Calorie needs at age 48, male
Enter your age, size and activity to see how many calories you use each day. The example below is a man aged 48 who is 5 ft 10 in tall and weighs 178 lb.
How it works
Daily calories equal resting calories times an activity factor. Resting calories come from Mifflin-St Jeor: 10 times kilograms plus 6.25 times centimeters minus 5 times age, with 5 added for males or 161 taken off for females. The factor runs from 1.2 to 1.9. At 178 lb the weight term for this 48-year-old man is 807.4, at the lightly active level.
Worked example
Take a man aged 48 who is 5 ft 10 in tall and weighs 178 lb. In metric that is 177.8 cm and 80.74 kg. Multiply weight by 10: 10 × 80.74 = 807.4. Multiply height by 6.25: 6.25 × 177.8 = 1111.25. Subtract 5 × 48 = 240. Add 5. That gives 1683.65, which rounds to 1684 calories at rest. Multiply 1683.65 by 1.375 for the lightly active level to get 2315, which rounds to 2315 calories a day.
Maintenance calories at every activity level for the same man aged 48 at 5 ft 10 in and 178 lb, with the lightly active level set in the form above.
- Sedentary (little or no exercise)
- 2020 calories a day
- Lightly active (light exercise 1 to 3 days a week)
- 2315 calories a day
- Moderately active (moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week)
- 2610 calories a day
- Very active (hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week)
- 2904 calories a day
- Extra active (very hard exercise and a physical job)
- 3199 calories a day
Common questions
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 1815 calories a day for this 48-year-old man at the lightly active level.
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 2565 calories a day for this 48-year-old man at the lightly active level.
Why does age 48 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 48 that is 240 calories. Without the age term this 48-year-old man would burn 1924 calories at rest, or 2645 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 48-year-old man, a 5 percent error on 2315 calories is 116 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 man aged 48 at 178 lb, BMR is 1684 calories and TDEE at the lightly active level is 2315.