From ambitious amateurs to dedicated bodybuilders, everyone knows that leading an active lifestyle can extend your life and leave you feeling healthier and happier overall. But no matter whether you want to gain mass, build muscle, add definition or lose weight, if you want to reach your goals, you’ve got to know how many calories you need. The Gold’s Gym Nutrition Calorie Counter can help you to determine your basal and active metabolic rates, thus providing a solid foundation for you and your ideal body.
It’s important to remember that this tool can only provide an estimate of your daily energy requirements. Your required calorie intake may differ depending on your circumstances. For example, if you have followed a low-calorie diet for a long time, we’d recommend starting with a lower calorie intake and building up gradually.
HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR CALORIC REQUIREMENTS
Basal metabolic rate (BMR)
Your basal metabolic rate (also known as resting metabolic rate) indicates how many calories your body uses when completely at rest. Our bodies are constantly using energy, including when we’re asleep or just sitting on the sofa. This energy allows us to maintain basic essential functions, such as breathing. Your basal metabolic rate depends on your age, your sex and certain genetic factors. Effective BMR calculators are based on a sex-specific formula.
Active metabolic rate
Your active metabolic rate tells you how much additional energy you need for exercise and activity. This could be a session at the gym or cycling to work. The more active you are, the higher this figure will be. However, your general fitness, body composition and weight all influence this figure as well. You can determine your activity level using what is known as a PAL value. Then, using a PAL scale, you can work out how much energy you burn on average in excess of your BMR.
Combining your basal and active metabolic rates provides you with an overall figure, which represents your daily caloric requirements.
GOLD’S GYM NUTRITION CALORIE CALCULATOR: YOUR DAILY CALORIE REQUIREMENTS
Daily energy requirements vary significantly from person to person. In addition to your height, weight, daily activity levels and overall health, another decisive factor is whether you’re male or female. To help you get a better idea of the figures involved, the list below shows the average values in daily calorie requirements for men and women, depending on their activity level.
Average calories used – Men
➔ < 30 minutes of physical activity: approx. 2100-2500 kcal/day
➔ 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity: approx. 2500-2700 kcal/day
➔ > 1 hour exercise: approx. 3000-3500 kcal/day
Average calories used – Women
➔ < 30 minutes of physical activity: approx. 1800 kcal/day
➔ 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity: approx. 2000-2200 kcal/day
➔ > 1 hour exercise: approx. 2400-2800 kcal/day
