If your health and wellness goals include losing, gaining, or maintaining weight, it’s helpful to know how to calculate your caloric needs. Knowing how many calories you need can help guide your food and activity choices to achieve your goals. That’s the whole idea behind the CICO diet, which stands for Calories In Calories Out.
The logic behind the CICO diet is that once you know your caloric needs, you can increase, decrease, or meet them to gain, lose, or maintain weight.
Read on for a step-by-step guide to calculating caloric requirements using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. Plus, once you know the number, you’ll learn how to use it.
Step 1: Calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR)
It all starts with basal metabolic rate (BMR). This is the number of calories your body burns to stay alive. (1) Even if you stay in bed all day, your body still needs energy (aka calories) to breathe, pump blood, produce cells and hormones, and more.
One of the most reliable ways to calculate your BMR is to use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which takes your weight, height, age, and gender into account. (1, 5)
By plugging your own data into this formula, you can get a personalized estimate of the number of calories your body burns at rest. I say “estimate” because while this is one of the most accurate ways to calculate BMR, it’s not a perfect science. (More on that later.)
Let’s take an example and do the math together. For example, if you are a 35-year-old woman who is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 165 pounds, you will first need to calculate your height and weight in centimeters and kilograms.
- Height (cm) = Height (inches) x 2.54 or 64 x 2.54 = 162.56
- Weight in kilograms = weight in pounds ÷ 2.2 or 165 ÷ 2.2 = 75
Now, let’s plug these numbers into the BMR equation.
- Basal metabolic rate = (10 × 75) + (6.25 × 162.56) – (5 × 35) – 161
- Basal metabolic rate = 750 + 1016 – 175 – 161
- BMR ≈ 1,430 calories/day
This means your body needs approximately 1,430 calories per day to maintain basic functions. However, since you won’t be lying around all day, you’ll need to tailor your energy needs to how active you are. (If you want to skip the math, you can easily calculate your basal metabolic rate here.)
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Step 2: Adjust BMR based on your activity level
Now that you know your basal metabolic rate, you can take your activity level into account to get a more accurate idea of how many calories you really need each day. This is your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). TDEE takes your daily exercise into account and adjusts your caloric needs accordingly. (1) To estimate your TDEE, you can use the following activity level multipliers:
Sedentary (little or no exercise)
Use this activity level multiplier if you have little activity or movement throughout the day (for example, because you drive to work and work a desk job). (1)
Activity multiple: basal metabolic rate × 1.2
Light activity (exercise 1-3 days per week)
This is when you can do some activity, such as walking, up to three days a week. (1)
Activity multiplier: basal metabolic rate × 1.375
Moderately active (exercise 3-5 days per week)
Assuming you walk regularly and exercise most of the time in your daily life; you would be considered moderately active. (1)
Activity multiple: basal metabolic rate × 1.55
Very active (exercise 6-7 days a week)
You are considered very active if you spend most of your time doing any purposeful exercise (such as jumping on an elliptical machine) or if you have a physical job. (1)
Activity multiplier: basal metabolic rate × 1.725
Hyperactive (vigorous exercise or physical work)
You would be considered hyperactive if you push yourself while exercising (such as in a spin class) or while doing a strenuous physical job. (1)
Activity multiple: basal metabolic rate × 1.9
Going back to our example, if you exercised four times per week, your activity multiplier would be BMR × 1.55. Your BMR is 1,430 calories, so the equation looks like this.
TDEE = 1,430 × 1.55 = 2,216.50 calories/day
This means that to maintain your current weight, you need approximately 2,215 calories per day. Now we’ll adjust this number based on your goals.
Step 3: Set goals: Lose, maintain or gain weight
Here you’ll learn how to calculate your caloric needs based on your personal goals.
For weight loss:
The logic behind the CICO diet is that one pound equals approximately 3,500 calories. (6) Therefore, to lose weight, you need to subtract 250 to 500 calories from your TDEE.
Using our example TDEE of 2,215, you can reduce your calorie intake by 500, aiming for approximately 1,715 calories per day. This should result in gradual, sustainable weight loss of approximately 1 pound per week.
Remember, incremental changes are helpful because they don’t feel overwhelming. Also, remember again that while calorie counting is a useful tool for weight loss, it’s not an exact science. After calculating your individual caloric needs for weight loss, you may lose more or less weight than expected.
For weight gain:
If you want to build muscle or gain weight, you need to consume more calories than TDEE. Your caloric needs for weight gain will increase by about 500 calories per day, bringing your total to about 2,715 calories.
Calorie counting tools come in handy when you’re focused on adding calories to gain weight. MyFitnessPal also makes it easier to ensure you’re adding calories from nutritional sources.
For maintenance:
To maintain weight, calorie intake should be matched to TDEE. In our example, this means consuming approximately 2,215 calories per day.
No matter what your goals are, making small, incremental adjustments is the best way to ensure long-term success. Extreme caloric deficits or excesses can be difficult to maintain and can have negative effects on your health. Calorie counting apps like MyFitnessPal can help you gain, lose, or maintain weight by following the CICO diet.
About the experts:
Samantha Cassetti, MS, RDis a nationally recognized food and nutrition expert, media personality, nutrition consultant and author. Cassetti is the former nutrition director of Good Housekeeping and co-author of the book sugar shock.
Daisy Mercer, RD, Is the food information manager for MyFitnessPal. She graduated from Colorado State University with a bachelor’s degree in food science and nutrition and completed a dietetic internship at the VA San Diego Healthcare System.
Macronutrient Balancing: Optimizing Your Calorie Intake
The CICO diet helps you manage your caloric intake, but macronutrient balancing helps you optimize your nutrition.
The three macronutrients are protein, fat, and carbohydrates. The right balance can help you provide your body with the proper energy to achieve a specific goal, whether it’s weight loss, muscle building, or weight maintenance. (You can use this free macro calculator to determine your personal macro goals.)
protein:
Protein is essential for maintaining muscle strength and mass. (7) Protein is also associated with increased satiety, helping you stay full longer after a meal. (1) Consuming enough protein during weight loss will help you maintain muscle mass and increase your feeling of fullness during a caloric deficit. (6)
Fat:
Not only does fat help you absorb nutrients, it also slows down the rate at which food is digested and metabolized. This means that, like protein, fat can help you feel fuller for longer. (8) A good macronutrient balance includes about 30% of your daily caloric needs from heart-healthy fats, such as those found in avocados, nuts, seeds, and extra virgin olive oil. (3)
carbohydrate:
Carbohydrates often get a bad rap—especially among those trying to lose weight. However, carbohydrates are the main source of energy for your body and brain, and your muscles need them to fuel physical activity. (9) Overall, carbohydrates are an important component of macronutrient balance. Typically, 40% of your daily caloric needs should come from carbohydrates.
Of course, these are just general guidelines, and some people prefer to balance their macronutrient intake differently.
Calorie counting isn’t an exact science: Other factors to consider
While calorie count can be a useful tool for weight management, there are other factors that affect your body’s ability to lose or gain weight.
That’s why it’s important to be gentle with yourself as you begin your weight management journey. While calorie tracking can be helpful, the process still requires some trial and error.
metabolism:
You don’t have as much control over your metabolism as you think. Everyone’s metabolism is unique, and age, genetics, and gender can all affect your metabolic rate. (More on this below.)
Hormones:
Hormones, especially those related to thyroid function, can affect weight gain or loss. Hormones associated with menopause may also affect your ability to lose weight. If you suspect a hormonal imbalance is causing you difficulty controlling your weight, talk to your doctor. (7)
If you’ve lost weight in the past, appetite-regulating hormones may make it more difficult to maintain weight loss because these hormones make you hungrier. (10)
Movement and Muscle Mass:
In addition to improving your health and burning some calories, exercise (especially strength training) can help you build more muscle tissue. (5) Even at rest, muscle burns slightly more calories than fat.
Bottom line: Know and adjust your caloric needs
To optimize your health and achieve your goals, start by calculating your caloric needs using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and adjust based on your personal activity level. You can then start calculating the calories you need to lose weight, maintain or gain weight. (MyFitnessPal makes this easier!)
While this is a good start, it’s also helpful to consider your macronutrient balance, as some calories are more satiating and nutritious than others.
Keep in mind that this process is highly individualized and other factors such as genes, hormones, and muscle mass also come into play. Through gradual, sustainable changes and a balanced intake of calories and macronutrients, you can make progress toward your personal goals.
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