Reference
Based on the Mifflin - St Jeor equation. With this equation, the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is calculated by using the following formula:
BMR = 10 * weight(kg) + 6.25 * height(cm) - 5 * age(y) + 5 (man)
BMR = 10 * weight(kg) + 6.25 * height(cm) - 5 * age(y) - 161 (woman)
The calories needed to maintain your weight equal to the BMR value, multiplied by an activity factor. To loss 1 pound, or 0.5kg per week, you will need to shave 500 calories from your daily menu.
The best way to lose weight is through proper diet and exercise. Try not to lower your calorie intake by more than 1,000 calories per day, and try to lower your calorie intake gradually. Also, try to maintain your level of fiber intake and balance your other nutritional needs.
The results are based on an estimated average.
How Many Calories Do You Need?
Nearly all of us seek to lose weight, and often the best way to do this is to consume a lower amount of calories each day than we usually do. But how many calories do we need to be healthy? Much depends, of course, on the amount of physical activity you engage in each day. And it's different for us all; there are a lot of different factors involved.
Factors include age, size, height, sex, lifestyle, and overall general health. A physically active, 25 –year-old six foot male requires considerably more calories than a 5 foot 70-year-old woman who is not especially active. The average male adult requires about 2,700 calories to maintain his weight, while the average female needs only 2,200 calories, according to the U.S Department of Health.
Just to stay alive, we obviously need far less calories, but our bodies will function poorly if we consume too few. The basal metabolic rate, used in our calculator, is the amount of energy you require when you are just resting. Depending on the amount of physical exercise you do, you can multiply the basal metabolic rate by a specific number to determine calorie needs. For example, if you are not very active, your needed calorie intake is the basal metabolic rate times 1.2. Somewhat active people should multiply by 1.375. if you do some exercise during the week, the number is 1.55. And, if you do a lot of sports, you multiply by 1.95.
Minimum Daily Calorie intake
It is difficult to set absolute bottom calorie levels, because everyone has different body composition and activity levels.
Health authorities do set some baselines - these are 1200 calories per day for women, and 1800 calories per day for men.
These absolute rules don't make sense - are you are sedentary person with little muscle mass? Or someone who is tall, muscular, and exercises a lot? Absolute levels don't work - but do give us a starting point.