How many Calories do you need?

Everyone burns calories at a different rate. There are many factors involved in the process. I have
listed them below as well as a simple formula for calculating the total amount of calories you
need to maintain your current weight.

BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate

Your body uses calories everyday just to keep you alive and kickin'. Up to 70% of the calories
burned are for daily functions like breathing, keeping the heart pumping and maintaining a
normal body tempurature. Your BMR depends on the following:

Body Compostion - a pound of muscule needs more calories then a pound of fat. So it stands to
reason that someone with a more muscular build will need more calories then someone who is
overweight or obese.

Age - I don't really think age has a major influence on your metabolism. The only corellation is
that as we age we tend to lose muscule mass and gain fat. (That can be fixed HERE)

Gender - Most bodily functions all basically use the same amount calories. The different in the
sexes tends to be in lean muscule mass. Men for the most part have more then women which
naturally use more energy, with the exception of female bodybuilders, athletes etc...

Size - A person with a height of 4'11" will burn less then someone at a height of 6'5". Everything
including muscules, organs and digestive system are going to be larger and require more calories
to function.

Calculate your BMR

I won't get too technical here. This is a quick and easy way to estimate your BMR. Use his as a
rough guide. Nothing is completely accurate when coming up with this number.

Men - Multiply your weight in pounds by 12 (example: 180 Lbs X 12 = 2160 cals )

Women - Multiply your weight in pounds by 11 (example: 150 Lbs X 11 = 1650 cals )

This calculation also takes into account the Thermal Effect of food. Which is basically the
amount of energy needed to digest what you eat. This is accounts for 10% of your BMR on
average.

But I don't do nothing all day? - Activity Multiplier

The final step is to determine what your daily activity level is. This is based on the Harris-
Benedict formula.
Sedentary: - You sit most of the day and don't do much if any regular physical activity during
the week. This equals your BMR X 1.2

Lightly Active: - 1 - 3 days a week you exercise or do so low impact/intense activites. This
equals your BMR X 1.375

Moderately Active: - You exercise regularly 3-5 days a week and participate in moderately
intense activities This equals your BMR X 1.55

Very Active: - Hard physical exercise 5-6 days a week or highly intense sports and activies. This
equals your BMR X 1.725

Extra Active: - Mostly reserved for pro athletes or when you are training for very intense sports.
Marathons,Triathalons etc..This equals your BMR X 1.9

Total Calories Needed Example:

A 180lb man with a BMR of 2160 and is lightly active, would multiply that by 1.375.

(2160 X 1.375 = 2970 cals) His total calories needed everday just to maintain his current weight
would be 2970 Calories.