How many calories do I need per day?

Your body burns calories, 24 hours a day, seven days a week – even when you’re sleeping.  To help maintain a healthy weight, it’s important to know how many calories your body needs every day.

Calculating your body’s daily calorie needs is easy!

Step One: Calculate Your Basal Metabolic Rate

Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of calories your body needs just to function each day.

Use these formulas to calculate your BMR.

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

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

Example: A 37-year-old woman, who is 5’4” (64 inches tall) and 140 pounds

655 + (4.35 x 140) + (4.7 x 64) – (4.7 x 37)

655 + 609 + 300.8 – 173.9 = 1390.9

BMR = 1390.9

Step Two: Calculate Your Total Calorie Needs

So now that you know your BMR, you need to calculate how many calories your body needs each day based on your activity level:

• Little to no exercise: BMR x 1.2
• Easy exercise or sports 1-3 days a week: BMR x 1.375
• Moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days a week: BMR x 1.55
• Hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week: BMR x 1.725
• Very hard exercise/sports and physical job: BMR x 1.9

Example: A 37-year-old woman, who is 5’4” (64 inches tall) and 140 pounds, and does some easy exercise 1-3 days a week.

BMR =1390.9

Total calorie needs = 1390.9 x 1.375

Total calories needed each day = 1913