The number of calories you need to burn for weight loss depends on several factors. These include your current calorie requirement and the rate at which you wish to lose weight. A sensible weight loss plan should include an increase in your activity level and a reduction in your caloric intake.
Minimum Calories
The Mayo Clinic provides caloric minimums that are independent of your activity level. These values are 1,200 calories each day for women and a minimum of 1,500 calories each day for men. These caloric minimums will help keep your metabolic rate high so that your body doesn't begin conserving calories.
Safety
A healthy rate of weight loss is no more than 1 to 2 pounds per week, according to the National Institutes of Health. Each pound of fat provides about 3,500 calories, so you need to burn 500 calories more than you consume each day to lose 1 pound each week. A healthy calorie deficit is therefore less than 1,000 calories per day.
Exercise
Aerobic exercise will help you safely create a calorie deficit so you can lose weight. Brisk walking, cycling and running are common activities that burn calories by increasing your heart rate for prolonged periods. A typical exercise regimen calls for you to engage in aerobic exercise at least three times each week with sessions that last at least 30 minutes.
Basal Metabolic Rate
Your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is your calorie expenditure rate without exercise. The BMR for women is (4.337 x weight) + (4.699 x height) - (4.676 x age) + 655.1 where weight is in pounds, height is in inches and age is in years. The BMR for men is (6.236 x weight) + (12.708 x height) - (6.775 x age) + 66.5. These equations provide the BMR in calories burned per day.
Activity
Multiply your BMR by your activity factor to obtain the number of calories you will burn each day. Sedentary people have an activity factor of 1.2, people who engage in light exercise three times per week have an activity factor of 1.375 and moderate exercise has an activity factor of 1.55. An activity factor of 1.725 is for people who exercise heavily six to seven times per week and an activity factor of 1.9 is for those people with physically demanding jobs.
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