Daily Calorie Requirements

How To Calculate Daily Calorie Requirements

Although many people are searching for a magic formula to calculate daily calorie requirements, there is not such a program that could calculate everybody needs at touch of the button. It is very difficult to accurately determine a person's calorie needs. For your convenience we made the free calorie calculator which you can use to find your daily calorie requirements for weight loss. But please be aware, it gives only average maintenance level of calories per day (within the population). It is not for medical use. It would give you just a starting reference point from which to begin your diet.

People have unique bodies and body individual needs. So, daily calorie requirements for weight loss are individual results for every person. The first step to calculate caloric needs is to determine Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) which we need to find a total number of calories that your body expends in 24 hours - Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). The most used formula is the Harris Benedict equation:

For men:
BMR = 66 + (13.7 X wt in kilograms) + (5 X ht in centimeters) - (6.8 X age in yrs)
or
BMR = 66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x ht in inches) - (6.8 x age in yrs)

For women:
BMR = 655 + (9.6 X wt in kilograms) + (1.8 X ht in centimeters) - (4.7 X age in yrs)
or
BMR = 655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x ht in inches) - (4.7 x age in yrs)

Step two:
Now, in order to incorporate activity into your daily caloric needs, you should multiply your BMR (above result) by an activity factor which more closely suits your lifestyle, from the chart below:

The result shows the number of calories you can eat every day to maintain your current weight. So, how to calculate daily calorie requirements for weight loss? Simple, if you want to lose weight, you will need to take in fewer calories than this result.

The auto-calculator below is for your convenience:

The Calorie Calculator is a starting point - nothing more!
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