How to Calculate Daily Caloric Requirements
The best way to deliberately manage your weight is to calculate your daily calorie need. In order to maintain your current weight, you simply have to balance your daily caloric intake with your daily caloric requirement. To lose weight, you must create a calorie deficit, burning more calories than what you take in. To gain weight you have to create a calorie surplus, utilizing fewer calories than what you consume. All this begins however, with assessing your daily calorie requirement.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Calculating Your Daily Calorie Requirement Using the Computer
-
1
Use the Daily Calorie Needs Resource found at the end of this article.
-
2
Fill in the information for your age, sex, height, weight, the activity level of your overall lifestyle (from sedentary to very active) and enter the type of additional exercises you perform.
-
-
3
Select Calculate.
Calculating Your Daily Calorie Requirement By Hand (For Women)
-
4
Figure your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate).
-
5
Fill in the blanks with your specifications as you rewrite: 655 + (4.35 x Your Weight in Pounds) + (4.7 x Your Height in Inches) - (4.7 x Your Age in Years) = BMR. Use your calculator to resolve the equation.
-
6
Use the Harris Benedict Equation to figure your daily calorie needs.
-
7
If you get little to no exercise, multiply your BMR by 1.2.
If you get light exercise 1 to 3 days per week, multiply your BMR by 1.375.
If you get moderate exercise 3 to 5 days per week, multiply your BMR by 1.55.
If you get 6 to 7 days of intense exercise per week, multiply your BMR by 1.725.
If you get extremely intense exercise 6 to 7 days per week, multiply your BMR by 1.9.
The result is your estimated daily calorie need.
Calculating Your Daily Calorie Requirement By Hand (For Men)
-
8
Figure your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate).
-
9
Fill in the blanks with your specifications as you rewrite: 66 + (6.23 x Your Weight in Pounds) + (12.7 x Your Height in Inches) - (6.8 x Your Age in Years) = BMR. Use your calculator to resolve the equation.
-
10
Use the Harris Benedict Equation to figure your daily calorie needs.
-
11
If you get little to no exercise, multiply your BMR by 1.2.
If you get light exercise 1 to 3 days per week, multiply your BMR by 1.375.
If you get moderate exercise 3 to 5 days per week, multiply your BMR by 1.55.
If you get 6 to 7 days of intense exercise per week, multiply your BMR by 1.725.
If you get extremely intense exercise 6 to 7 days per week, multiply your BMR by 1.9.
THE RESULT IS YOUR ESTIMATED DAILY CALORIE NEED
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Regardless of the method you use, performing your calculations by hand or utilizing the online calculator, remember the resulting figure you receive is merely an estimation of your daily calorie need. Those who have a greater or smaller percentage of muscle mass than what the BMR formula presumes, will have more or less of a calorie need than what these equations predict.
