Steve Haywood Health & Fitness

Generally speaking, BMR uses 11 calories for every 500g of a woman’s body weight and 12 calories per 500g of a man’s. For example, the BMR for a 60kg woman would be as follows: (60 x 2) x 11 =1320 kcal.

PAL levels are as follows:

• Mostly inactive or sedentary (mainly sitting): 1.2
• Fairly active (including walking and exercise once to twice a week): 1.3
• Moderately active (exercise two to three times a week): 1.4
• Active (exercise hard more than three times a week): 1.5
• Very Active (exercise hard every day): 1.7

To work out you daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by your PAL.  For example, for an active 60 kg woman = 1320 x 1.5 = 1980 kcal. That’s the number of calories that you need to burn daily to maintain your weight.