How Many Calories You Need- Calculating Your BMR

To figure out how many calories you need in one day, you can calculate your BMR.  BMR stands for "basal metabolic rate" and is the number of calories you would burn in one day if you just laid around doing absolutely nothing.  The formula is the following:

Women: BMR= 655+ (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

Men: BMR= 66+ (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

If you aren't that good in math and want the easy calculator, LOL, you can find that HERE.

So for me, at 175 lbs, 68 inches, and 25 years old, my BMR is 1618.35.


Once you have your BMR, you add in your activity factor using the Harris Benedict Equation to figure your daily calorie expendeture.  Guess modestly on this.  People tend to think they are more active than they are.  ;)

Harris Benedict Formula

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows: If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2 If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375 If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55 If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725 If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9 So with my running 6 days a week, and weights 3 days a week, I will say I'm moderately active.  (Guessing low on this!) So we'd multiply my BMR by 1.55.  So, 1618 x 1.55= 2507.9 So I burn about 2508 calories a day.  To *lose* weight, I must eat under 2508 calories a day.  The bigger the defecit, the faster I lose! :) Tomorrow I will post on how much calorie defecit you'll need to lose a certain amount each week.  (1 lb, 2 lbs, etc)