Weight Loss Calculator
So how many calories do you need to consume in a day to lose weight safely? After all, one can eat 500 calories of healthy foods and burn off 250 of that, and lose weight, right? Wrong! Our bodies need a certain amount of calories to give us the energy needed to carry out basic tasks, especially when we are doing strenuous activity such as cardio and weight training. And if you aren’t getting the necessary calories in the body, then you won’t have the energy needed to lose weight safely. Now the easiest way to estimate our daily requirements of calories is to calculate our basal metabolic rate (BMR) using a weight loss calculator. Basal metabolic rate is the total amount of calories the body requires in order to properly carry out its daily functions such as digestion, breathing, regulating body temperature etc. In other words, our basal metabolic rate gives us the approximate number of calories needed in order to maintain our weight. There is a formula that allows us to calculate our BMR, called the Harris-Benedict Formula. Once you’ve figured out your BMR then you can plug that into the activity multiplier to determine your caloric maintenance level. Once we have all that, then we can look at how to lose weight safely and efficiently while maintaining as much as lean muscle mass as possible. This should be our goal at all times. To do this calculation quickly, use the following online weight loss calculator. You can also find out how to calculate your daily caloric requirement by following the weight loss calculating steps in this guide.
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Calculating Basal Metabolic Rate
Men: 66 + (13.7 X bodyweight in kg) + (5 X height in cm) – (6.8 X age in years)
Women: 655 + (9.6 X bodyweight in kg) + (1.8 X height in cm) – (4.7 X age in years)
Take that number and multiply it by…
Activity Multiplier (choose only one from below)
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little to no exercise)
Lightly Active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise: 1-3 days a week)
Moderately Active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise: 3-5 days a week)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (intense exercise: 6-7 days a week)
Extremely Active = BMR X 1.9 (intense daily exercise and strenuous physical job)
Whatever number you get is the number of calories you should be eating everyday in order to maintain proper bodily functions. Then in order to lose weight safely we must burn off MORE calories than we are consuming through cardio and weight training. Take the number you calculated and cut off 20% of calories. This should be your daily caloric intake everyday.
Weight Loss Calculator – Part 2
Now lets look at an in depth example for calculating your daily calories that you need in order to lose weight safely. If you haven’t done so, read part 1 of this section. Part 2 is quite long and you should take the time to work through your own requirements, but first take a look at the example. Once you have you have read through it, then calculate your own daily caloric requirements using the exact same process below. Once you have done this once, everything else will become easier. Just get this part done.
Example
Female (Jane)
Weight: 62 kg
Height: 165 cm
Age: 25
Activity Level: Moderately Active (moderately exercises 3-5 times per week)
Step 1) Calculate BMR for women:
BMR = 655 + (9.6 X bodyweight in kg) + (1.8 X height in cm) – (4.7 X age in years)
= 655 + (9.6 X 62) + (1.8 X 165) – (4.7 X 25)
= 655 + 595 + 297 – 118
= 1429
Step 2) Multiply BMR by Activity Multiplier
Total Caloric Intake = BMR X Activity Multiplier
= 1429 X 1.55
= 2215 Calories/Day
We can now see that Jane’s caloric intake should be approximately 2215 calories per day in order to maintain her weight. In order to lose weight we know that we must create a caloric deficit, so that means that she should be consuming about 20 percent less calories than the maintenance requirement. She should also be consuming this many calories on a daily basis from a variety of healthy foods comprising of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, lean meats, legumes, unsaturated fats, etc.
Step 3)
Final Calories = (Weight Maintenance Calories) – 20%
= 2215 – (2215 X (0.20))
= 2215 – 443
= 1772 Calories
Therefore Jane should be consuming approximately 1772 diet calories per day in order to lose weight safely. It’s not necessary to be exact on the numbers calculated, but to be as close as possible, since these figures are fairly accurate.
Now that we know her caloric intake per day in order for her to lose weight safely, we need to calculate what types of healthy calories Jane should be consuming daily. Neglecting to eat the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats will not allow her to fully maximize her potential for optimal weight loss and health. As stated before, the right ratio should be approximately 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates, and 20% fats. Let’s now calculate Jane’s requirements per day for each of these ratios. To understand how we calculate this a bit better we need to know a few things. Carbohydrates and protein contain 4 calories per gram, while fats contain 9 calories per gram. Fats contain more energy than either carbohydrates or proteins; therefore they are considered to be more calorie-dense foods. This is another reason why we need to consume less fat than the other macronutrients.
Step 4) Macronutrient Daily Requirements
Calories from carbohydrates = 1772 X 40%
= 1772 X (0.40)
= 709 Calories
Grams per day from carbohydrates = 709/4
= 177 grams
Calories from protein = 177 grams (since the ratio and density is the same as carbohydrates 40% and 4 cal/gram respectively)
Calories from fats = 1772 X 20%
= 1772 X (0.20)
= 354 Calories
Grams per day from fat = 354/9
= 39 grams
Jane’s daily requirements for carbohydrates, proteins and fats are 177 grams, 177 grams and 39 grams respectively.
Since Jane should be eating 6 small meals per day as opposed to 3 larger meals, we can now calculate how many grams of each macronutrient Jane should be consuming:
Step 5) Macronutrient requirement per meal
Carbohydrates = 177 grams/6 meal
= 30 grams/meal
Protein = 30 grams/meal
Fats = 39grams/6 meal
= 6.5 grams/meal
Therefore, approximately 30 grams of Jane’s meal should come from carbohydrates and proteins each, and 6.5 grams from fat.Jane should be consuming 6 of these nutrient rich meals everyday spaced about 2-3 hours apart, in order to ensure an adequate supply of energy throughout the day.
Hopefully this guide has shown you how to calculate your daily calorie intake using the steps outlined. You could always quickly calculate your requirements to achieve your unique weight loss goals using our calorie weight loss calculator, but this way you’ll know exactly what is going on behind the calculations, and will have the necessary knowledge to apply this anytime!
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