The number of calories you need to consume each day depends on your calorie expenditure rate and your weight loss rate. You can calculate your daily calorie requirements with a gender-specific equation. This will allow you to create a sensible fitness plan whether you wish to lose weight or maintain your current weight.
Activity
You must assign a number to represent your activity level in order to calculate your calorie requirements. Multi Vitamin UK provides several common activity levels. For example, a person who has two or three sessions of light exercise per week has an activity level of 1.375.
Basal Metabolic Rate
Your calorie requirements also depend upon your basal metabolic rate, or BMR. Your BMR is your calorie expenditure rate when you are at complete rest. You can determine your BMR experimentally, and you can estimate it with a formula.
Equations
The Harris-Benedict equations allow you to estimate your BMR from physical factors. Females use the following equation:
BMR = [4.7 x height] + [4.347 x weight] - [4.676 x age] + 655.1.
Males use this equation:
BMR = [12.71 x height] + [6.25 x weight] - [6.775 x age] + 66.5.
These equations require your height in inches and your weight in pounds.
Example
Let your height be 69 inches and let your weight be 157 lb. Assume you are a 56-year-old female for this example. Your BMR is [4.7 x 69] + [4.347 x 157] - [4.676 x 56] + 655.1 = 1,400 calories per day. Multiply your BMR by your activity level to get your daily calorie requirements. If your activity level is 1.375, your daily calorie requirements are 1,400 x 1.375 = 1,925 calories per day.
Minimum Calorie Intake
You must consume a minimum number of calories per day even when you're actively trying to lose weight. Adult males should get at least 1,500 calories per day and adult females should get at least 1,200 calories per day, according to the Mayo Clinic.
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