When you want to determine how many calories per day you need to eat to lose or gain weight, the first step is to find out how many calories your body uses naturally each day. From there, you can decide whether you should modify calories or exercise time to reach the calorie deficit needed to lose weight or the surplus needed to gain weight. Use the basal metabolic rate formula to figure out how many calories your body expends naturally.
Step 1
Factor in your weight. If you are a woman, multiply your weight by 4.35. For example, a 160-lb. woman would multiply 160 by 4.35 for a result of 696. If you are a man, multiply your weight by 6.23. A 210-lb. man would multiply 210 by 6.23 for a result of 1,308.3.
Step 2
Factor in your height. If you are a woman, multiply your height in inches by 4.7. For example, a woman who is 5 feet tall multiplies 5 by 12 to determine her height in inches for a result of 60. She then takes 60 and multiplies it by 4.7 for a result of 282. If you are a man, multiply your height in inches by 12.7. A man who is 6 feet tall multiplies 6 by 12 for a result of 72. He then multiplies 72 by 12.7 for a result of 914.4.
Step 3
Factor in your age. If you are a woman, multiply your age in years by 4.7; if you are 30 years old, multiply 30 by 4.7 for a result of 141. If you are a man, multiply your age in years by 6.8; if you are 30 years old, multiply 30 by 6.8 for a result of 204.
Step 4
Add your weight equation result to your height equation result. Using the woman's calculation from the previous steps, you would add 696 to 282 for a result of 978. The man in the previous example would add 1,308.3 and 914.4 for a result of 2,222.7.
Step 5
Subtract your age equation result from the result obtained in step 4. The woman from the previous example would subract 141 from 978 for a result of 837. The man would subract 204 from 2,222.7 for a result of 2,018.7.
Step 6
Complete the calculation to determine how many calories per day your body uses naturally. For a woman, add the result from the previous step to 655. The woman from the example would add 837 and 655 for a result of 1,492 calories burned naturally per day. A man adds the result from the previous step to 66. So the man would add 2,018.7 and 66 for a result of 2,084.7 calories burned naturally per day.
Tips and Warnings
- This formula isn't appropriate for people who are obese or very muscular, as it will overestimate the number of calories for an obese person and underestimate it for a very muscular person.
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