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Calories for a Normal Diet

While calorie counting is not the only tool a dieter needs to use, establishing a baseline for your daily caloric needs can help you get off to the right start, whether you are trying to maintain your current weight or lose a few pounds. Although there are a number of preprogrammed caloric expenditure programs available on the internet, nothing beats a customized result. While going through the steps might take some effort, your time will be well-rewarded with accuracy.

  1. Calories

    • A calorie is a unit of energy. A simple definition of a calorie is that it represents the amount of heat necessary to increase the temperature of 1g of water by 1 degree Celsius. When you consider calories and their effect on your body composition, remember that quality of food consumption is what matters most. In other words, 1,000 calories from pizza is not going to have the same impact on body fat as eating 1,000 calories from fruits and vegetables.

    Resting Metabolic Rate

    • The first step in determining how many calories you need per day is to calculate your resting metabolic rate (RMR). This is the number of calories you would burn if you just sat around the house staring at a wall all day long. To determine this, take your lean body mass in kilograms and multiply it by 22, then add 500 to the result.

    Activity Level

    • After you calculate your resting metabolic rate, you need to adjust the number to reflect your activity level. Multiply your resting metabolic rate by 1.3 if you engage in very light activity during the day. An example of very light activity would be lying around in bed almost all day. Multiply RMR by 1.6 if you have a typical office job, 1.7 if you are working out during the day, and 2.1 if you have a heavy manual labor job.

    Adjust for the Thermic Effect of Food

    • The thermic effect of food is a number which represents how many calories you burn through the process of merely digesting your food. If you consume less than 1g of protein per pound of body weight per day, multiply your RMR by 0.1 to find the calories you will burn through digestion. If you consume over 1g of protein per pound of body weight per day, multiply RMR by 0.15.

    Putting It All Together

    • To reach your final figure, add together your number calculated in step three (activity level) with the figure calculated in step four (thermic effect of food). This will give you the number of calories you must consume on a day-to-day basis just to maintain your weight. If you want to hold your weight steady, this is the number to shoot for. If you are looking to lose weight, eat 200 to 300 fewer calories than this per day for sustainable slow and steady fat loss that will not negatively impact your metabolism.

    Internet Calculators

    • Calculating your own custom number will give you the most accurate calorie level to shoot for, but you can get quick guesstimates online as well. Look to the Resources section for a link to the American Cancer Society's online daily calorie calculator.

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