Monday, 22 June 2009
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How Many Calories Do You Need Each Day?
As a Personal Trainer I am asked all day long questions concerning weight loss. For the most part I just explain in very simple terms about diet and exercise. I've decided today that I would go ahead and blog about this and give everyone the actual equation used to find your [Estimated] Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) and Daily Caloric Need (DCL).
The Resting Metabolic Rate is the number of calories expended to maintain the body during resting conditions. Basically its how many calories your body needs to use each day just to perform normal body functions such as digestion, pumping blood, and breathing. Your RMR accounts for approx. 60-70% of your DCL. The Daily Caloric Need is how many calories your body needs to maintain your current body weight, assuming that your activity levels remain constant.
First is the equation for RMR.
Males: RMR = 66 + (5 x height) + (13.8 x weight) - (6.8 x age)
Females: RMR = 655 + (1.8 x height) + (9.6 x weight) - (4.7 x age)
Your height is expressed in centimeters (1in. = 2.54cm). Your weight is expressed in kilograms (1lb = 2.2kg). Your age is expressed in years.
The second equation is for Daily Caloric Need. To find your own personal estimated Daily Caloric Need, use the following guidelines:
A) for a person confined to bed rest use 1.2 B) for those who are sedentary in work and leisure times use 1.3 C) for those who lead a somewhat active life use 1.4 D) for those who are very active use 1.5
The equation is very simple and is used for males and females: RMR x your activity level.
Here is an example using my numbers: 25yrs old, 215lbs (97.72kg), 5'9'' (175.26cm), activity level of 1.5.
RMR = 66 + (5 x 175.26) + (13.8 x 97.72) - (6.8 x 25) ---> 66 + 876 + 1348.63 - 170 = 2120.93kcal/day
My Daily Caloric need is: 2120.93 x 1.5 = 3180.9
So basically what this means is that my body needs 2120 calories every day just to function, and 3181 calories to maintian my body weight. If I were to keep my atcivity level consistent daily, and take in approx. 3181 calories, I would maintain my current weight, but if I took in less than that my body would have to tap into my stored calories and my weight would drop. If my activity level decreased and I kept taking in the same amount of calories I would store the additional calories and gain weight. Just remember that this is an ESTIMATION and not 100% accurate, but very close. So for those of you who count calories, this is pretty much the best way to figure out what your body's needs are. And don't forget to consider that if you are an athlete your RMR might account for even less of your Daily Caloric Need than others.
All information was taken from one of my training text books: Health Fitness Instructor's Handbook / Edward T. Howley, B. Don Franks. -- 4th Edition.
Do you know how many calories you need every day?
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- From: C_UNIT42@xanga
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Comments (67)
The calculations are too complicated for me, but I eat about 2300 calories a day.
I think you meant 1kg= 2.2lb ... After I did the calculations, I was wondering why I need so many calories. I would be massive. haha
i need 258000000 calories a day.
I did the calculations, and I was previously aware of this since I'm a
calorie counter, but it says I need 2,446 calories per day to maintain
my current weight. Honestly, I don't think it's accurate for me because
I eat typically between 1300-1800 and I've still managed to maintain
(and not drop) my weight in 2-3 months now. Then again, I've lost 90
and am majorly plateaued. I know what I need to do to get off it
though, time to step it up. This is something I always try to explain
to people when they ask me about how to lose weight. Some people don't
understand, and then there's the ones who just don't care cause they
want quick fixes. It's all about the calories.
My daily caloric need is only about 1500 calories a day. That's a disadvantage of being so small!
what?! it says I need 4447 calories a day! bs!
@xkthily@xanga - OH! hahaha thanks for the correction!
It says I need just over 2,000.
Very useful! Thanks for writing this post.
The equation says I need a bit over 2,100 calories a day, but in reality, I can eat up to 2300-2700 calories depending on that day's activity level and still maintain my weight.
i need 1425 calories a day .
minx,
xoxo .
i have around 1000-1200
psssh
I survive on air, sunshine, and water.
and maybe some rainbows, too
I need a lot... I know if I consume under my caloric intake, in a few days I become drowsy, useless, and even depressed. My mood and mental health is highly dependent on my caloric consumption.
BMR: 1439
daily caloric need: 1727 to 1858
I am currently trying to lose weight. I know that most weight loss experts recommend, for women, an intake of no less than 1200 calories per day, so with that intake and my current level of activity I would be losing about a pound per week. If I increase my activity level by 500 calories per day that equates to 2 lbs per week.
I have lost 6 lbs and it's been about 6 weeks, so I think that's pretty accurate. Interesting.
@xkthily@xanga - Haha, I was surprised why my calories per day was 6,125. Thanks for the correction too!
@MellowMelissa@xanga - @shes_lump@xanga - You're welcome! =)
1500.
1707.82 to stay live
2561.73 to keep weight :)
my body takes 1660.64 calories to function
i have to eat 2158.832 calories to maintain my body weight
i eat about 700 to 800 calories a day.
If I eat more than 1200 (with exercise) I gain, so I stopped paying attention to those calculators.
I need at least 3,000 a day to gain. It's really hard to eat that much a day.
@danielle_thexdino@xanga - You eat half of what you need to function?! That seriously does not sound healthy.
@Mangonese@xanga - lol yeah. wtf.