How many calories does it take to maintain your current weight? In other words, what are your daily calories burnt before you factor in exercise? Once you learn this number, you’ll know what it takes to lose up to 2 pounds per week just by adjusting calories. You can lose even more if you add exercise. We’ll also help you discover daily eating habits and activity that may be sabotaging your weight loss. When our customers incorporate this information along with healthy lifestyle changes and supplements weight falls off fast!
The first thing we need to do is determine your Basal Metabolic Rate. That is the number of daily calories burnt if you did nothing all day but rest.
BMR CALCULATION FOR MEN
BMR = 66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years)
BMR CALCULATION FOR WOMEN
BMR = 655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)
YOU’RE NOT DONE YET. FACTOR IN ACTIVITY
BMR shows how many calories your body burns at rest, but you don’t rest all day, so let’s factor in your activity level. This will give us as estimate as to the number of calories it takes to maintain your current weight at your current activity level. This is for adults only and just a guide.
Sedentary: BMR x 20 percent
Light activity: BMR x 30 percent
Moderate activity (exercise 3-5 days a week): BMR x 40 percent
Active (exercise 6-7 days per week for prolonged periods): BMR x 50 percent
Very active (hard labor or athletic training): BMR x 60 percent
Now add that number to your BMR.
EXAMPLE: WOMAN, 42, 204 LBS, 5 FEET 6 INCHES TALL
Woman, 204 pounds, 5 feet 6 inches tall (converts to 66 inches) and 42 years old
Calculate BMR:
655 + (4.3 x 204) + (4.7 x 66) – (4.7 x 42) = BMR (1,699.6 rounded up to 1,700)
Now we know the BMR is 1,700. The person in our example is moderately active, working out 3 days per week, so we multiply the BMR (1,700) by 40 percent (.40) and add that number to our BMR to get the total number of calories needed to maintain our current weight.
1700 x .40 = 680
1700 + 680 = 2,380
2,380 total calories needed per day to maintain current weight.
EXAMPLE: MAN, 47, 260 LBS, 5 FEET 11 INCHES TALL
Man, 260 pounds, 5 feet 11 inches tall (converts to 71 inches) and 47 years old
Calculate BMR:
66 + (6.3 x 260) + (12.9 x 71) – (6.8 x 47) = BMR (2,300.3 rounded to 2,300)
Now we know the BMR is 2,300. The person in our example is moderately active, working out 3 days per week, so we multiply the BMR (2,300) by 40 percent (.40) and add that number to our BMR to get the total number of calories needed to maintain our current weight.
2300 x .40 = 920
2300 + 920 = 3,220
3,220 total calories needed per day to maintain current weight.
LOWER CALORIE INTAKE AND LOSE WEIGHT
If you want to lose weight without changing your daily routine or adding exercise you would decrease the number of calories indicated in your BMR each day.
To lose one pound per week, eliminate 500 calories per day. 7 days x 500 calories = 3,500 calories which is one pound.
If our female example wanted to lose 2 pounds per week without increasing activity, she’d need to take in 1,380 calories per day. In the male example, daily calories would be 2,220.
You want to reduce daily caloric intake slowly and safely. We do not suggest lowering your daily calories by more than 1,000 per day, or two pounds per week.
(To lose more weight without further reducing calories you can add a metabolism booster).
NEXT STEP: EVALUATE DIET AND ACTIVITY
The next two steps in this process will help you discover ways you’re sabotaging weight loss, just by going about your normal day! Things you probably don’t relate to weight loss like the time you wake up or hectic scheduling.
Download these free printable journals keep track for the next few days. (You’ll find instructions on each page).
We promise doing this will be a revelation! You’ll immediately recognize changes you can make to your daily routine that will lead to healthier living and weight loss. We’ll give you tips and suggestions too, based on schedules and routines of people who successfully lost weight and kept it off. Print out the forms now and get started–it’s all free.
The Healthy Bastards Calorie Calculator is based on the Mifflin/St Jeor equation.