Have you ever wonder how much calories do you need a day? Do you have too much or too little every day? What are the right calories amount you in to take in and burn out? How to calculate your daily calories?
There are so many misunderstandings about calories, people tend to burn as many calories as they can or avoid to eat or take in any calories disregard what is their fitness goals. One of the fundamental rules of fitness is to control your weight through energy input (food) and energy output (physical activity). Therefore, depending on your fitness goals, the daily calories will be keeping balance for maintaining weights or creating a calories deficit for weights loss or calories surplus for weights gain. To help you work out more effectively and reach your fitness goals, I will share with you how to calculate your daily calories.
"Caloric balance diet is like a scale, to maintain your body weight, the amount of calories intake from foods has to be balanced with the amount of used calories through body functioning, daily activities and exercises ."
The daily calories intake will depend on one’s genetic make-up, age, weight, height, and physical activities. There are two steps to calculate your daily calories which are calculating your resting metabolic rate and calculating your physical activity level.
How to calculate daily calories?
You can start calculating your calories intake that requires to maintain all the basic function in your body when you are in resting phase which is known as resting metabolic rate (RMR). RMR take up about 60 to 70% of your total daily calories, and you can calculate RMR with the formula below:
For the man: (10 x weight (kg)) + (6.25 x height (cm)) – (5xage(years))) +5
Example: Alex 32 years old, 186 cm tall, weight 75 kg.
His RMR will be: (10×75)+(6.25×186) – (5×32) +5 = 1757.5 kcal.
For the woman: (10 x weight (kg)) + (6.25 x height (cm)) – (5xage(years))) – 161
Example: Elly 28 years old, 156 cm tall, weight 45 kg.
Her RMR will be:(10×45)+(6.25×156) – (5×28) -116 = 1124 kcal.
Next, you need to calculate your physical activity level (PAL). This is the rate that measures all the energy needed for your body when is in resting mode minus for the estimated daily physical activity rate.
Low level of activeness (mainly seating and not moving much): 1.2
Slightly active (exercise and walk 1 to 2 times a week): 1.3
Average active (exercise from 2 to 3 times a week): 1.4
Active (exercise intensively more than 3 times a week): 1.5
Highly active (exercise intensively every day): 1.7
Now to calculate your daily calories needs, you need to multiply RMR and PAL.
Example: If Alex is highly active, his daily calories need is: 1757.5 x 1.7 = 2987.75 kcal
While Kelly is a slightly active person, her daily calories need is 1124 x1.3= 1461.2 kcal.
Now you know how to calculate your own daily calories needs. And depending on your fitness goals you should plan your fitness and diet plan accordingly.
All the best to your fitness journey.