Calorie needs at age 35, female
Use the form to estimate your maintenance calories. For the sums, read the worked example for a woman aged 35 at 5 ft 4 in and 150 lb.
How it works
Start with resting calories from Mifflin-St Jeor. Take 10 times weight in kilograms and add 6.25 times height in centimeters. Subtract 5 times age. Then add 5 for males or subtract 161 for females. Multiply by an activity factor to get daily calories. For a woman aged 35 at the lightly active level the age term takes 175 calories off.
Worked example
Say a woman aged 35 is 5 ft 4 in tall and weighs 150 lb. That is 162.56 cm and 68.04 kg. The weight term is 10 × 68.04 = 680.4. The height term is 6.25 × 162.56 = 1016. The age term is 5 × 35 = 175. Subtract 161. The result is 1360.4 at rest. Times 1.375 for the lightly active level is 1870.6, which rounds to 1871 calories a day.
Maintenance calories at every activity level for the same woman aged 35 at 5 ft 4 in and 150 lb, with the lightly active level set in the form above.
- Sedentary (little or no exercise)
- 1632 calories a day
- Lightly active (light exercise 1 to 3 days a week)
- 1871 calories a day
- Moderately active (moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week)
- 2109 calories a day
- Very active (hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week)
- 2347 calories a day
- Extra active (very hard exercise and a physical job)
- 2585 calories a day
Common questions
How big a surplus helps build muscle?
A modest surplus of about 250 calories a day is a common starting point. Larger surpluses tend to add more fat without adding muscle faster. A 250 calorie surplus here means 2121 calories a day for this 35-year-old woman at the lightly active level.
Why does age 35 change the result?
The formula takes 5 calories off for every year of age, which reflects that resting burn tends to fall over time. At 35 that is 175 calories. Without the age term this 35-year-old woman would burn 1535 calories at rest, or 2111 a day at the lightly active level.
How accurate is a calorie estimate?
It is a starting estimate. Track your weight over two or three weeks and adjust the target up or down based on what actually happens. For this 35-year-old woman, a 5 percent error on 1871 calories is 94 calories a day.
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is what your body burns at rest. TDEE adds the calories you use moving and exercising. It is always higher. For this woman aged 35 at 150 lb, BMR is 1360 calories and TDEE at the lightly active level is 1871.
Which activity level should I pick?
Pick the one that matches a typical week, not your best week. If you sit most of the day and train a few times, lightly or moderately active is usually closer than very active. Across the five levels this 35-year-old woman ranges from 1632 to 2585 calories a day, and the lightly active level gives 1871.