Calorie needs at age 47, female
TDEE is the number of calories you burn in a day. This page works it out for a 47-year-old woman at 5 ft 4 in and 150 lb, then shows how it changes with activity.
How it works
The page works in two steps. Step one is resting calories with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation: 10 times kilograms plus 6.25 times centimeters minus 5 times age, plus 5 for males or minus 161 for females. Step two multiplies by an activity factor between 1.2 and 1.9. For a woman aged 47 at the lightly active level the fixed adjustment is minus 161.
Worked example
Convert first: 5 ft 4 in is 162.56 cm and 150 lb is 68.04 kg. Then 10 × 68.04 = 680.4 and 6.25 × 162.56 = 1016. Age 47 takes off 5 × 47 = 235. Subtract 161. Resting calories are 1300.4, which rounds to 1300. The lightly active factor is 1.375. 1300.4 × 1.375 = 1788.1, or 1788 calories a day.
Maintenance calories at every activity level for the same woman aged 47 at 5 ft 4 in and 150 lb, with the lightly active level set in the form above.
- Sedentary (little or no exercise)
- 1560 calories a day
- Lightly active (light exercise 1 to 3 days a week)
- 1788 calories a day
- Moderately active (moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week)
- 2016 calories a day
- Very active (hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week)
- 2243 calories a day
- Extra active (very hard exercise and a physical job)
- 2471 calories a day
Common questions
Why does age 47 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 47 that is 235 calories. Without the age term this 47-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 47-year-old woman, a 5 percent error on 1788 calories is 89 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 47 at 150 lb, BMR is 1300 calories and TDEE at the lightly active level is 1788.
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 47-year-old woman ranges from 1560 to 2471 calories a day, and the lightly active level gives 1788.
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 1288 calories a day for this 47-year-old woman at the lightly active level.