Wellness Wednesday: Basic Calorie Requirements Calculation Based on Activity Level

I'm often asked what the daily calorie intake should be.  

An average woman needs to eat about 2000 calories per day to maintain, and 1500 calories to lose one pound of weight per week. 

An average man needs 2500 calories to maintain, and 2000 to lose one pound of weight per week.

However, there are also numerous factors, including age, height, current weight and activity levels that need to be considered.  Below is a safe formula for determining how many daily calories you should consume based on activity level.  .  

Sedentary : 13 X Weight = Avg. cal/day

Sedentary is not exercising at all

Moderately Active: 16 X Weight = Avg. cal/day

Moderately Active is exercising approximately 3-4 times per week

Very Active: 19 X Weight = Avg. cal/day

Very Active is 5-7 strenuous exercise sessions per week.

If you weigh over 200 pounds now, and you'd like to weigh closer to 150, here is a calculation you could use to get started:

(Assuming you are going to be adding enough exercise to qualify as Moderately Active, we'll use 16 as our modifier):

150 pounds X 16 calories per pound = 2400 calories

Less 500, gives us a total of 1900 average calories per day

(Using the common 500 calories per day reduction for weight loss)

Use the FREE smart phone AP (which is also available online) ~>  MyFitnessPal,

to help you track your nutrition and exercise.  Share your ideas, successes and/or failures with weight management.   

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/