Calorie Count - What is yours?

Your daily calorie count goes a long way towards helping you lose fat, gain muscle mass or maintain your current weight. In fact it is by far the most important detail. To work out how many calories per day you should be eating use one of the following formulas. Once you have done that ensure you use a food diary to track it.

These formulas are an estimate of your required daily calorie count. Once you have established the numbers, track your results and adjust up or down. Be sure to give it a couple of weeks before making changes. We are all individuals and genetically we may respond differently to these formulas, they are however a great starting point.

The most popular one is the Harris Benedict Formula. It has some limitations. It is great for the average person (most of us). If you are extremely overweight, or extremely underweight, or if you are very muscular with very little body fat it becomes less accurate.

The Harris-Benedict Formula is:

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

OR

MetricWomen: BMR = 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kilos ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 13.7 x weight in kilos ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )

This gives you your Basal Metabolic Rate, (BMR) you then multiply this by your activity level

Little or no exercise= BMR x 1.2
Light Exercise=BMR x 1.375
Moderate Exercise = BMR x 1.55 (3 time per week)
Very Active = BMR x 1.725
Extra Active + BMR x 1.9
Example: Let’s assume I am a male and weight 75 kilograms and do moderate exercise. I am 172 centimetres tall and 40 years old.

66 + ( 13.7 x 75 ) + ( 5 x 172 ) - ( 6.8 x 40 )

66+ (1025.50) + (860) – (272) = 1,679 calories.

1,679 is my BMR, I multiple this by my activity level = 2,602

You now have your required daily calorie count. This means I need to eat 2,602 calories per day to maintain my weight. To lose weight I should subtract 500 calories per day. To gain muscle I should add 500 calories per day.

The second formula is easier and more accurate, but you need to know your body fat level. It is called Katch-McArdle, one formula for men and women. As it relies on body fat it is the same for men and women.

Katch-McArdle Formula
BMR = 370 + (21.6 X lean mass in kg)
Using the same details as above, let’s assume this person has a body fat level of 18%.
18% of 75kgs = 61.5kgs of lean mass.

370 + (21.6 x 61.5) = 1,698 multiply this by the activity level 1.55 = 2,631

As you can see the numbers are similar because I used an average person’s body fat, however the difference becomes significant if the body fat levels are really high or really low. Although counting calories can seem tedious it is a necessary step if you are serious about training.

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