The number of calories you need to consume daily is equal to your daily calorie expenditure, assuming you wish to maintain your present weight. You can estimate your calorie expenditure rate from your activity level and basal metabolic rate, or BMR. An accurate estimation of your calorie expenditure is essential for a sensible weight loss plan.
Activity
Your level of physical activity has a direct effect on your daily calorie consumption. Multivitamin.co.uk provides the activity factors for some common lifestyles. For example, the activity factor of a person who engages in heavy exercise each day is 1.725. By comparison, a relatively sedentary person has an activity factor of 1.2.
Basal Metabolic Rate
Your BMR is your calorie expenditure rate when you are at complete rest. This minimal activity level corresponds to an activity factor of one. You must therefore multiply your BMR by your activity factor to obtain your calorie expenditure rate.
Formula
Weill Cornell Medical College provides equations to estimate the BMR of each gender. Males use the following equation: BMR = (13.75 x Weight) + (5.003 x Height) - (6.775 x Age) + 66.5. The corresponding equation for females is BMR = (9.563 x Weight) + (1.850 x Height) - (4.676 x Age) + 655.1.
Considerations
The equations for estimating your BMR assume you have an average body composition. Muscle burns calories at a faster rate than fat, so a person with a low body fat percentage will have a lower BMR than what the BMR equations will show. Similarly, a person with a body fat percentage that's above average will have a lower BMR than the BMR equations indicate.
Calculations
Assume you're a 28-year-old male in this example. You weigh 72 kg and are 174 cm tall. Your BMR is (13.75 x 72) + (5.003 x 174) - (6.775 x 28) + 66.5 = 1,737 calories per day. You engage in heavy exercise every day, so your activity factor is 1.725. You therefore need to consume 1,737 x 1.725 = 2,996 calories per day to maintain your current weight.
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