How Many Calories Should I Eat a Day?
This week I have been very focused on how many calories I need to eat a day in order to lose weight. I have been trying to keep it under 2,000 for no other reason then I heard Jason mention that amount on the fat blogging podcast. After doing some research, I found I need to do a few calculations:
1) Calculate your BMR
This is your base number of calories a day you burn just by being alive and doing activities like breathing.
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)
So for me it would be:
BMR = 66 + (6.23 x 195.2) + (12.7 x 70) – (6.8 x 29) = 1,973.89*
* Here’s a quick tip – you can paste the formula into a Google Search, Google will calculate the equation for you.
2) Calculate your Activity
Using the Harris-Benedict Equation, you can calculate how many additional calories you need for daily activities.
- If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
- If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
- If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
- If you are very active (hard exercise/sports) : 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
Since I sit at my computer for about 12 hours a day, I would say I fit into the sedentary lifestyle. So I need to take 1,973.89 x 1.2 to get 2,368.67 calories. That is the number of calories I need to eat a day to maintain – not lose or gain weight.
3) Lose Weight
Approximately 3,500 calories equal one pound of weight. If you ate an excess of 3,500 over what you need to maintain, you would gain one pound. That’s one extra Big Mac a day for a week right?
So to lose weight, I need to create a calorie deficiency. The bigger the deficiency, the faster I’ll lose weight. So, combined with exercise, which would burn additional calories, a goal of 2,000 calories a day is good. It will be slow but steady weight loss – about a pound every week.
One thing to note though. Part of the BMR calculation is your current weight. As you lose weight, you need less calories per day and therefore need to continually adjust your daily caloric intake as you lose weight. 2,000 calories a day may be a good goal for me now, but, for example, when I’m 180 pounds, I need to cut that to 1,900.
Technorati Tags: BMR, Calories, Harris-Benedict Equation, Weight
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