How to Figure Out How Many Calories to Consume

Determining how many calories to consume a day is helpful information whether you are trying to lose weight, gain weight or maintain your current weight. Your basal metabolic rate, BMR, is the amount of energy your body uses in an inactive fasting state. Age, weight, height, activity level, diet and muscle mass are some of the many factors that influence your BMR. Several equations exist that can estimate your BMR based on limited information. You can multiply your BMR by an activity factor to get a rough estimate of your total daily energy expenditure, TDEE, which is the total amount of calories you burn in a day. Consume this many calories a day to maintain your current weight.

Instructions

• 1

  Estimate your BMR using the Mifflin equation of (4.54 * W) + (15.875 * H) - (5 * A) + S. W is your weight in lbs., H is your height in inches and A is your age. S is +5 for males and -161 for females. The resulting answer is measured in kcal/day. For example, a 55-year-old female with a weight of 110 lbs. and a height of 5-feet, 4-inches has a BMR of 1080 kcal/day.

• 2

  Determine your activity level for a typical week and multiply your BMR by the activity factor. Little to no exercise has a factor of 1.2, light exercise 1.375, moderate exercise 1.55, hard exercise 1.725 and extremely hard daily exercise 1.9. For example, a person with a 1080 kcal/day BRM and a light exercise activity level has a TDEE of 1485 kcal/day. This number represents an estimate of the total calories burnt in a typical day.

• 3

  Use your TDEE to determine how many calories to consume each day. Reduce your calories below your TDEE to lose weight. Consume more calories than your TDEE to gain weight. Consume as many calories as your TDEE to maintain your current weight. Immediately reducing your calorie count by more than 15 percent or 500 calories may result in a metabolism slowdown. To efficiently lose weight, slowly reduce your calorie intake and exercise to increase your metabolism. Avoid ever eating less than 1200 calories in a day.