How To Calculate Your Caloric Needs

To lose weight you must burn more calories than you consume. But most people don’t even know how many calories they burn to begin with.

The number of calories you need each day to maintain a healthy body weight will very greatly depending on your current weight and activity level.

I’ve seen a number of different formulas to calculate individual caloric needs. Some are complex. I like things that are simple.

Here is a simple formula:

Step 1: Calculate a base number.

• If you are a man: Multiply your body weight by 11.
  
• If you are a woman: Multiply your body weight by 10.

Step 2: Calculate the calories required for your activity level.

• Low activity: Base number times .2
  
• Moderate activity: Base number times .3
  
• Active: Base number times .4
  
• High activity: Base number times .5

Step 3: Digesting food will also burn calories. To calculate this, take the result in Step 2 and multiply by .1.

Step 4: Add the results from Steps 1, 2 and 3 together.

Here’s an example: A man of moderate activity level wants to know his caloric needs. He weighs 237 pounds and would like to get down to about 175.

Step 1: Body weight times 11.

237 X 11 = 2607

Step 2: Base number times .3

2607 X .3 = 782

Step 3: The result in Step 2 times .1

782 X .1 = 78

Step 4: Add the results together:

2607 + 782 + 78 = 3467

To lose weight he should consume just under 3000 calories per day. He should also increase his physical activity.

Remember, this is not an exact science. I’ve known people to worry because they had five more calories today than they did yesterday. That’s no big deal. You need to know approximately how much you need daily. And you should know approximately how much you consume each day. Then, to lose weight consume less than you need (about 500 less per day).

You, of course, will need to make adjustments as your body changes and as you change your level of physical activity.

Let’s take one more example: A woman who is 180 pounds, is active and would like to get down to 150 or 160.

Step 1:

180 X 10 = 1800

Step 2:

1800 X .4 = 720

Step 3:

720 X .1 = 72

Step 4:

1800 + 720 + 72 = 2592

To lose weight, she should consume about 2000 calories per day. She could also maintain her activity level or step it up to a higher level.

I hope this formula helps you.