How Many Calories Should I Eat Every Day?

Don't guess at the number of calories you need to consume every day to lose (or to gain) weight. Click on one of these calculators to determine your optimal daily caloric intake:

Calorie Calculator for Men

Calorie Calculator for Women

Determining the best number of calories per day is just the first step. You need to keep track of the calories you consume. You can print out and make your own food diary, or join a website like Calorie Count, which helps choose healthy foods and track your calories.

Your weight is only one way to look at your body composition. It can fluctuate even day due to water retention or other factors. Your weight can also change if you gain or lose muscle tissue while you're on a diet, so you may also want to calculate your body mass index, track your body fat percentage, or use a measuring tape to measure certain parts of your body. I also have some tips for following a low-calorie diet, and some ideas for eating healthy foods instead of a diet.

Harris-Benedict Formula

The calculators are based on the Harris-Benedict formula for determining your basal metabolic rate (BMR), plus your active metabolic rate (AMR), which is based on your estimation of your daily physical activity. Each calculator will also give you suggested amount of carbohydrates, fats and protein, based on your daily calorie need.

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)

Calculate your AMR by using your BMR and estimating your current level of activity. If you are:

• Sedentary (little or no exercise) - your AMR = BMR x 1.2
• Lightly active (light exercise/work 1-3 days per week) - your AMR = BMR x 1.375
• Moderately active (moderate exercise/work 3-5 days per week) - your AMR = BMR x 1.55
• Very active (hard exercise/work 6-7 days a week) - your AMR = BMR x 1.725
• Extra active (very hard exercise/work 6-7 days a week) - your AMR = BMR x 1.9

Your AMR represents the number of calories you need to stay at your current weight. If you want to lose weight, you need to increase your level of physical activity level or decrease your caloric intake by eating less. If you reduce your current caloric intake by 500 calories every day, you will lose about one pound each week. Don't go below 1,200 calories each day and don't waste your time on crash diets.

_Sources:

_{Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "In non-obese individuals, what is the prediction accuracy and maximum overestimation and underestimation errors compared to measured resting metabolic rate when using the Harris-Benedict formula?" Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence Analysis Library. Published March 2005.}

_{"Food Intake Patterns." United States Department of Agriculture. Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Accessed May 10, 2011. http://www.mypyramid.gov/downloads/MyPyramid_Food_Intake_Patterns.pdf.}