How to Easily Find Your Daily Calorie Needs

Kyle and I had a fabulous weekend on our "staycation." AMAZING. I have the post-weekend blues that it's over. Big time. I'll have a full recap for you tomorrow.

We focused hard for 2 weeks of clean eating before the staycation, but after 2.5 days of eating whatever I wanted I need to get back on the wagon.

I didn't have a daily calorie goal for the past 2 weeks.  I aimed to eat clean, unprocessed foods.
Sometimes, however it helps me to do calorie numbers to get back on track.  That way I know each day if I'm achieving my goal.

This relates to your "overall" energy balance.  If what I eat and what I burn are the same number of calories then I'm in energy balance and I'm not gaining weight.

There are a lot of complicated formulas to use to figure out your daily calorie expenditure. In our post called, "How many calories should I eat?" I broke down how to find your BMR.

There is, however a simple formula to estimate that average calories you burn in a day.  Keep in mind, it's just an estimate but here's a look.

First divide your weight in pounds and divide by 2.2 to find your weight in kilograms.

Then decide what level of activity you are currently at.  Find that number on the chart and multiple by your weight in kilograms. Then, friends, those are the calories you burn in a day!

For example, my calculation -133/2.2 = 60.5. Then 60.5 x 37 (moderate activity) = 2,239

Here's how Kyle and I break down via the different calculations:
Carissa:
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 133 lbs, 60.5kg
Body Fat %: 15.9%
RMR via Mifflin St. Jeor: 1,388
RMR via Cunningham: 1,603
Calorie Energy Balance using 37 activity level: 2,239
Current Calorie Goal: 1800

Kyle:
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 192 lbs, 87.3kg
Body Fat %: 12%

RMR via Mifflin St. Jeor: 1,703

RMR via Cunningham: 2,190

Calorie Energy Balance using 41 activity level: 3,579

Current Calorie Goal: 3000

Why does all this matter? Sometimes for me it's hard to always pick the right foods.  I can rationalize why a bowl of Chex is a better choice over tuna and a rice cake.  It's probably not, but it sure tastes better.  Having exact calorie numbers, right now, will help my eating go from "fun" to "fuel".

This approach certainly won't work for everyone and won't even work for me in the long term. I know a lot about nutrition and I can easily break this down into how many grams of carbs, protein, and fats I will need a day and how many to have at each meal.  Apparently for me, numbers are like my food therapy. 

It's an OCD, analytical dietitians paradise....well...maybe I'll just head back to our resort vacation.

What method do you like to use when you're trying to watch what you eat carefully?

Love and addition,

Carissa & Kyle


Disclaimer: I am not a registered dietitian and the numbers listed here are not a guide or diet advice. Reference materials used for this post were "Nutrition for Sports and Exercise" written by Marie Dunford and J. Andrew Doyle. Please contact a registered dietitian for a personal diet plan.