The cornerstone of any good fitness plan is getting your diet right, and to do that, the first thing you need to do is to determine what your daily calorie needs are.
There are a lot of different online calculators you can use to find your daily calorie need. Some of them are ok, but most of them oversimplify the calculation by only using your age, weight, and gender. If you are a fitness nerd like me, you will probably want to know the correct scientific way of calculating what your daily calorie needs are.
It’s a very easy 5-step process. I have used my own data in the example below to show you how I work out what my daily calorie needs are.
How to calculate your daily calorie needs
Step 1: Find your body weight in kilograms (if you live in the US, just divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 to get your weight in kilograms).
Step 2: Multiply your weight in kilograms by 0.9 if you are a woman or 1.0 if you are a man.
Step 3: Multiply by 24
Step 4: Multiply by your “Lean Factor” from the table below (read on to learn how to find your body fat percentage if you don’t know it)
Example using my stats: 61 kg (134.5 lbs.) x 0.9 (female) x 24 x 0.95 (20% body fat) = 1252
This number is called your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). It’s how many calories you would burn in a day if you just lay on the couch all day and did nothing. To find out how many calories you actually burn in a day, you need to multiply with your “Activity Modifier” from the table below.
Step 5: Multiply by Activity Modifier
My daily calorie need would be: 1252 (my BMR) x 1.55 (Light Activity) = 1940 calories/day
As you can see, calculating your daily calorie needs is actually pretty simple, as long as you know your body fat percentage. Most gyms should be able to measure that for you, or a trainer can give you a very good estimate just by looking.
You can also use a tape measure and this online calculator to estimate your body fat percentage. It’s not as accurate, but you really only need an approximate number, so it should be good enough.
The main mistake people make when using this calculation is to overestimate their activity level. Even though I live a very active lifestyle and work out almost every day, I still only use the “Light Activity” multiplier. And that may even be on the high side because I also spend a lot (too much) time in front of a computer.
The higher multipliers are for people who use their bodies almost constantly throughout the day, like construction workers, pro athletes, etc.
If you are pretty fit and active, you should probably use the “Light” or “Very Light” multiplier. If you are just starting a fitness program, use the “Very Light” multiplier.
Now that you know how many calories you burn in a day, the next step is to decide if you want to lose or gain weight. If you are trying to lose weight, I recommend you eat around 400-500 calories less than you burn each day. That should lead to a weight loss of about 1 lbs. per week, which is a very healthy and sustainable rate.
If you want to gain muscle, start out at 500 calories/day more than you burn and see what happens. If you find that you are also putting on a little too much fat, decrease your calories slightly.
To make sure that you reach your daily calorie targets, it’s a good idea to follow a meal plan. You can either create your own or simply pick one from my meal plan library.
Good luck with your fitness program! If you need a little more help working out your daily calorie needs or anything else, you can always contact me for online training and meal plans.
Suggested next post: How To Lose Weight When You Live With Diabetes
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I’m 171 cm tall, 22 y.o, 75 kg, ~15% bf, and according to the formula, I need 2821.5 calories daily. I’m a little surprised, how can you explain that please ?
75 x 1 x 24 x 0.95= 1710
1710 x 1.65= 2821.5
I thought my caloric need was way less.
It’s a formula based on the majority of the population. Given your age, most formulas will assume you have a high BMR. I’d say that most people overestimate their activity level and should use the 1.3-1.55 activity multiplier, which would put you at 2223-2650 calories. I don’t know you or your lifestyle, but if you’re active I don[‘t think the 2800 calories is a bad starting point
ma’am my hight is 182 cm and weight is 60 kg I want increase my weight approximately 80 kg . May you help me
You’ll need to increase your caloric intake. If you’re looking to add muscles I would suggest focusing on lifting weights and eating in a surplus
Mam my height is 163 cm and weight is 50 kg i want gain 1 kg weight per week how it possible and what will be diet plan
You’ll need to be in a calorie surplus. You could track what you’re eating now for a few weeks and if that amount doesn’t lead to weight gain add 200-500 calories per day
Hello, Thank you for this article
but I wonder what is the scientific reference of this formula ? because it differs from the Match-McArdle and Cunningham formulas that use the Lean body mass in their equations.
Thank you !
Hi Hala, this is the method used by the International Sports Science Association. There are other ways to calculate daily calorie needs, but we think this is the most accurate method that’s still relatively easy to do yourself.
Thanks Mam
Hello Mam:
My BMR is 1728×1.3= 2246. Mam I have started Gym religiously 6 days a week from 1st oct 2019.
Now I want to reduce my weight almost 8 kg also need muscles so kindly guide me what to do?
weight 80Kg
Height 173Cm
The article should guide you to your calorie needs. I’d suggest you start with a small calorie deficit and go from there. Too much of a deficit and too much cardio and you run the risk of losing muscle
Hello Mam, my bmr is 1608 and maintainance calories is 2053, I want to lose fat so how much calories should I consume to burn fat
Less than 2000. I wouldn’t go too extreme but maybe just a 200-500 calories deficit
Thank you for this info. I’m currently taking care of an 89 year old man who’d activities each day are pretty much consisting of naps and must handle errands. He doesn’t have diabetes but, is on meds to help prevent his prostate cancer from taking over. The meds he is on make tasting or smelling his food impossible so eating has no joy or importance to him anymore. I have now resorted to blending up all his meals to a pureed type consistency so he ccx will eat something to help keep his from wasting away. I also give his supplemental Boost drinks 3-4 times a day to keep up his calorie intake. I realize that these supplemental drinks aren’t any substitute for real food for him but, it’s like pulling teeth to get him to eat or drink anything. I’m at the end of my rope to where I’ve considered calling him a Nutritionist to help me with this problem. I found your article most helpful as to where his calorie intake should be in a general area to where I can try to keep him sustained at the strength he currently has today.
I have type one and was a personal trainer. My issue is to lose 25-30 pounds and not go hypo all the time. I take in 200-300 caliries getting my BG back up or to stay ip while trying to lose weight. I try not to over correct and seem to get no where all while calorie counting, walking, and lifting weights. Any suggestions?
I gained 30 pounds years ago after being Dx and constantly being hypoglycemic and eating snacks to raise BG!!
Thanks
It sounds like you need to find your formula for exercise and diabetes (read more HERE or consider my ebook). Too much insulin on board (IOB) is the reason you’re going low. So, to reduce the number of lows you have to adjust your insulin. Exercise without constant lows is possible, but it will most likely require a little work to find your formula
I did this with all the numbers provided by my doctor. Just diagnosed with Type 2. I am freaking out because it totals 2338 calories which seems so high. I have been using an app and it has be at 1230 calories a day and I am always feeling sick to my stomach and being hungry, but I have been good staying away from the carbs.
So is this right?
92.53×0.9x24x0.90=1798
1798×1.3=2338
I’m sure your quite busy but I though I would ask anyway. I don’t need to gain any weight.
Remember this is a general calculator. It doesn’t know you or your genetics, so it’s only a starting point. As for your app, being a little hungry is not unacceptable but it sounds like you’re more than that.
So, what I would recommend is to track your calories for 2-4 weeks, maybe stick with something in between the two suggested calorie levels, and see what happens. If you lose weight, great, if not then reduce your calories by 200-300 calories per day and try that out for 2-4 weeks. Remember this will take time, and any progress is progress.
I’m ready to start Keto. I love this menu because its fairly simple and I know if I get messing around with crazy recipes, I will become overwhelmed and quit. I don’t eat pork and/or most seafood and that seems to be tripping me up a lot when it comes to simple keto meal plans. Is there a good substitute for bacon/bacon bits that has enough fat?
You could try adding in avocado or nuts but will depend on the recipe of course
Hello.. I am Aalok ..I just want to know that how to make a diet list for fat Lose,weight gain and for maintenance..how to give a diet list to a person if he or she want to gain weight and lose fat ..how to make that list proper calorie how can I calculate ..I gt some difficulty in the above calculation…so can u help me out ..
If you have a hard time with the calculation you can try and use one of the online calculator (google “calorie calculator”). And remember the calculators are just a starting point. Then reduce or add calories depending on the goal.
An alternative method is to track all calories (liquid as well) for 1-2 weeks and make changes from there. Let’s say you track everything for 2 weeks and see that you’re consuming 2500 calories a day on average. If you’re not gaining or losing weight while consuming 2500 calories, that would be your maintenance caloric level. Depending on the goal you could then reduce or increase the 2500 calories with a few hundred calories.
I hope this helps