How to Calculate Daily Caloric Expenditure

Fad diets and weight loss gimmicks aside, weight loss comes down to a simple matter of math: Use more calories than you eat. This does not mean starve yourself. The safest rate at which to lose weight is no more than two pounds a week. Most of us burn about 2,000 calories every day. To lose weight, you'll need to add exercise to your day, and eat less food, or less calorie-rich foods. In order to lose weight effectively, you need to know how many calories you burn each day.

Things You'll Need

• Internet access
• Journal or blank paper
• Pen

Show More

Instructions

• 1

  Carry a small timer or set your watch, phone or iPod to set off an alarm every 30 minutes during your average day. When the alarm goes off, write down everything you did during the last 30 minutes and the approximate amount of time you spent doing each thing. For example, one entry might look like this: Walked to break room - 2 min. Drank coffee, standing - 5 min. Walked to desk - 2 min. Computer work/Phone - 21 min.

• 2

  Add up the time you spent doing the same or similar activities. For example, if you sit at a desk for work, add together all the time you spent sitting down doing computer work, writing or talking on the phone, all the time you spent walking and all the time you spent standing. Your categories can be as specific as you want.

• 3

  Visit the website Calories Per Hour and use the activity calculator to determine how many calories each activity burned. Because the same activities burn fewer calories for people who weigh less, weigh yourself before using the calculator and use your correct weight. Enter your weight, and choose each activity from the list, then enter the time you spent doing it and hit "calculate." Your calculator will automatically add your results together for you. Don't forget to add in the time you spend sleeping each night to get your actual daily total. If your total is less than 24 hours, figure out what you were doing in the time you did not record, and add that in.

• 4

  To increase your caloric expenditure, sit instead of lying down, stand instead of sitting and pace instead of standing whenever possible. For example, pace while on the phone if you can, take more trips to the water cooler and park farther away than you are used to. You can also stretch while watching TV or do situps or pushups to increase your caloric expenditure further.