Calories Per Day Calculator
Our Calories Per Day calculator estimates how many calories your body burns on an average day based on your basal metabolic rate (the number of calories your body uses while at rest in order to maintain basic physiological functions; determined by your height, weight, age, and sex) and your activity level. Most people will maintain their weight on the approximate number of calories indicated by the calculator, while losing weight if they eat less and gaining weight if they eat more.
Losing Weight
To lose one pound per week, reduce your energy intake by 500 calories per day. Depending on how many calories your body requires for maintenance, you may be able to cut more than 500 calories for faster weight loss, but severe calorie restriction is counterproductive. Crash diets result in lost muscle mass and a lowered metabolic rate, making it virtually impossible to maintain your weight loss. That’s why so many crash dieters end up heavier than they were before starting a weight loss regimen. Under no circumstances should your calorie intake drop below your BMR. To lose weight faster (most overweight individuals can safely lose up to one kilo per week), increase your activity level.
Limitations
Your daily calorie requirement is merely an estimate and will be most accurate for individuals with an average amount of muscle mass for their size and sex and no recent history of crash dieting, since extremely low calorie diets can lower your metabolic rate by 30%. Athletes with a higher-than-average percentage of lean muscle mass will likely have greater energy requirements than the calculator suggests. Since the estimate is based, in part, on an approximation of your basal metabolic rate, the same caveats as for the BMR tool apply. Additionally, the activity levels are averages, since the number of calories you burn during exercise depends not only on how often you work out, but the intensity, duration, and type of exercise. Nonetheless, for most people, the calculator’s estimate serves as an excellent starting point when trying to get a handle on how many calories you should be eating. Just be aware that some tweaking may be required.