Calorie calculator: basal metabolic rate& calorie requirements

The hunt for your desired weight is an eternal topic. Some people want to finally lose weight, others want to maintain their weight, and still others are trying to gain weight. But how many calories do you need to lose weight?? How can I calculate my basal metabolic rate? How to calculate my calorie requirement when I do sports? With the calorie needs calculator you can answer these questions quickly and easily.

No matter what the goal, if you don’t know your basal metabolic rate, you’ll have trouble gaining weight, losing weight, or maintaining your weight. Therefore it is useful to work with a calorie requirement calculator.

Calculate calorie requirements

With this calorie calculator you can easily calculate your individual calorie needs.

You have questions about healthy eating or eating disorders? The German Federal Center for Health Education and the non-profit association Anad can help you with information.

Calories – what is it?

Calories are the energy needed by the human body to maintain vital functions. The word calories originally comes from the Latin term "calor," which means heat or warmth. But what does this have to do with energy? Energy is produced by the burning of nutrients and thus indirectly has something to do with heat. Scientifically speaking, a calorie is the amount of energy you need to heat one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius.

In common usage, the term "calories" is used, but in most cases the correct term would be "kilocalories" (kcal). One kilocalorie is equal to 1000 calories. The energy data for food are usually given in kilocalories. We also use the more common term "calories" or "kcal" in the following text.

What is a basal metabolic rate?

We humans burn the most calories at rest. Our bodies need about 70 percent of our daily energy requirements to maintain vital bodily functions such as breathing, supplying organs and heartbeat. Scientifically, this value is called the "basal metabolic rate".

Some people eat much more than they actually need and thus consume far too many calories. This excess sooner or later manifests itself in overweight. Other people want to be as slim as possible and reduce their calorie intake as much as possible. A hunger metabolism is created. The compulsive urge to lose weight is called bulimia.

Formula: Calculate basal metabolic rate

Using various formulas, you can approximate it and thus adjust your eating habits. Note that the formulas cannot include all circumstances and thus distortions can occur.

A simplified formula is:

Basal metabolic rate (man) = body weight (in kilograms) × 24
Basal metabolic rate (woman) = body weight (in kilograms) × 24 × 0.9

These formulas assume that one kilogram of body weight requires approximately 24 calories each day at rest, i.e. as basal metabolic rate.

Calculate basal metabolic rate by activity

The effective basal metabolic rate does not only include calorie consumption at rest. But it adds the power metabolism, i.e. the consumption of calories during certain activities. It is assumed that a 30 year old man consumes about 2400 calories per day as a basal metabolic rate. For every hour of work, another 110 calories are added as power metabolic rate. This makes 880 calories for an eight-hour day. If a man exercises for an hour after work, he burns another 440 calories. The effective basal metabolic rate is thus 3720 kcal.

The exact calorie consumption for certain activities can be seen in corresponding tables. If this is too much work for you, you can also use the so-called Physical Activity Level (PAL). The basal metabolic rate is multiplied by the PAL value to calculate the effective basal metabolic rate. The following PAL values have been established for this purpose:

Office work: 1.4 to 1.5
Standing or walking: 1.8 to 1.9
Heavy physical labor: 2.0 to 2.4

Note that people who exercise regularly, for example, to lose weight, have a different. Muscle builders have a higher requirement than people who do not engage in physical activity. This is due to the fact that muscles are built up during training, which increase the basal metabolic rate. This means that the calorie consumption of athletic people is higher than that of non-athletic people, even at rest. Calculate the optimal training pulse here.

What are the daily calorie requirements of women and men??

Women usually have a lower basal metabolic rate than men. The reason for this is the difference in the structure of body tissues, because men naturally have more muscle and less fat than women. And muscles burn more calories than fat. In addition, men have beta receptors, which additionally drive muscle work and therefore lead to faster weight loss results.

Basically, however, it is important to note that in addition to calorie counting, attention should also be paid to the correct nutrients in the diet plan. This is not only true for athletes when building muscle.

Calorie requirement man

A man weighing 80 kilograms consumes about 2200 to 2500 calories a day at rest. Depending on the age of the man, this value can vary even more. The older a man is, the slower his metabolism becomes and the lower his basal metabolic rate is. During an office activity the calorie turnover increases to 3000. If the man does additional sports, the basal metabolic rate is 3500 kcal or more. Above you can calculate your exact calorie consumption.

Calorie requirement woman

As with men, the calorie consumption of women also decreases with increasing age. A 20-year-old woman, for example, has a daily calorie requirement of about 2000 kcal, but at the age of 60 only 1700 calories are needed. Above you can calculate your exact calorie consumption.

Because eating patterns are often maintained, older people struggle more often with excess pounds. Furthermore, due to estrogens and hormones (such as those contained in the contraceptive pill), women are more prone to fat deposits than men are. This is due to evolutionary reasons, because a woman must have reserves for a possible pregnancy, because in these nine months the basal metabolic rate is about 500 calories higher than in normal condition. If a woman is breastfeeding, her basal metabolic rate can be up to 800 calories higher than before pregnancy.

Can you lose weight by counting calories?

Most people count calories to lose weight. The general assumption is that if you eat fewer calories than before, you will lose weight. How exactly to calculate the actual calorie requirement or. Basal metabolic rate determined and how many calories you need to save to lose weight, only a few know.

Each person has a different daily calorie requirement. This depends, for example, on the type and intensity of exercise you do. An athlete needs more calories than a gym-goer, a construction worker who moves all day more than a desk stool. But how many calories you need also depends on your current weight, height, gender and age. Stress can also affect calorie consumption. Calculate your BMI here to find out if you need to lose weight at all. Above you can calculate your exact calorie consumption.

How to determine your calorie consumption if you want to lose weight

If you want to lose weight, you need to keep an eye on the difference between calorie intake and calorie consumption. If you eat more than you consume, you gain weight. A rule of thumb says that a daily calorie surplus of 250 calories in 100 days can lead to a weight gain of up to 3.5 kilograms.

So for a diet, the body must consume more than it takes in. One gram of body fat can be equated to 9.3 calories. This means that one kilogram of fat is the equivalent of 9300 calories. So this is the amount of calories you need to burn to lose one kilo. However, because body fat also contains water and protein, scientists calculate that you need about 7700 calories per kilogram of body fat. If you take in 500 calories less than you consume every day, you will need about two weeks to lose one kilogram.

Unfortunately, this theory is not so easy to implement in practice, because if you lose fat, you also lose muscle mass. This reduces the basal metabolic rate. With this knowledge it is logical that losing weight can not only work through eating behavior. You should avoid sugary, carbohydrate-rich and fatty meals and instead consume proteins and fibers through vegetables and fruits. However, in addition to a healthy diet, exercise should also be done when dieting in order to increase the basal metabolic rate.

Calculate calorie consumption if you want to gain weight

If you want to gain weight, you need to take in more calories than you consume. To see results, the daily calorie requirement should be increased by 500 calories or more per day. Gaining weight succeeds mainly with fatty foods. Make sure you buy milk or dairy products, for example, in the full-fat or creamy variety. Butter or oil in food and extra toppings on bread also help you gain weight.

In order for the body to receive the increased calorie intake evenly, you should eat six meals a day. In addition to breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plan for several snack breaks. Healthy snacking foods such as nuts, cheese, olives or raisins are also good sources of calories. Fruit juices and cocoa should be available for drinking.

So that the body does not only put on pure fat, but also builds up muscle mass, you should also exercise regularly.