How Many Calories Do I Need Per Day?

In the next few minutes you are going to learn a very simple method to answer the most common question:

How many calories do I need to eat per day?

What is your goal?

• Gain Weight
• Lose Weight
• Maintain Current Weight

You will be able to gain weight, lose weight or simply maintain your current weight using this simple formula. Along with some calorie tracking websites that you can use for free, you can see what you are eating now and how that relates to your goals.

The plan is as follows:

1. Establish a baseline
2. Determine the calorie changes you need to make for your goal
3. Track and adjust as necessary
4. Repeat the steps above as your situation changes

Your basal metabolic rate is the first step to figuring out your energy baseline. If you are unsure of what your BMR might be, this formula will help. While there are much more precise methods available, we'll keep this simple. If you don't understand what a basal metabolic rate is, please see the inline video for a quick explanation.

Start off by taking your body weight in pounds (lbs) and multiply by 11.

Example: 190 lbs x 11 = 2090 calories as the BMR

The example above states 2090 calories are needed per day just to survive (liver, brain, heart, kidneys, skeletal muscles, other organs). This is what you'd need just to maintain your energy balance. This obviously doesn't include metabolic factors or sports activities. This is the energy needed to survive without any physical activity. But remember, you do need activity!

The next step is to take into account the differences in metabolism. The more honest you are about this next step, the more precise your results.

Using the chart below, you can roughly estimate your BMR based on what you perceive your metabolism to be given your age and other activity factors.

Here's a simple list to help you determine which metabolic category you might fit into. Keep in mind, this is just a guideline and not meant to be the most precise method available.

Slow Metabolism: Thinking about food makes you gain weight. You have no difficulty putting on weight but taking it off is a significant effort.

Moderate Metabolism: With some effort you can gain weight. With some effort you can lose weight. Overall, with focus you don't really have too much trouble gaining healthy weight or burning fat.

Fast Metabolism: Your typical "I eat everything in sight and can't gain weight." You were 130 lbs or less in high school and all your friends think you can win an eating contest. Yet no matter what you seem to do, it makes no difference. To gain weight is extremely difficult. You can shed weight literally overnight and especially if you simply eat less and engage in any consistent activity.

A Metabolic Factor Example: 2090 calories x 35% = 731.5

Taking the example BRM above used to just keep your body functioning and multiplying it by your perceived metabolic factor using the chart below, you will see that the example person needs an additional 731.5 calories per day to maintain the current weight (if that is the goal).

It's time to put the pieces of this puzzle into place.

2096+ 746.90 = 2827.5 calories

This person would need 2827.5 calories to maintain the status quo.

Note:  Take a closer look at your activity.  If you fall into the moderate metabolism but you do long distance running several times per week, you may want to modify your metabolic factor to Fast to take into account for the significant calories burnt.

Take your calculation above and simply add 500 calories every day to reach your goal!

Lose Weight:Take 2827.5 - 500 = 2327.5

Maintain Weight: Leave it at 2827.5

Gain Weight:Use 2827.5 + 500 = 3327.5

Note: 500 calories a day is just a general term everybody uses to say that adding this amount is within safe limits. Eat too much, and you end up storing fat. Cut too many calories and your body just goes into starvation mode and ends up retaining more fat. 500 is a safe, recommended guideline. It's a good place to start, use as a baseline and adjust as necessary based on your progress or lack thereof.

There's no way around this final step.  You must track what you are eating so you'll know if you've made your goal for the day. Keep in mind that tracking your intake does not have to be complicated with weight of each food and scales.  You can take a guess.  It's not precise by any means but it sure beats what most people do.  Which is nothing.

Not paying any attention to where you are and how to get to your destination is like driving forward using the rear view mirror.

For most, they just start training, paying little to no attention to the nutrition portion.  Even more disappointing is that it's so simple to do to make modifications to your life but you'll find that most people will not do this simple step and yet will be frustrated for years to come.

As you reach your goals, do this formula over.  If you gain weight, you'll need to adjust your intake or you'll just maintain your current weight with your mind set on progress.  The same for losing weight.  If you do not continually re-visit, you'll just maintain and hit a plateau.  Keep creating a new short term goal and ensure you are on target simply by tracking what you eat.

While not the most precise method, this is a simple way to figure out how many calories a day you need to gain healthy weight, lose weight or simply maintain your current physique.