Calorie Intake Calculator

How does this calorie intake calculator work?

This calorie tool is designed to offer you a personalized estimation of how many calories you require daily in order to either maintain your weight, lose one or two pounds per week or gain one or two pounds. There are two measurement tabs that you can choose from, English and Metric so you can use whatever units suit you most. In this respect you need to keep in mind that the unit you are using to input data is the same type of unit you will meet in the result.

The data that you are asked to enter is your age, gender, weight and height but also the level of activity as this is what makes this calorie intake calculator a whole more specific to your case. You can find these types of activities in the form and as well listed in the table below.

The calculation is based on the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, that estimates BMR – basal metabolic rate:

For women: BMR = 10 * [Weight in kg] + 6.25 * [Height in cm] - 5 * [Age in years] + 5

For men: BMR = 10 * [Weight in kg] + 6.25 * [Height in cm] - 5 * [Age in years] – 161

The BMR value obtained by Mifflin-St Jeor equation is then multiplied by an approximate factor/coefficient for each activity level from the list. Please take account that the coefficients are subjective and they do not assure 100% accuracy.

For the weight loss estimation the tool subtracts either 500 calories/day for somebody who wants to lose 1 lb (0.5 kg equivalent) per week, or 1000 calories/day for somebody who wants to lose 2 lbs ( 1kg equivalent) per week from the BMR value provided by Mifflin-St Jeor formula.

For the weight gain estimation the tool adds either 500 calories/day for somebody who wants to gain 1 lb ( 0.5 kg equivalent) per week, or 1000 calories/day for somebody who wants to gain 2 lbs ( 1 kg equivalent) per week to the BMR value provided by Mifflin St Jeor equation.

Example calculation and result

• By using the English tab, in case of a female, aged 28, weighing 148 lbs at a height of 5 ft 6 in and with no or little exercise/sedentary:

- To maintain your weight you will need aprox. 1,701.7 calories/day, or 7.1 kJ/day;

- To lose 1 lb per week, you will need aprox. 1,201.7 calories/day, or 5.0 kJ/day;

- To lose 2 lb per week, you will need aprox. 701.7 calories/day, or 2.9 kJ/day;

- To gain 1 lb per week, you will need aprox. 2,201.7 calories/day, or 9.2 kJ/day;

- To gain 2 lb per week, you will need aprox. 2,701.7 calories/day, or 11.3 kJ/day.

• By using the Metric tab, in case of a male, aged 35, weighing 93 kg at a height of 173 cm and with daily exercise and physical activity/job:

- To maintain your weight you will need aprox. 3,516.8 calories/day, or 14.7 kJ/day;

- To lose 0.5 kg per week, you will need aprox. 3,016.8 calories/day, or 12.6 kJ/day;

- To lose 1 kg per week, you will need aprox. 2,516.8 calories/day, or 10.5 kJ/day;

- To gain 0.5 kg per week, you will need aprox. 4,016.8 calories/day, or 16.8 kJ/day;

- To gain 1 kg per week, you will need aprox. 4,516.8 calories/day, or 18.9 kJ/day.

• Calculating the caloric intake according to the BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate, in the case of a female, aged 30, weighing 130 lbs at a height of 5 ft 4 in.

- Your BMR is 1,294.7 calories/day, or 5.4 kJ/day.

How can you use the calorie intake tool?

The above form can prove to be handy calorie calculator if you are interested in creating a personalized weight loss plan or even a weight maintenance or gain plan. It can also be used solely to determine the BMR value which is the number of calories necessary for the body to maintain its normal function. Given the result you can know how many calories you should intake each day and what would happen if you’d raise or lower this value.

What is the daily calorie intake?

This is a concept that many people (females especially) are interested in because it has an impact on body’s health, well being and body shape. An optimal average of the daily calorie intake for men is considered to be around 2,500 calories/day to maintain weight, while an optimal intake for women is considered to be around 2,000 calories/day. The daily calorie needs depends on age, height, weight and levels of physical activity. It can also be reflected weight plans.

References

1) Harris J, Benedict F. (1918) A Biometric Study of Human Basal Metabolism. PNAS 4 (12): 370–373. 

2) Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, Scott BJ, Daugherty SA, Koh YO. (1990) A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. The American journal of clinical nutrition 51 (2): 241–7.