"The Essentials" to a Healthy Body Part I

• How many calories should I eat?

There's no magic number of calories! The number of calories we should eat each day differs between individuals. Thus you will need to assess your own individual caloric needs. The first step you should take is to figure out how many calories you can eat to stay the weight you are at right now.

• How do I calculate the calories I need to maintain my weight?

All you need is the formula to Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) which is the amount of energy your body needs to function. In general,w e use about 60% of the calories we consume each day for basic bodily functions such as breathing. Other factors that influence your BMR are height, weight, age and sex.

Step 1

For Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

For Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

Step 2

To include activity that affects your daily caloric needs, do these calculations:

If you are inactive: BMR x 1.2

If you are lightly active: BMR x 1.375

If you are moderately active e.g. exercise most days a week: BMR x 1.55

If you are very active e.g. exercise daily: BMR x 1.725

If you are extra active e.g. hard labour, athletic training: BMR x 1.9

(Some parts have been contributed by Jennifer Scott's website)