Calorie needs at age 57, male
Daily calorie needs depend on age, sex, size and how much you move. Here is the sum for a 57-year-old man who is 5 ft 10 in and 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 57-year-old man is 807.4, at the lightly active level.
Worked example
Say a man aged 57 is 5 ft 10 in tall and weighs 178 lb. That is 177.8 cm and 80.74 kg. The weight term is 10 × 80.74 = 807.4. The height term is 6.25 × 177.8 = 1111.25. The age term is 5 × 57 = 285. Add 5. The result is 1638.65 at rest. Times 1.375 for the lightly active level is 2253.1, which rounds to 2253 calories a day.
Maintenance calories at every activity level for the same man aged 57 at 5 ft 10 in and 178 lb, with the lightly active level set in the form above.
- Sedentary (little or no exercise)
- 1966 calories a day
- Lightly active (light exercise 1 to 3 days a week)
- 2253 calories a day
- Moderately active (moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week)
- 2540 calories a day
- Very active (hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week)
- 2827 calories a day
- Extra active (very hard exercise and a physical job)
- 3113 calories a day
Common questions
Why does age 57 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 57 that is 285 calories. Without the age term this 57-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 57-year-old man, a 5 percent error on 2253 calories is 113 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 57 at 178 lb, BMR is 1639 calories and TDEE at the lightly active level is 2253.
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 57-year-old man ranges from 1966 to 3113 calories a day, and the lightly active level gives 2253.
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 1753 calories a day for this 57-year-old man at the lightly active level.