Calculate Calories to Maintain WeightIt is useful to know the calories to maintain your present weight. You may be surprised at how many additional calories that you take in on a daily basis. Just as a flashlight needs a battery to shine and your car needs fuel in order for you to drive it, your body likewise needs a source of energy in order to function. That energy source is the calorie. Calories are needed to keep your heart beating, to blink your eyes, and even to keep your brain functioning. Believe it or not, you need a certain amount of calories to keep you alive even when you are not doing anything. The calories needed to sustain you at rest is called the basal metabolic rate. The basal metabolic rate is dependent on your age, weight, height, gender and how much muscle and fat you carry. In order to find the calories to maintain your present weight, you need to compute your basal metabolic rate and the number of calories that you burn during your exercise schedule. There is an activity factor for the couch potato as well as a construction worker/weekend athlete. The form below will calculate the number of calories that you need in order to maintain your present weight. Once your daily caloric requirements are known, you can then find out how many calories you need in order to lose a certain amount of weight. Activity Levels The activity level determines how many calories you burn in your exercise program. This number which ranges from sedentary to extremely active is multiplied by your basal metabolic rate to determine how many calories you need just to maintain your present weight.The activity level constant level is based on the Harris-Benedict equation. This equation does not factor in lean body mass (muscle.) Leaner bodies burn more calories than bodies which are not as lean. Reults will be accurate for all but the very muscular (it will under estimate caloric requirements) and the very fat (it will over estimate caloric requirements.)Return to Home Page from Calories to Maintain |