Determining your daily caloric needs is the key to weight management. Although there are various factors that determine whether you gain weight, lose weight or maintain your current weight, the most important is your energy balance--the number of calories you burn versus the number you eat--according to McArdle, Katch and Katch, authors of "Sports and Exercise Nutrition." You can use scientific formulas to estimate how many calories you need to consume each day to maintain your weight, and then adjust how many calories you actually consume based on your individual goals.
Step 1
Divide your weight in pounds by 2.205 to determine your weight in kilograms. For example, if you weigh 175 pounds, then divide 175 by 2.205, which equals 79kg when rounded to the nearest kilogram.
Step 2
Divide your height in inches by 0.3937 to calculate your height in centimeters. For example, if you are 5 feet, 6 inches tall, or 66 inches, divide 66 by 0.3937, which equals approximately 168cm.
Step 3
Calculate the approximate number of calories you burn each day while resting--your resting energy expenditure--by using one of the following formulas, depending on your gender.
Females: 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) - (4.7 x age)
Males: 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) - (6.8 x age)
Using the same weight and height from above, if you are a 50-year-old female, then your resting energy expenditure is 655 + (9.6 x 79) + (1.8 x 168) - (4.7 x 50), which equals 1,480 calories, when rounded to the nearest calorie. This is the number of calories you should consume per day if you do not exercise at all and want to maintain your current weight.
Step 4
Multiply your resting energy expenditure by a physical activity factor of between 1.6 and 2.4, depending on the frequency and intensity of your physical activity. For example, you might use 1.6 if you walk twice a week for 30 minutes and mow your lawn once a week; or you might use 2.4 if you are an athlete who trains nearly every day of the week for an hour or more. Continuing with the same example from above, if you exercise three times per week for 30 minutes or more per session, then multiply your resting energy expenditure by 1.6, which equals 1,480 x 1.6, or 2,368 calories.
Tips and Warnings
- Eat 500 to 1,000 calories less than you need to average losing 1 to 2 lbs. per week. Conversely, add 500 to 1,000 calories per day if you want to gain 1 to 2 lbs. per week.
References
- "Sports and Exercise Nutrition"; William D. McArdle, Frank I. Katch and Victor L. Katch; 2008
- "Physiology of Sport and Exercise"; Jack H. Wilmore, David L. Costill and W. Larry Kenney; 2008
- "Practical Applications in Sports Nutrition"; Heather Hedrick Fink, Lisa A. Burgoon and Alan E. Mikesky; 2006
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