Calculating your calorie intake is an important step in achieving your body goals, whether it’s to lose weight, gain muscle, or maintain your current weight. These can be broken down into four simple steps; calculate your BMR, calculate your TDEE, calculate the surplus or deficit that you need for your goals and lastly how to your calories dependent on your progress.

Here’s how to calculate your calorie intake for your body goals:

Determine your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

Your BMR is the number of calories your body needs to maintain basic bodily functions such as breathing, circulation, digestion and is determined by your age, sex, height, weight and biological age.

Here’s two options on how to calculate your BMR:

The Harris-Benedict equation is a widely used formula for calculating BMR. To calculate your BMR using this equation, use the following formula:

For men: BMR = 88.36 + (13.4 x weight in kg) + (4.8 x height in cm) – (5.7 x age in years)
For women: BMR = 447.6 + (9.2 x weight in kg) + (3.1 x height in cm) – (4.3 x age in years)

The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is another formula used to calculate BMR. This equation takes into account age, weight, height, and sex. To calculate your BMR using this equation, use the following formula:

For men: BMR = 10 x weight in kg + 6.25 x height in cm – 5 x age in years + 5
For women: BMR = 10 x weight in kg + 6.25 x height in cm – 5 x age in years – 161

Determine your Total Daily Energy Expenditure

Your TDEE is the total number of calories you burn in a day, including your BMR and any physical activity you engage in. To calculate your TDEE, multiply your BMR by an activity factor based on your level of physical activity. A sedentary person who does little or no exercise would have an activity factor of 1.2, while an extremely active person who engages in intense exercise daily would have an activity factor of 1.9 or higher.

Here’s how to calculate your TDEE:

1. Calculate your BMR: Use one of the formulas mentioned in the previous answer to calculate your BMR.
2. Determine your activity level: Your activity level is the amount of physical activity you engage in each day. Use the following categories to determine your activity level:

• Sedentary: Little or no exercise
• Lightly Active: Light exercise or sports 1-3 days per week
• Moderately Active: Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days per week
• Very Active: Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days per week
• Extremely Active: Very hard exercise or sports, physical job or training twice a day

3. Multiply your BMR by your activity level factor: Multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity level factor to determine your TDEE.

• Sedentary: BMR x 1.2
• Lightly Active: BMR x 1.375
• Moderately Active: BMR x 1.55
• Very Active: BMR x 1.725
• Extremely Active: BMR x 1.9

For example, if your BMR is 1500 calories and you engage in moderate exercise 3-5 days per week, your TDEE would be 2325 calories (1500 x 1.55).

It’s important to note that these calculations are only estimates, and individual factors such as metabolism, hormones, and genetics can affect your TDEE. However, calculating your TDEE can give you a general idea of how many calories your body needs each day, which can help you determine your daily calorie needs for weight loss, weight gain, or weight maintenance.

From our professional experience, people tend to underestimate how many daily calories they consume and overestimate the amount of calories they burn in a day!

Set your calorie goal

Depending on your body goals, you may want to either lose weight, gain weight, or maintain your current weight. To lose weight, you will need to create a calorie deficit by consuming fewer calories than your TDEE. To gain weight, you will need to consume more calories than your TDEE. To maintain your weight, you will need to consume the same number of calories as your TDEE.

Here’s how to adjust your calorie intake against your TDEE:

1. Determine your calorie goal: Depending on your body goals, you may want to either lose weight, gain weight, or maintain your current weight. To lose weight, you will need to create a calorie deficit by consuming fewer calories than your TDEE. To gain weight, you will need to consume more calories than your TDEE. To maintain your weight, you will need to consume the same number of calories as your TDEE.
2. Adjust your calorie intake: To lose weight, aim for a calorie deficit of 250-500 calories per day. This will result in a weight loss of 0.5-1 pound per week. To gain weight, aim for a calorie surplus of 250-500 calories per day. This will result in a weight gain of 0.5-1 pound per week. To maintain your weight, consume the same number of calories as your TDEE.

Adjust your calorie intake based on your progress

Once you have set your calorie goal, track your progress by weighing yourself regularly and monitoring your body composition. If you are not making progress towards your body goals, adjust your calorie intake accordingly.

Summary

It’s important to note that these calculations are only estimates, and individual factors such as metabolism, hormones, and genetics can affect your calorie needs. It’s also important to prioritize nutrient-dense, whole foods in your diet to ensure that you are getting the right balance of nutrients for your body. Consult a healthcare professional or a registered dietitian for personalized advice on calculating your calorie intake for your body goals.

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