Calorie needs are individual and depend on different factors such as gender, weight, height, age and physical activity. To determine your calorie needs, you must first calculate your basal metabolic rate. To do this, you can use different formulas, like these for example:
- Basal Metabolism (Women): 655 + (9.5 x [weight in kg]) + (1.9 x [size in cm]) – (4.7 x [age in years])
- Basal Metabolism (Men): 66+ (13.8x [weight in kg]) + (5.0 x [size in cm]) – (6.8 x [age in years])
When you know how many calories your body needs to function when it is at rest, you can calculate your calories relatively accurately. real energy needs. For this, it is necessary to take into account the PAL (Physical Activity Level), or the degree of physical activity.
- PAL 0.95 – Sleep
- PAL 1,2 – Position only sitting or lying down
- PAL 1.4 to 1.5 – Sitting position with little or no physical activity
- PAL 1.6 to 1.7 – Sitting position with momentary physical activity (movement and standing)
- PAL 1.8 to 1.9 – Majority of movement and standing
- PAL 2.0 to 2.4 – Physically demanding professional activity or sport
Multiply the PAL value corresponding to the above activities by their duration (in hours) on a typical day (24 hour period) and you will get your Average PAL factor, to be combined with your basal metabolism to determine your actual energy needs.
