Calories for a lightly active routine
Activity changes daily calories more than most people expect. This page uses the lightly active level for a woman aged 30 at 5 ft 6 in and 160 lb.
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. At 160 lb the weight term for this 30-year-old woman is 725.7, at the lightly active level.
Worked example
Convert first: 5 ft 6 in is 167.64 cm and 160 lb is 72.57 kg. Then 10 × 72.57 = 725.7 and 6.25 × 167.64 = 1047.75. Age 30 takes off 5 × 30 = 150. Subtract 161. Resting calories are 1462.45, which rounds to 1462. The lightly active factor is 1.375. 1462.45 × 1.375 = 2010.9, or 2011 calories a day.
Maintenance calories at every activity level for the same woman aged 30 at 5 ft 6 in and 160 lb, with the lightly active level set in the form above.
- Sedentary (little or no exercise)
- 1755 calories a day
- Lightly active (light exercise 1 to 3 days a week)
- 2011 calories a day
- Moderately active (moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week)
- 2267 calories a day
- Very active (hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week)
- 2523 calories a day
- Extra active (very hard exercise and a physical job)
- 2779 calories a day
Common questions
Why does age 30 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 30 that is 150 calories. Without the age term this 30-year-old woman would burn 1612 calories at rest, or 2217 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 30-year-old woman, a 5 percent error on 2011 calories is 101 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 30 at 160 lb, BMR is 1462 calories and TDEE at the lightly active level is 2011.
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 30-year-old woman ranges from 1755 to 2779 calories a day, and the lightly active level gives 2011.
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 1511 calories a day for this 30-year-old woman at the lightly active level.