Congratulations on reaching a weight you're happy with --- many find that magic number constantly eludes them. Now that you have reached your goal, you want to maintain your weight. After cutting calories and burning calories at the gym, it's hard to know exactly how much you need to eat to keep that number on the scale from moving. Fortunately, there are a few easy steps you can follow to calculate how many calories you need to maintain your current weight.
Step 1
Weigh yourself with an accurate scale. Remove your shoes and as much clothing as possible. Record your weight to the nearest pound.
Step 2
Measure your height with your shoes off. Stand straight with your head up. Record your height in inches and then multiply your height by 2.54 to find your height in centimeters.
Step 3
Use one of the following equations to calculate your resting metabolic rate, RMR, in calories per day. Your RMR is the amount of calories required for your body to carry on basic physiological functions in a quiet, resting state.
Males: RMR = 66 + 13.8 (body weight/2.2) + 5 (height in cm) - 6.8 (age)
Females: RMR = 655 + 9.6 (body weight/2.2) + 1.8 (height in cm) - 4.7 (age)
For example, a 28-year-old man weighing 175 pounds and standing 183 centimeters tall would calculate 66 + 13.8 (175/2.2) + 5 (183) - 6.8 (28), giving him a resting metabolic rate of 1,889 calories per day.
Step 4
Determine your activity level factor based on the Harris Benedict Equation. Choose the appropriate activity factor that best describes you out of the following list:
Sedentary, little or no exercise, use activity factor 1.2.
Lightly active, light exercise one to three days a week, use activity factor 1.375.
Moderately active, moderate exercise three to five days a week, use activity factor 1.55.
Very active, hard exercise six to seven days a week, use activity factor 1.725.
Extra active, two workouts a day or a very physical job, use activity factor 1.9.
Step 5
Multiply your RMR by your appropriate activity level to determine how many calories you need per day to maintain your current weight.
The man with the RMR of 1,889 calories per day weight trains three days a week and does cardio workouts the other four days. This puts him in the very active category, so he would multiply 1,889 by 1.725 to find that he needs to consume 3,259 calories per day to maintain his current weight of 175 pounds.
Tips and Warnings
- If you have a very muscular physique, you will require slightly more calories than what you have calculated.
Things You'll Need
- Measuring tape
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