A number of calories your body needs each day depend on your activity level and your basal metabolic rate or BMR. Your BMR is essentially the minimum number of calories you need each day to stay alive. It doesn't include the calories need for any sort of activity, including digestion. Your BMR are also assumes you're at room temperature, so that you don't need to burn calories to heat or cool your body.
Step 1
Measure your height in inches with a tape measure. Convert your height from inches to centimeters by multiplying by 2.54. Assume you're 68in. tall for this example. Your height in centimeters is 68 x 2.54 = 172.7cm.
Step 2
Weigh yourself in pounds with a set of scales. Convert your weight from pounds to kilograms by dividing by 2.2. Assume you weigh 157lbs. for this example. Your weight in kilograms is 157 / 2.2 = 71.4kg.
Step 3
Calculate your BMR if you're male. The Weill Medical College of Cornell University provides the following equation for this calculation: (Height x 5.003) + (Weight x 13.75) - (Age x 6.775) + 66.5. Your height must be in centimeters and your weight must be in kilograms.
Assume for this example that your height is 172.7cm, your weight is 71.46kg and your age is 42 years. Your BMR is (172.7 x 5.003) + (71.4 x 13.75) - (42 x 6.775) + 66.5 = 1,628 calories per day.
Step 4
Compute your BMR if you're female. The Weill Medical College of Cornell University provides the following equation for this computation: (Height x 1.850) + (Weight x 9.563) - (Age x 4.676) + 655.1. Your height must be in centimeters and your weight must be in kilograms.
Assume for this example that your height is 172.7cm, your weight is 71.46kg and your age is 35 years. Your BMR is (172.7 x 1.850) + (71.4 x 9.563) - (42 x 4.676) + 655.1 = 1,461 calories per day.
Step 5
Multiply your BMR by your activity factor to obtain your daily calorie expenditure rate. Your activity is 1.2 if you're relatively sedentary, 1.375 if you're lightly active, 1.55 if you're moderately active and 1.725 if you engage in heavy exercise at least six days a week.
Assume your BMR is 1,628 calories per day and you're moderately active. Your daily calorie expenditure is 1,628 x 1.55 = 2,523 calories per day.
Things You'll Need
- Tape measure
- Scales
- Calculator
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