How to Estimate Calorie Needs for Weight Loss & Maintenance

Despite all of the diet and exercise plans available, weight management really boils down to calories. Burn more calories than you eat, and you will lose weight. Eat more than you burn, and you will gain weight. The key to eating the right number of calories is to know how many calories you regularly burn. You can use online calculators that estimate your caloric needs, but you can also calculate the numbers yourself.

Things You'll Need

• Pencil
• Paper
• Scale
• Measuring tape
• Calculator

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Instructions

• 1

  Obtain accurate weight and height measurements in kilograms and centimeters. Multiply pounds by 0.45 to convert to kilograms. Multiply inches by 2.54 to convert to centimeters.

• 2

  Calculate your resting metabolic rate (RMR) by using the Mifflin-St. Jeor formula. For women, the formula is as follows: (10 --- weight in kg) + (6.25 --- height in cm) -- (5 --- age in years) + 5. For men, the formula is as follows: (10 --- weight in kg) + (6.25 --- height in cm) -- (5 --- age in years) --161. The final number is your RMR, an estimate of the number of calories you will burn doing nothing but resting for 1 day.

• 3

  Determine your total daily caloric needs by multiplying your RMR by the appropriate level of physical activity, as follows:

  1.200 = sedentary (little or no exercise)
  1.375 = lightly active (light exercise 1 to 3 days a week)
  1.550 = moderately active (moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week)
  1.725 = very active (hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week)
  1.900 = extra active (very hard exercise and a physical job)

  The final number is an estimate of the number of calories your body will require to maintain its current weight.

• 4

  For weight loss, determine how quickly you want to lose weight. You need to burn 3,500 more calories than you consume in order to lose 1 pound. If you create a caloric deficit of 500 calories per day, you will lose approximately 1 pound a week. To lose weight at a faster or slower rate, modify your caloric deficit as needed.

• 5

  Recalculate your caloric needs occasionally, because as your weight or activity level changes, so will your metabolic rate.