Calorie Math For Dummies

I've just encountered an interesting site, to those of you who are curious off how much you have put in when you eat everyday. It's called Cekodok, and it's a website developed by Kevin Zahari (he is this fitness and health expert dude you regularly see in Malaysia media streams). This website is somewhat tailored to Malaysian needs (you know how Malaysians love their food) because it addresses mostly food related to Malaysians! We're talking nasi lemak, rendang ayam, teh tarik and many more.

I have not explored much of this site (I think this site is very useful!) Anyway, I came across some introduction on calories, what is it about, how much do you need per day, etc2. So this is what i gathered so far. Of course, various factors play a role in determining the exact number such as gender, age, and your level of activity (are you a top of the game athlete or just a lousy couch potato). Let me introduce you guys to Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). BMR is basically the amount of energy required for you to stay alive (Don't be surprised, i copy and paste the site's exact statement, haha). Some math is involved:

Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 x wt in kg) + (5 x ht in cm) - (6.8 x age in years)

Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 x wt in kg) + (1.8 x ht in cm) - (4.7 x age in years)

Then you have the multiplier, depending on how active you are:

• Sedentary = BMR x 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
• Lightly active = BMR x 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
• Moderately active = BMR x 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
• Very active = BMR x 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
• Extra active = BMR x 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2xday training)

I'll try to put my numbers to check it out. So I'm about 55kg in weight (yes! I need to gain more weight! that is what I'm trying to do!), about 168cm tall an I just turned 26. Put in the numbers and I get 1482.7. I consider myself as lightly active (huhu), so I'll have to multiply my number with 1.375 and i got 2038.71. So everyday I need to consume roughly about 2000 calories.

Now, let's take a typical meal plan for an average Malaysian and you get this:

So now you have it! You can actually get a more accurate calorie reading by entering your meal plan yourself. So, give it a try and see where are you at.