正文
For every pound of body weight you carry, your body burns about 10 calories each day. Therefore, a person weighing 130 lbs would need to take in at least 1,300 calories (130 x 10 = 1,300) every day, just to meet their body’s basic needs. After you figure out your most basic caloric need, you can factor in your activity level, and digestion needs, which will get you even closer to the real number of calories that your body uses every day to support your regular activities.
1 – To find out your basic BMR, take your body weight in pounds and multiply this by 10. Let’s use an example of a person weighing 130 pounds:
Example: 130 lbs x 10 calories/lb = 1,300 calories
2 – To factor in the amount of activity you do in a regular day, take the above number and multiply it by your Activity Level (see below):
Sedentary: 20% (Sitting most of the day)
Lightly Active: 30% (Walking here and there; daily chores)
Moderately Active: 40% (Constantly moving around; daily exercise)
Very Active: 50% (Heavy exercise for prolonged periods of time, such as training for a sport)
Example: 1,300 calories x 0.30 = 390 calories
Then, add together your BMR and calories burned by your activity level:
Example: 1,300 calories + 390 calories = 1,690 calories
3 – To factor in calories used during Digestion, which is estimated at 10% for the general population, take the last number you calculated (your BMR + activity level) and add 10% of that number to your total:
Example: 1,690 calories x 0.10 = 169 calories + 1,690 calories = 1,859 calories
Therefore, this 130 pound person burns an average of 1,859 calories every day to support their body’s most basic needs, activity level and digestion of food.
W (weight in kg)
1 kg = 2.2 lbs A person weighing 130 lbs is: 130 lbs / 2.2 = 59.09 kg
H (height in cm)
1 inch = 2.54 cm A 5’6” tall person is: 66 inch x 2.54 = 167.64 cm
Men = 66 + (13.7 x W) + (5 x H) - (6.8 x A)
Women = 655 + (9.6 x W) + (1.7 x H) - (4.7 x A)
So, for a 30 year old woman weighing 130 pounds (59.09 kg) and standing 5’6” tall (167.64 cm), her BMR, using the Harris-Benedict Equation, would be:
655 + (9.6 x 59.09) + (1.7 x 167.64) - (4.7 x 30) = 1,366 calories
You will notice that this number, 1,366 calories, is very close to the number we calculated above using her basic BMR (130 x 10), which turned out to be 1,300 calories. Now, to factor in her activity level and digestion needs, simply follow steps 2 and 3 from above:
Activity level of 30%
1,366 x 0.30 = 409 calories
1,366 + 409 = 1,775 calories
Digestion
1775 x 0.10 = 177 calories
1775 + 177 = 1,952 calories
As you can see, you can use either the general calculation or the Harris-Benedict equation to get an appropriate approximation of your daily caloric expenditure. Using our example person, you can see that the difference between using the two calculations is only 93 calories (1,952 calories – 1,859 calories = 93 calories).
Major Factors that Affect Daily Caloric Need:
Although these two equations can give you a relatively true representation of your total daily caloric expenditure, there are some other factors that can affect your BMR, either negatively or positively. These include:
Age
BMR decreases by 2% for every decade beyond the growth period, which is generally age 20)
Sex
Men generally have more muscle than women, and lean muscle mass burns calories while fat mass doesn’t burn any calories.
Genetic Build
Tall, thin people generally have higher metabolisms than short, heavy people.
Malnutrition
Eating too few calories, like when dieters severely restrict calories, slows down the metabolism, by up to 30%.
Thyroid Disorders
Since the thyroid regulates the metabolism, disorders of this organ affect metabolic rate. In people with hyperthyroidism (the thyroid produces too much hormones), metabolic rate is increased. Those with hypothyroidism under-produce the hormones needed to stimulate the metabolism, so their BMR decreases. Both hyper- and hypothyroid problems affect whole body health negatively.
Pregnancy
Elevates BMR, which increases caloric need. Pregnant women generally need about 300 extra calories per day.
Using your BMR for Weight Loss
Now that this woman knows her daily caloric need (about 1,900 calories), she can figure out how many calories she needs to reduce in her diet or burn by exercising to lose weight. A pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories, so if she wants to lose 1 lb of fat in 1 week, she would have to be 500 calories negative each day (-3,500 calories / 7 days in a week = -500 calories per day). The healthiest way to be negative 500 calories every day is to eat 250 calories less than what your BMR requires, as well as burn 250 calories by exercise, equaling a negative intake of 500 calories.
So, for our lady above who needs about 1,900 calories each day to maintain her weight, she should reduce her caloric intake (total calories from the foods she eats) to 1,650 calories and then burn 250 calories with exercise each day, such as walking at a moderate pace for an hour, hiking for 30 minutes, swimming for 30 minutes, or whatever exercise suits you best. At this rate, she is taking in 250 calories less than her BMR, exercising off 250 calories, equaling 500 calories deficit by the end of the day, which when done 7 days a week, adds up to 1 pound of fat lost. Keep in mind that it is not recommended that you lose more than 1-2 pounds per week – otherwise you may be jeopardizing your health.
How Calorie-Conscious are You?
One of the great secrets of weight loss isn't such a secret after all - limit the amount of calories you consume each day and eat the right amount of calories for your body and you'll lose weight. While calorie-counting seems like a tedious task, having a basic knowledge of which foods will send you into a diet trap isn't. So just how calorie-conscious are you? Take this calorie quiz.
1 – To find out your basic BMR, take your body weight in pounds and multiply this by 10. Let’s use an example of a person weighing 130 pounds:
Example: 130 lbs x 10 calories/lb = 1,300 calories
2 – To factor in the amount of activity you do in a regular day, take the above number and multiply it by your Activity Level (see below):
Sedentary: 20% (Sitting most of the day)
Lightly Active: 30% (Walking here and there; daily chores)
Moderately Active: 40% (Constantly moving around; daily exercise)
Very Active: 50% (Heavy exercise for prolonged periods of time, such as training for a sport)
Example: 1,300 calories x 0.30 = 390 calories
Then, add together your BMR and calories burned by your activity level:
Example: 1,300 calories + 390 calories = 1,690 calories
3 – To factor in calories used during Digestion, which is estimated at 10% for the general population, take the last number you calculated (your BMR + activity level) and add 10% of that number to your total:
Example: 1,690 calories x 0.10 = 169 calories + 1,690 calories = 1,859 calories
Therefore, this 130 pound person burns an average of 1,859 calories every day to support their body’s most basic needs, activity level and digestion of food.
W (weight in kg)
1 kg = 2.2 lbs A person weighing 130 lbs is: 130 lbs / 2.2 = 59.09 kg
H (height in cm)
1 inch = 2.54 cm A 5’6” tall person is: 66 inch x 2.54 = 167.64 cm
Men = 66 + (13.7 x W) + (5 x H) - (6.8 x A)
Women = 655 + (9.6 x W) + (1.7 x H) - (4.7 x A)
So, for a 30 year old woman weighing 130 pounds (59.09 kg) and standing 5’6” tall (167.64 cm), her BMR, using the Harris-Benedict Equation, would be:
655 + (9.6 x 59.09) + (1.7 x 167.64) - (4.7 x 30) = 1,366 calories
You will notice that this number, 1,366 calories, is very close to the number we calculated above using her basic BMR (130 x 10), which turned out to be 1,300 calories. Now, to factor in her activity level and digestion needs, simply follow steps 2 and 3 from above:
Activity level of 30%
1,366 x 0.30 = 409 calories
1,366 + 409 = 1,775 calories
Digestion
1775 x 0.10 = 177 calories
1775 + 177 = 1,952 calories
As you can see, you can use either the general calculation or the Harris-Benedict equation to get an appropriate approximation of your daily caloric expenditure. Using our example person, you can see that the difference between using the two calculations is only 93 calories (1,952 calories – 1,859 calories = 93 calories).
Major Factors that Affect Daily Caloric Need:
Although these two equations can give you a relatively true representation of your total daily caloric expenditure, there are some other factors that can affect your BMR, either negatively or positively. These include:
Age
BMR decreases by 2% for every decade beyond the growth period, which is generally age 20)
Sex
Men generally have more muscle than women, and lean muscle mass burns calories while fat mass doesn’t burn any calories.
Genetic Build
Tall, thin people generally have higher metabolisms than short, heavy people.
Malnutrition
Eating too few calories, like when dieters severely restrict calories, slows down the metabolism, by up to 30%.
Thyroid Disorders
Since the thyroid regulates the metabolism, disorders of this organ affect metabolic rate. In people with hyperthyroidism (the thyroid produces too much hormones), metabolic rate is increased. Those with hypothyroidism under-produce the hormones needed to stimulate the metabolism, so their BMR decreases. Both hyper- and hypothyroid problems affect whole body health negatively.
Pregnancy
Elevates BMR, which increases caloric need. Pregnant women generally need about 300 extra calories per day.
Using your BMR for Weight Loss
Now that this woman knows her daily caloric need (about 1,900 calories), she can figure out how many calories she needs to reduce in her diet or burn by exercising to lose weight. A pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories, so if she wants to lose 1 lb of fat in 1 week, she would have to be 500 calories negative each day (-3,500 calories / 7 days in a week = -500 calories per day). The healthiest way to be negative 500 calories every day is to eat 250 calories less than what your BMR requires, as well as burn 250 calories by exercise, equaling a negative intake of 500 calories.
So, for our lady above who needs about 1,900 calories each day to maintain her weight, she should reduce her caloric intake (total calories from the foods she eats) to 1,650 calories and then burn 250 calories with exercise each day, such as walking at a moderate pace for an hour, hiking for 30 minutes, swimming for 30 minutes, or whatever exercise suits you best. At this rate, she is taking in 250 calories less than her BMR, exercising off 250 calories, equaling 500 calories deficit by the end of the day, which when done 7 days a week, adds up to 1 pound of fat lost. Keep in mind that it is not recommended that you lose more than 1-2 pounds per week – otherwise you may be jeopardizing your health.
How Calorie-Conscious are You?
One of the great secrets of weight loss isn't such a secret after all - limit the amount of calories you consume each day and eat the right amount of calories for your body and you'll lose weight. While calorie-counting seems like a tedious task, having a basic knowledge of which foods will send you into a diet trap isn't. So just how calorie-conscious are you? Take this calorie quiz.
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