How many calories should you be eating?

Calories are king! Understanding and manipulating the calorie balance equation is essential to managing your bodyweight.

Having a rough idea of how many calories you should be aiming for per day is VERY useful…

There are a million and one different calorie equations available online but the simplest and most effective one was created by a guy called Alan Aragon.

With his equation, you can get a ROUGH estimate of how many calories you should be eating to help you progress towards your goal weight.

? THE EQUATION….

REMEMBER IT’S *TARGET* BODYWEIGHT RATHER THAN CURRENT BODYWEIGHT

Total Energy Expenditure = TARGET bodyweight in kilograms x ((8-10 or 9-11 + average total weekly training hours) * 2.2)

This formula also accounts for the intensity of your exercise, including daily movement.

Woman or less active person:
8 = low intensity training.
9 = moderate intensity training.
10 = high intensity training.

Man or more active person:
9 = low intensity training.
10 = moderate intensity training.
11 = high intensity training.

? EXAMPLES…

For a female whose GOAL weight is 60kg, who trains at a low intensity for 4 hours per week…
TDEE= 60 x ((8 + 4) x 2.2) = 1584kcal

For a male whose GOAL weight is 85kg, who trains at a moderate intensity for 3 hours per week…
TDEE= 85 x ((10 +3) x 2.2) = 2431kcal

Knowing what that actually means in terms of how much you put in your mouth is pretty much essential.

So…track your food for the next three days on MyFitnessPal and see how it compares to YOUR calorie goal.

Too high? Cut back a bit! Too low? Eat a bit more!