Every day, you burn calories when you move around, exercise, and go about your daily tasks. Most female adults need 1,600–2,200 calories per day, while adult males need 2,200–3,000 calories per day. However, the amount of calories you need each day is unique to your body and activity levels. Calories are important for basic bodily functions, such as breathing, circulating blood, and cell processes. Additional calories are burned from everyday movements, as well as exercise, which can vary considerably from person to person. If you’ve ever wondered how many calories you burn each day, the Mifflin-St Jeor formula can help figure this out. This formula calculates your resting metabolic rate (RMR), also known as your resting energy expenditure, which is the number of calories your body needs to function at rest.

With one more calculation, which considers your activity levels, you can work out how many calories you need each day to maintain your current weight. Eating fewer calories than this will likely result in weight loss, while eating more calories than this will likely lead to weight gain. The number of calories you should burn in a day largely depends on your personal health and fitness goals, as well as other factors like your age, sex, height, weight, and activity levels. To lose weight, you must be in a calorie deficit, meaning you’re either eating fewer calories than your body needs, burning additional calories, or a combination of both. If you’re looking to maintain your weight, you’ll want to ensure your calorie intake matches your calorie expenditure. If you want to gain weight, you need to be in a calorie surplus. This means that you’re either eating more calories than your body needs, expending fewer calories, or a combination of both. The nutrient-dense foods that are higher in calories to support gradual weight gain include whole milk, protein shakes, avocados, nuts, seeds, and their oils, rice and other whole grains, salmon and other oily fish, and meal replacement drinks as a snack. APA