This article will help you calculate the number of calories you consume daily in four simple steps; you will be able to calibrate your diet in a more correct and scientific way.
A precise calculation of calories must take into account different parameters such as sex, height, weight, body size, age and level of physical activity.
1) IMMEDIATE METHOD (inaccurate)
FOR MODERATELY ACTIVE PEOPLE: weight (kg) x 38 = daily caloric requirement
FOR ACTIVE PEOPLE: weight (kg) x 44 = daily caloric requirement
2) AUTOMATIC CALCULATION OF CALORIES IN 30 SECONDS
3) ACCURATE METHOD
- Calculation of basal metabolism following the instructions in the table
| BASAL METABOLISM | ||
| Age | WOMAN | MAN |
| 18 - 29 | 14.7 x P + 496 | 15.3 x P + 679 |
| 30-59 | 8.7 x P + 829 | 11.6 x P + 879 |
| 60-74 | 9.2 x P + 688 | 11.9 x P + 700 |
| > 74 | 9.8 x P + 624 | 8.4 x P + 819 |
| P = body weight expressed in kg | ||
- Estimated basal metabolism (MB) for the calculation of the daily energy need it is necessary to evaluate the activity carried out in the 24 hours. It is possible to calculate this value with fast methodologies and with an approximate degree of approximation:
1) define your own level of physical activity (light, moderate, heavy) by referring to the following table
| LIGHT | MODERATE | INTENSE |
| employees administrative and managerial staff professionals, technicians or the like | housewives domestic workers sales staff tertiary workers | workers in agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing laborers production operators and transport equipment |
2) desirable physical activity. Some people, in addition to the main activities, devote part of their time to optional motor activity, which is important to take into account when calculating calories.
Therefore the concept of desirable physical activity is introduced as:
... the activities recommended to the sedentary subjects or not, for the maintenance of muscle tone and cardiovascular ....
a healthy adult carries out desirable physical activity if four or five times a week dedicates at least 20 minutes to physical exercises of sufficient intensity to cause obvious sweating
| Woman | Age | THE F | SI desirable activity | NO desirable activity |
18 ÷ 59 | light | 1.56 | 1.42 | |
| moderate | 1.64 | 1.56 | ||
| heavy | 1.82 | 1.73 | ||
| 60 ÷ 74 | 1.56 | 1.44 | ||
| ≥ 75 | 1.56 | 1.37 |
| Man | Age | THE F | SI desirable activity | NO desirable activity |
18 ÷ 59 | light | 1.55 | 1.41 | |
| moderate | 1.78 | 1.70 | ||
| heavy | 2.10 | 2:01 | ||
| 60 ÷ 74 | 1.51 | 1.40 | ||
| ≥ 75 | 1.51 | 1.33 |
- The basal metabolic rate multiplied by the LAF (taking into account the possible desirable activity) expresses the amount of daily calories needed to cope with energy expenditure. It is expressed in kcal / day:
HEAT REQUIREMENT (kcal / die) = MB x LAF
