How Many Calories Do You Need?

Don't guess at the number of calories you need to to lose or gain weight. Choose the appropriate calculator below. You'll find out how many calories you need per day, and the recommended amounts of carbohydrates, fats and proteins:

Men's Calorie Calculator

Women's Calorie Calculator

My 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.

Basal Metabolic Rate

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)

Active Metabolic Rate

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.}