go over the amount of calories you should consume in one day---and fail to burn it off with exercise---then weight gain is inevitable. The opposite is true if you don't consume enough calories. Fortunately, there is a simple way to calculate your daily calorie needs. The following calculations are based on maintaining your current weight. To lose weight or gain weight, decrease or increase your calorie input.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Scale
• Calculator

1. Take into account your age, gender and current physical health. Men should consume more calories than women, on average, and women who are pregnant or nursing should also consume more calories. Consult your doctor if you have particular health needs or are pregnant, to get a calorie budget that is more tailored to your individual needs.

2. Measure your height and weigh yourself. It's best to have someone else measure you, but if you are alone then use another method. Stand against a wall with your shoes off and lightly mark your height. Then, measure the distance from the floor to your mark to measure your height. When weighing yourself, round the number to the nearest whole number, for scales that provide decimals.

3. Calculate your BMR (or basal metabolic rate). For women, your BMR is equal to the following formula: 655 plus (4.35 times weight in pounds) plus (4.7 times height in inches) minus (4.7 times age in years). For men, your BMR is: 66 plus (13.7 times weight in pounds) plus (12.7 times height in inches) minus (6.8 times age in years).

4. Establish your level of activity by choosing from these categories: sedentary (little to no exercise), lightly activity (light amount of exercise one to three times per week), moderately active (moderate amount of exercise three to five times a week), very active (hard amount of exercise or sports six to seven days a week) and extra active (very hard exercise or sports daily---usually for those with physically demanding jobs).

5. Multiply your BMR by the following number according to your category: 1.2 for sedentary lifestyle, 1.375 for light activity, 1.55 for moderate activity, 1.725 for a very active lifestyle and 1.9 for an extra active lifestyle. This number, when multiplied by your BMR, yields the amount of calories you should consume every day.

6. Use another formula for a second opinion. For moderately active males, multiply your weight in pounds by 15 for the amount of total calories you should consume per day. Moderately active females should multiply by 12. Relatively inactive males should multiply by 13 and relatively inactive women should multiply by 10.

Tips & Warnings

• If you want to lose weight, only decrease your calorie intake by 300 to 600 calories each day. If you reduce calories too rapidly, your metabolism will slow down and muscle mass will began to break down as well. You also risk health issues associated with malnutrition.

References

• BMI Calculator: Harris Benedict Equation
• University of Maryland Medical Center: How Many Calories Do You Need?

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