Contents
Do You Need to Lose Weight?
Understanding Weight Loss
How to Calculate How Many Calories You Burn
How to Calculate How Many Calories You Consume
Understanding Your Eating
How to Eat More Healthfully
Exercise
Weight Loss Programs
Working with a Nutritionist
Special Weight Loss Issues
Dieting Dangers
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How to Calculate How Many Calories You Burn
To develop an effective weight loss plan, you first need a general sense of how many
calories you’re burning.
The Harris Benedict Formula
The Harris Benedict formula uses your weight, height, age, and sex to determine your basal metabolic rate (BMR), a measure of how many calories you would burn if you just slept all day long. You can calculate the number of calories you burn in a day by multiplying your BMR by an activity factor based on the following definitions:
- Sedentary: Little or no exercise
- Moderately active: Moderate exercise 3–5 days a week
- Very active: Hard exercise 6–7 days a week
The Harris Benedict formula uses weight measured in kilograms (kg) and height measured in centimeters (cm). To convert your weight from pounds to kilograms, multiply your weight by 0.4536. To convert your height from inches to centimeters, multiply your height by 2.54.
How to Use the Harris Benedict Formula
To use the Harris Benedict formula, start by calculating your BMR:
- For men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 × weight in kg) + (5 × height in cm) – (6.8 × age in years)
- For women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 × weight in kg) + (1.8 × height in cm) – (4.7 × age in years)
Once you’ve calculated your BMR, multiply it by your activity factor:
- Sedentary: BMR × 1.2
- Moderately active: BMR × 1.55
- Very active: BMR × 1.725
Using the Harris Benedict formula, an active 30-year-old woman who weighs 57 kg (125 lbs) and is 165 cm (5'5") tall would need to consume:
- BMR = 655 + (9.6 × 57) + (1.8 × 165) – (4.7 × 30) = 1358.2
- Daily calories burned = 1358.2 × 1.55 = 2105.21
To calculate the number of calories you burn in a day, you can work out the Harris Benedict formula for your own height, weight, and activity level.
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