If you are thinking of shedding those excess pounds hanging around your belt buckle, you may need to do some number crunching before hitting the treadmill. As with any weight loss program, you must consume enough calories to function, but you must create a deficit sufficient to lose weight. However, anything less than your recommended minimum amount will result in a feeling of sluggishness and knock you off the diet. Calculating your caloric needs allows you to nourish your body with the essentials while throwing away the excess.
Measurements
Step 1
Strip down to just your underwear and stand on your scale. If your scale can measure in both pounds and kilograms, change the setting to the latter. If it measures only in pounds, take the number appearing on your scale and divide it by 2.2 on your calculator to obtain your weight in kilograms.
Step 2
Hand the tape measure to a friend and stand tall against a flat wall. Make sure that your heels, buttocks and head touch the surface, while your chin is straight and parallel to the ground.
Step 3
Have your friend measure your height and record the number. If your tape measure is in centimeters, record it as is. If not, take the number in inches and multiply it by 2.54 to obtain your height in cm.
Calculations
Step 1
Plug in your height and weight into the Harris-Benedict Formula, using a calculator to obtain your Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR. If you are a woman, use the formula: 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) -- (4.7 x age in years). If you are male, use the formula: 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) -- (6.8 x age in years).
Step 2
Calculate your level of activity. If you are sedentary, multiply your BMR by 1.2. If you do light exercises one to three times a week, multiply by 1.375. If you take part in moderate exercise and sports three to five times a week, multiply by 1.55. Multiply intense exercise and sports requiring six or seven days by 1.725. The number obtained is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, or TDEE.
Step 3
Create a calorie deficit by subtracting 500 to 1,000 calories from your TDEE. The number obtained shows the calories you need in order to lose weight. A deficit of 500 calories daily through diet and exercise will result in shedding one pound per week. Creating a deficit of 1,000 calories per day for all seven days of the week will result in two pounds lost per week.
Things You'll Need
- Body weight scale
- Tape measure
- Calculator
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