Calorie needs at age 36, female
This page estimates total daily energy use. The sample is a woman aged 36 at 5 ft 4 in and 150 lb, and the table shows every activity level.
How it works
Your body burns calories at rest. The page estimates that with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation: 10 times weight in kilograms plus 6.25 times height in centimeters minus 5 times age, then plus 5 for males or minus 161 for females. It multiplies the result by an activity factor from 1.2 to 1.9 to get your daily total. This 36-year-old woman uses a factor of 1.375 for the lightly active level.
Worked example
Take a woman aged 36 who is 5 ft 4 in tall and weighs 150 lb. In metric that is 162.56 cm and 68.04 kg. Multiply weight by 10: 10 × 68.04 = 680.4. Multiply height by 6.25: 6.25 × 162.56 = 1016. Subtract 5 × 36 = 180. Subtract 161. That gives 1355.4, which rounds to 1355 calories at rest. Multiply 1355.4 by 1.375 for the lightly active level to get 1863.7, which rounds to 1864 calories a day.
Maintenance calories at every activity level for the same woman aged 36 at 5 ft 4 in and 150 lb, with the lightly active level set in the form above.
- Sedentary (little or no exercise)
- 1626 calories a day
- Lightly active (light exercise 1 to 3 days a week)
- 1864 calories a day
- Moderately active (moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week)
- 2101 calories a day
- Very active (hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week)
- 2338 calories a day
- Extra active (very hard exercise and a physical job)
- 2575 calories a day
Common questions
Why does age 36 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 36 that is 180 calories. Without the age term this 36-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 36-year-old woman, a 5 percent error on 1864 calories is 93 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 36 at 150 lb, BMR is 1355 calories and TDEE at the lightly active level is 1864.
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 36-year-old woman ranges from 1626 to 2575 calories a day, and the lightly active level gives 1864.
How big a calorie deficit is reasonable for weight loss?
A deficit of 500 calories a day is a common starting point and works out to roughly half a kilogram a week. Smaller deficits are slower and easier to keep up. A 500 calorie deficit here means 1364 calories a day for this 36-year-old woman at the lightly active level.