Calorie needs at age 66, female
TDEE is the number of calories you burn in a day. This page works it out for a 66-year-old woman at 5 ft 4 in and 150 lb, then shows how it changes with activity.
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. For a woman aged 66 at the lightly active level the fixed adjustment is minus 161.
Worked example
Say a woman aged 66 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 × 66 = 330. Subtract 161. The result is 1205.4 at rest. Times 1.375 for the lightly active level is 1657.4, which rounds to 1657 calories a day.
Maintenance calories at every activity level for the same woman aged 66 at 5 ft 4 in and 150 lb, with the lightly active level set in the form above.
- Sedentary (little or no exercise)
- 1446 calories a day
- Lightly active (light exercise 1 to 3 days a week)
- 1657 calories a day
- Moderately active (moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week)
- 1868 calories a day
- Very active (hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week)
- 2079 calories a day
- Extra active (very hard exercise and a physical job)
- 2290 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 1907 calories a day for this 66-year-old woman at the lightly active level.
Why does age 66 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 66 that is 330 calories. Without the age term this 66-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 66-year-old woman, a 5 percent error on 1657 calories is 83 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 66 at 150 lb, BMR is 1205 calories and TDEE at the lightly active level is 1657.
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 66-year-old woman ranges from 1446 to 2290 calories a day, and the lightly active level gives 1657.