If you want to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, it is important to determine how many calories you require per day. Once you know the number of calories you need based on your age, gender, height, weight and activity level, you can start figuring how many calories you need from each food group: carbohydrates, protein and fat.
Step 1
Calculate your basal metabolic rate, which determines the number of calories you burn per day while sedentary. Enter your personal information into one of the following equations:
Men: 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years);
Women: 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years).
Step 2
Multiply your BMR by 1.2 if you get little to no exercise, by 1.375 if you get light exercise, by 1.55 if you are moderately active, by 1.725 if you are very active or by 1.9 if you are very active and have a physically demanding job. The resulting number is the amount of calories you need each day to maintain your current weight.
Step 3
Calculate 55 percent of your daily calories for carbohydrates, 30 percent for fat and 15 percent for protein. For example, if you need to eat a 2,000-calorie daily diet, 1,100 of your calories should come from carbohydrates, 600 from fat and 300 from protein.
Step 4
Determine how many grams of each food group you need to eat to reach your target calorie intake. Protein and carbohydrates contain four calories per gram, and fat contains nine calories per gram. So if your daily caloric intake is 2,000, you need to eat 275 g of carbohydrates, 75 g of protein and 67 g of fat.
Tips and Warnings
- If you want to lose weight, create a daily caloric deficit of 500 to 1,000 by cutting caloric intake and exercising.
- Do not eat less than 1,200 calories a day if you are female or 1,500 calories a day if you are male. Doing so can cause health issues.
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