Calculating the number of calories that you burn each day can allow you to plan your energy balance. Weight gain occurs when we consume more calories than we burn, and weight loss is achieved by eating fewer calories and expending more in exercise.
Every pound of body fat holds 3500 calories of energy. To burn this amount of fuel requires consuming 500 calories less each day for a week. However, if your daily caloric intake goes below 1200 calories for an adult woman or 1800 calories for a man, it will be difficult to consume the essential nutrients your body requires for health. For this reason the National institutes of Health recommends eating at least this number of calories.
Step 1
Calculate you basal metabolic rate, or BMR. This is the number of calories that you can eat, without exercising, to stay at exactly your same weight. To begin, weigh yourself, without clothes or shoes, first thing in the morning.
For women the BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years), and for men the BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years).
Alternatively, use an online BMR calculator.
Step 2
Multiply the BMR by a number that represents how active your are right now. This number will increase after you begin to exercise longer each day and at a greater intensity.
If you do not exercise at all, use the sedentary rate and multiply your BMR by 1.2; if you exercise moderately one to three times a week this increases to 1.375; and if you work out up to five days a week for an hour at each session you are consuming your BMR x 1.55. This is known as the Harris Benedict Equation, and even higher coefficients are possible for elite athletes in training.
Remember that as your weight decreases your BMR will decrease, but this can be offset by increasing your workouts.
Step 3
Calculate how many steps you take each day and use this information to more accurately calculate your calorie burn. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 10,000 steps a day as a heart healthy goal. This requires five miles of cumulative walking and burns 375 calories.
If the majority of your exercise involves walking, wear a pedometer for a week and divide the total steps accumulated by 7 to calculate how many steps you average a day. For every 1000 steps, add 37.5 calories to your BMR to approximate your caloric burn, using the figures accepted by the National Institutes of Health.
This calculation will allow you to stay at the same weight. If you want to lose a pound a week, perform the same calculation and then drop 500 calories a day to find your target weight.
Step 4
Prepare to stay slender and maintain health in your elder years by calculating your BMR using the Cornell Formula for people over 70.
For men over 70, BMR = 66.5 + (13.75 x weight in kg) +3.003 x height in cm - 6.775 x age in years), and for women over 70 the BMR is 655.1 + (9.563 x weight in kg) + (1.850 x height in cm) - (4.676 X age in years).
The Cornell Formula assumes a natural decrease in metabolic rate that accompanies aging but uses the same exercise coefficients to add calories needed for various levels of activity.
A BMR calculator will take age into account making it wise to mark your calendar and recalculate your BMR each year on your birthday.
Things You'll Need
- Bathroom scale
- Journal
- Pen
- Sneakers and socks
- Pedometer
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