Understanding how to calculate the number of calories you need to eat each day can assist you in weight maintenance. Weight maintenance depends on balancing how many calories you expend through exercise and everyday living with how many calories you eat. The amount of calories you need varies with your activity level.
Step 1
Learn your personal basal metabolic rate. The relatively complicated calculation takes into account weight, height, age and sex to calculate how many calories you need to live without any activity. For women the calculation is: 655 plus the product of 4.35 times your weight in pounds, plus the product of 4.7 times your height in inches, minus the product of 4.7 times your age in years. Alternatively, use a BMR calculator such as the one found at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Step 2
Calculate your BMR if you are a man. Add 66 to the product of 6.23 times your weight in pounds, plus the product of 12.7 times your height in inches, minus the product of 6.8 times your age in years. Use a BMR calculator for ease and accuracy.
Step 3
Understand that you must add additional calories to your BMR rate. As you walk, move around your house or office, eat, digest food and perform exercise, you burn additional calories. Adding an activity multiplier to your BMR allows you to easily determine how many calories you need to maintain your weight.
Step 4
Use the Harris-Benedict formula to complete the calculation. The Harris-Benedict formula uses your BMR with an activity multiplier to determine appropriate calorie intake. Input your BMR into a calculator. Multiply the number by one of the following multipliers: 1.2 for a sedentary lifestyle, 1.375 if you exercise between once and three times a week; 1.55 for three to five days of exercise; 1.725 for daily, highly intense exercise; and multiply your BMR by 1.9 if you not only exercise vigorously every day but also have a physically demanding job or exercise for lengthy periods of time.
Step 5
Compare the answer to your average caloric intake. If you regularly eat more than your required calories, you may find it difficult to maintain your weight. To lose weight, cause a calorie deficit of about 500 calories each day by reducing your food intake. Over one week, you may lose 1 lb., because 3,500 calories is the equivalent of 1 lb.
Tips and Warnings
- Eat a balanced diet of proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats to ensure proper nutrition. Count the calories you eat each day on a regular basis. Increase your physical activity level to burn additional calories.
- Consult your doctor if you experience difficulty gaining or losing weight.
Things You'll Need
- Calculator
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