How Many Calories Do You Need?
There are many factors that determine your body’s calorie needs, and every individual is different. Calories are nothing more than the energy your body uses for things like sleep, breathing, completing day-to-day tasks, and any other activity. This calorie calculator, based on the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, takes into account details like your age, height, weight, and activity level to help give you an estimate of your daily calorie expenditure.
How is this information useful? If you are struggling to shed body fat, it can help to have an idea of where you should be calorie-wise, especially to rule out anything that might be hindering your efforts, such as metabolic adaptation or hormone issues.
Understanding Calories
First, let’s talk calories. Scientifically speaking, losing body fat is attained through being in a calorie deficit, meaning the calories your body uses must be greater than the total number of calories you consume. With that said, when it comes to menopause, what you eat may be just as impactful on your body composition as the calories themselves.
Why Women Struggle with Fat Loss More After Menopause
If you are struggling to lose body fat, you’re not alone. Many women find that calorie counting and other things that worked in the past are less effective after menopause. As frustrating as it is, a few things could be at play.
- Hormone Imbalance: Menopause brings on major hormone fluctuations. The rise and fall of estrogen can impact your metabolism in many ways, such as muscle loss, thyroid issues, and insulin sensitivity.
- Stress: Poor sleep, overexercising, emotional stress, or even eating too little can raise cortisol, causing weight gain, especially around the midsection.
- Inconsistency or Inaccurate Tracking: Overeating without realizing due to hormonal cravings. Not eating enough during the day and then overeating in the evening (triggered by the hunger hormone). Inaccuracy in tracking or an inaccurate tracking app. Overdoing it on the weekends or weeknights without being aware of it.
- Consuming Too Few Calories: As strange as it sounds, chronic under-consumption can harm your efforts to lose body fat. Your body is actually very smart. It can learn to adapt to the amount of food you give it by conserving energy when there has been a drop in calories. This is called adaptive thermogenesis and can cause your metabolism to plummet.
The Caveats of Calorie Counting
In general, calorie counting is not an ideal method for long-term fat loss, and it’s certainly not the only way. However, it can be used as a tool to learn more about yourself and your own personal dietary needs. Let’s address three main issues with calorie counting:
- Accuracy is impossible. A food’s calorie content can be different based on whether it’s served raw or cooked. Logging how a food is prepared is just as essential as logging the amount consumed. With food label and measurement inaccuracies, most tracking is far from perfect.
- The quality of your food is more important than the calories. Focusing too highly on calories alone makes it easy to forget that the quality of your food can impact fat loss just as much as the calorie content. High-quality whole foods help keep blood sugar levels stable and promote satiety. Added sugars and processed foods may “fit” within your daily target, but they can actually cause more cravings, making it difficult to stick to a plan.
- Restricting calories may cause anxiety around food choices. Overrestriction can cause stress and promote behaviors that cause more harm than good. Obsessing over every calorie consumed can cause anxiety and guilt about certain food choices. This is the opposite of what we hope to achieve in improving our health.
How to Use This Calorie Calculator
Having an estimate of your calorie needs in combination with a good understanding about the calories (or energy) in your food empowers you to set realistic health goals. This chart helps determine the average number of calories per day required to maintain your current body weight. If your goal is to reduce body fat due to menopause or other factors, this calculator can be used as one of many tools.
Other tools, such as a diet high in plant-based whole foods, can be beneficial to aid in weight loss and to help ease menopause symptoms. We’ve designed this free guide to help you get started!
How to Calculate Your Body’s Calorie Needs (two ways):
Use one of these methods to help you figure out your calorie expenditure. The first one calculates your calorie needs for you. The next is a simple formula you can use to calculate them yourself.
Just keep in mind this will only provide an estimate. It is important to consult with your health care provider before making any decisions regarding any changes you make to your diet.
Calorie Calculator:
This Calorie Calculator does the work for you; simply enter your information, and it will quickly give you an estimate of your calorie needs. Optionally, you can use the formula below. Both are based on the Mifflin-St Jeor equation.
Calorie Formula:
The following chart is based on Mifflin-St Jeor Equation converted to imperial measurements. Since energy needs differ among men and women, there are different calculations for each. This is designed for healthy men and women, ages 19 years and older.
Step 1: Determine your REE (Resting Energy Expenditure). Calculate your Resting Energy Expenditure using this formula:
Men: REE = (4.536 x weight in lbs) + (15.88 x height in inches) – (5 x age) + 5
Women: REE = (4.536 x weight in lbs) + (15.88 x height in inches) – (5 x age) – 161
Example:
Woman: 150 lbs, 5 ft 5 in (convert to 65 inches), age 34
REE = (4.536 x 150 lbs) + (15.88 x 65 inches) – (5 x 34 yrs) – 161
REE = 680.4 + 1032.2 – 170 – 161
REE = 1381.6
(Metric conversion: To convert kilograms to pounds, multiply kilograms by 2.2. To convert centimeters to inches, divide centimeters by 2.54.)
Step 2: Select a Physical Activity (PA) Factor. Choose a Physical Activity Factor based on your activity level throughout the week:
| Activity | PA | Typical Living: Choose a Physical Activity Factor based on your activity level throughout the week. |
| Sedentary | 1.2 | Little or no exercise |
| Low active | 1.375 | Light exercise 1-3 days per week |
| Active | 1.55 | Moderate exercise 3-5 days per week |
| Very active | 1.725 | Hard exercise 6-7 days per week |
| Extremely active | 1.9 | Daily vigorous exercise |
Step 3: Determine TEE (Total Energy Expenditure)
Multiply REE (step 1) times PA Factor (step 2) to obtain the estimated TEE (calories per day) to maintain weight.
REE (step 1) x PA Factor (step 2) = TEE
Example:
REE (1381.6) x PA Factor (1.375)
1381.6 x 1.375
TEE = 1899.7
(Estimated calories per day to maintain weight)
Step 4: Adjust Based on Your Goal
- If fat loss is desired, subtract 300 – 500 calories per day to obtain adjusted caloric intake required to achieve weight loss of approximately 0.5 – 1 pound per week.
- For maintenance, use your TEE (step 3) to base your caloric intake on.
- If weight gain/bulk is your goal, add 300 – 500 calories per day to obtain adjusted caloric intake required to achieve weight gain of approximately 0.5 – 1 pound per week.
Example:
TEE (1899.7) – 500 calories per day
Adjusted amount: 1399.7
(Estimated calories per day to lose one pound per week)
Remember to monitor your results for at least one month, and adjust your calories if necessary. If you are interested in tracking your calories for a short time period, try the free version of the Cronometer app.
The information provided in this post is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a substitute for medical advice. Contact your health care provider before making any decisions regarding your health and diet.
