How many Calories should you eat?

There are different ways to calculate how many calories someone should take in, especially when it comes to men and women. This is a general guideline to follow. Some of the caloric equations out there do not factor in your normal resting metabolic rate (RMR).



A simple rule to follow, is a male burns 1 calorie per kilogram per hour and a female burns 0.9 calorie per kilogram per hour.


EXAMPLE: 140 lb female - change lbs to kilograms (140LBS = 63.5Kg) then use this formula to find the RMR. 63.5 kilograms x 0.9 x 24 = 1,372 calories



However, athletes need more calories for two reasons, 1) they burn a lot more calories and 2) they have more muscle. So it's important to add on 50% to your RMR to account for simple daily activities such as walking, working, and making dinner.

EXAMPLE CONTINUES: 1,372 x 50% = 686



Add 1,372 + 686 = 2,058



Active people usually burn an extra 250-1000 calories a day.



Depending on your goals, you'll have to subtract or add to your final number. If you want FAT LOSS, you'll want to create a deficit of 500-800 calories a day. You can do this with a combined effort in calorie intake reduction and exercise/training. This would create a weekly deficit of around 3,500 to 5,600 calories. As you may already know, it takes a reduction of 3,500 calories to lose one pound.



Highly recommend weight training. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn at rest.