Calorie Calculator I

How does this calorie calculator work?

This is a weight tool that estimates the daily calorie intake based on the Harris Benedict formula that will teach you how many calories you need in order to lose weight, maintain your current weight or even gain some pounds/kilograms. You are asked to input your age, gender, weight, height and an activity assessment (whether you exercise and how much). In order to make it more comfortable for you to deal with the measurement units the form has two tabs, one for English units so you can input lbs and inches and one for metric units for kilograms and centimeters. You can choose the one that suits you most. You will be then given a result that comprises of your daily calorie intake and some weight loss or gain scenarios.

The average daily calorie intake for men is around 2,500 calories/day to maintain weight, while the average daily calorie intake for women is about 2,000 calories/day. The averages presented above vary from one case to another due to differences. Why not try and personalize things?

The BMR is estimated based on the Harris-Benedict formula:

BMR MALE = 66.4730 + (13.7516 * Weight in kg) + (5.0033 * Height in cm) - (6.7550 * Age in years)

BMR FEMALE = 655.0955 + (9.5634 * Weight in kg) + (1.8496 * Height in cm) - (4.6756 * Age in years)

In order to get the daily calorie intake, the BMR value estimated by Harris-Benedict principle is then multiplied by an approximate coefficient for each activity level from the list presented below. Please note that the coefficients are very subjective and they do not pretend they are 100% accurate.

The following table explains what needs to be done with the value obtain from the formula above after multiplying the BMR value with the coefficient appropriate with the physical activity.

*It is advised not to lose more than 2 lbs per week, this being considered a healthy weight loss so you don’t risk affecting your health in any way. Set attainable goals, be patient and combine your dieting with exercise.

This calorie calculator is a handy and useful online tool since it allows users to easily approximate the daily calorie intake value:

- in order to maintain weight;

- lose one (equivalent of 0.5 kg) or two lbs per week (equivalent of 1 kg);

- gain weight by one or two lbs per week.

Moreover it can handle both English and metric measurement units.

Example calculation

Using the English tab in the case of a female aged 28 weighing 156lbs at a height of 5ft 4in and practicing easy exercise (2-3 times/ week) the result is:

- To maintain your weight you will need aprox. 2,064.8 calories/day, or 8.6 kJ/day;

- To lose 1 lb per week, you will need aprox. 1,564.8 calories/day, or 6.5 kJ/day;

- To lose 2 lb per week, you will need aprox. 1,064.8 calories/day, or 4.5 kJ/day;

- To gain 1 lb per week, you will need aprox. 2,564.8 calories/day, or 10.7 kJ/day;

- To gain 2 lb per week, you will need aprox. 3,064.8 calories/day, or 12.8 kJ/day.

Using the Metric tab in case of a male aged 29 weighing 98kg at a height of 182cm and doing active exercise (5 times/week) the result is:

- To maintain your weight you will need aprox. 3,113.4 calories/day, or 13.0 kJ/day;

- To lose 0.5 kg per week, you will need aprox. 2,613.4 calories/day, or 10.9 kJ/day;

- To lose 1 kg per week, you will need aprox. 2,113.4 calories/day, or 8.8 kJ/day;

- To gain 0.5 kg per week, you will need aprox. 3,613.4 calories/day, or 15.1 kJ/day;

- To gain 1 kg per week, you will need aprox. 4,113.4 calories/day, or 17.2 kJ/day.

Reference

Harris J, Benedict F (1918) A Biometric Study of Human Basal Metabolism. PNAS 4 (12): 370–3.