Note #2 – Calories and BMR Calculations

Perhaps a more important question is, ‘How many and what kind of calories should I eat
so that I can maintain an appropriate weight?’ The answer to this question depends on
many variables such as genetics, age, weight, activity level, gender, etc.

A calorie is a measure of the energy contained in food. We use energy in all the activities
that we perform on a day-to-day basis. Quite simply, if we consume more energy
(calories) than we burn off or use we will have an excess of energy. This excess energy
will be converted to glycogen and eventually fat. If we use more energy than we
consume, then we must access our fat reserves and as a result we will begin to lose
weight. There is no secret to weight loss. Ultimately all diet plans boil down to this one
simple fact.

To determine the number of calories you need to power you with your particular lifestyle
we need to know what is called your RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) or BMR (Basal
Metabolic Rate). This will give you the basic calorie needs of your body to maintain
essential life functions. You can think of it as the base amount of calories you would burn
even if you didn’t do anything! We’ll modify this number later to account for your
lifestyle.

To calculate RMR use the Harris-Benedict Equation below: A = age in years

Males = 66.5 + (5 x H) + (13.7 x W) – (6.8 x A) H = height in cm
Females = 665 + (1.9 x H) + (9.5 x W) – (4.7 x A) W = weight in kg

This formula will only tell you the minimum calories you will need. To account for the
extra calories burned by your daily activities use the table below.

Harris Benedict Formula

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2

2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
3. If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation =
BMR x 1.55
4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725

5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation
= BMR x 1.9
Sample calculation of a fictional character, Mr. Kissidy
Mr. Kissidy is a 6’1’’ tall 180 lb male who is 54 years of age and is moderately active.
Your first step would be to convert to metric and put all the information into the
equation from the last page which is:

Males = 66.5 + (5 x H) + (13.7 x W) – (6.8 x A)

Where: A = age in years H = height in cm W = weight in kg

Males = 66.5 + (5 x 185.4cm) + (13.7 x 81.7kg) – (6.8 x 54)

Males = 66.5. + 927 + 1 119.3. - 367.2
Males = 1 746 calories

1 789 calories x 1.55 (moderate activity level) = 2 706 calories

If Mr. Kissidy eats 2 706 calories every day and maintains a moderately active lifestyle,
he should not gain any more weight.

What if he eats too much?

For every 3500 calories extra that you consume you will add an extra 1 lb of fat. So if
Mr. Kissidy eats 500 extra calories per day for a week [7 days x 500 calories = 3500
calories] that will cause him to gain one pound.
This is roughly the equivalent of eating a Tim Horton’s chocolate chip muffin every day
of the week and not burning off those calories!

Dieters who choose specific diet plans or companies to support their weight loss are just
subscribing to a plan that has them eat less and exercise more. This is the only non-
surgical way to lose weight. Any other plan or claim that does not involve this is almost
guaranteed to be pseudoscience! This is probably one of the worst areas for
pseudoscientific scams. Companies take advantage of peoples lack knowledge and their
lack of self-esteem to sell them useless or even harmful products and services!

Using the tape measure for height in cm and the weigh scale for weight in kg, you
calculate your BMR below: