Determining your daily calorie expenditure can shed light on just how many calories you need to consume to achieve your desired weight goal. The combination of the basal metabolic and Harris Benedict formulas provides a close estimate of your daily calorie expenditure--with activity and body weight taken into consideration. Learning how to use these formulas as you lose a pound each week gives you a mathematical advantage to achieve success.
Step 1
Record your weight in pounds, height in inches and age on a sheet of paper to use later with the basal metabolic formula. The BMR formula takes these factors into account to give you a more accurate calorie expenditure figure.
Step 2
Use the English basal metabolic rate formula to determine how many calories you burn while at rest. Men should use this formula: 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in years ). For women the formula is: 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years ). For example, a 6-foot-tall, 30-year-old male weighing 200 lbs. would burn 2,022.4 calories daily while at rest.
Step 3
Use the Harris Benedict formula to factor your activity level into your calculated BMR. Choose the appropriate activity level formula to determine your daily calorie expenditure with activity: sedentary with little or no exercise, BMR x 1.2; light exercise or sports one to three days a week, BMR x 1.37; moderate activity three to five days a week, BMR x 1.55; hard exercise or sports six to seven days a week, BMR x 1.725; extremely active with very intense exercise or sports or a physically demanding job, BMR x 1.9. Using our calculated BMR for the 200-lb. male who classifies as moderately active, his daily calorie expenditure calculates to 3,134.72 calories.
Step 4
Considering you lose a pound each week, calculate your new BMR using the formula in Step 1 with your current weight factored in. Then utilize the Harris Benedict formula to determine your new daily calorie expenditure with activity. For example, if the 200-lb. man lost 1 lb. his new BMR would consist of 2,016.17 calories. Then using the moderately active Harris Benedict formula, the man discovers that he expends 3,125.06 calories a day with activity.
Tips and Warnings
- Double check your calculations to ensure you determine your correct daily calorie expenditure.
- Speak with a registered dietitian before attempting to lose or gain weight to ensure your safety.
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