How Many Calories Per Day Should You Burn

Looking to slim down, tone up, or just stay in good shape? If so, calories definitely need to weigh on your mind at least some of the time. While you may have once felt that diet and exercise was an uphill battle, once you understand the concept of calories in-calories out, things get a lot easier.

If you’re trying to stay in good shape, you are probably watching what you’re eating and how much of it you’re consuming. You may also be looking at your activity levels and trying to determine if you need to be working out more. Here’s how you can figure that out.

Calculate Your BMR

Your BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate. It can be calculated using multiple formulas set forth by science, and there are lots of free online calculators to help you do it in a snap. Basically, it will determine how many calories you are likely burning each day by simply living your life.

Even as you sleep, your body is burning calories in order to fuel basic functions like breathing, cell rebuilding, and so on. Throughout the 24 hours in a day, these things can really add up, especially when coupled with movements you carry out in your daily routine. For example’s sake, let’s say your BMR is 1,600 calories.

To maintain your current body, you’d need to match this need every day. In other words, 1,600 calories is your maintenance level. You’d need to eat 1,600 calories each day to replenish what your body has used up, thus resulting in a net result of 0. You haven’t taken in anything more or anything less than what you need. You should stay in the same shape you’re in so long as you maintain the same activity level.

Calculate Your Goals

Now, if you’re looking to lose weight or slim down, you’re going to have to burn more calories than you are netting each day.

Using the above example, you need to either eat less and/or exercise more so that the end result is a negative number. That means that your body is required to take some calories out of reserves–your extra fat–in order to maintain your activity levels.

In general, about 3,500 calories is equal on one pound. If you burn off 100 calories extra each day, it would take you 35 days to burn one pound of fat based on these numbers.