Calorie Calculator
Welcome to 310 Nutrition’s Calorie Calculator! This calculator helps you pinpoint the exact number of daily calories you might need to consume each day to help you reach your weight loss goals.
Enter your details above to get started! Then continue reading for further guidance on how our calorie calculator works as well as the resources you need to start your healthy weight loss journey with confidence.
How the 310 Calorie Calculator Can Help You
Congratulations on taking the first step to healthy weight loss by getting your 310 Calorie Calculator results! While there are so many different approaches to weight loss, one of the easiest and most effective places to start is understanding your daily caloric intake. This is because, at its most basic, weight loss occurs when there are fewer calories consumed than used throughout the day.
When you know your recommended daily caloric intake you can:
- Take control over your diet
- Raise awareness of your current caloric intake (and adjust accordingly)
- Stop overestimating or underestimating your calorie needs
- Set tangible calorie and weight loss goals (and better map out a path towards success!)
- Gain more awareness of how many calories are in certain foods
- Plan your weekly meals accordingly
- Experience enhanced health and vitality
How the Calorie Calculator Works
1) Enter Your Details
By entering your gender, age, weight, and height, the calculator can determine something called your basal metabolic rate (BMR). This is the number of calories your body needs to perform basic life functions like breathing circulation, protein synthesis, and cell production. These are the calories you burn without doing anything physical.
The calculator uses the Mifflin-St. Jeor Formula to find your BMR, since it’s considered the most accurate formula:
Gender:
Whether you’re a male or a female determines your unique body composition, with different caloric needs and requirements. In general, men tend to need more calories than women to maintain their body weight.
Age:
As you age, especially after age 30, your muscle mass declines and your BMR decreases. This is why your caloric goal will vary based on your age.
Height & Weight:
These two personalized details also factor into figuring out your unique body composition and calorie needs.
2) Add Activity Level
Just as important as your primary personal details are the amount of energy you expend when you are active. The calorie calculator uses your BMR combined with your physical activity level (PAL), to find your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). This is how many calories you typically burn in 24 hours. Using this, we determine how many calories you need to eat daily to meet your energy needs.
Here is some information to help you determine what category of physical activity you fall into. Having trouble deciding? It’s always better to underestimate.
- Sedentary: In this category, there is very little physical movement in your day-to-day life. You don’t exercise regularly, and you spend a lot of time sitting, often at a desk job. Note that if this describes you, we highly recommend you aim to increase the amount of movement in your life (if you can!). This can greatly improve your health along with your weight loss results.
- Light Exercise (1-2 Days Per Week): In this category, you have some light activity in your day, such as walking, light yoga, or stretching for 20-30 minutes. You get up from your desk frequently to move around and do chores at home that require movement.
- Moderate Exercise (3-5 Days Per Week): In this category, you value a recommended weekly exercise schedule of 3-5 days per week, doing moderate activities such as brisk walking, running, biking, or strength training for 30-60 minutes. You may also have a day job that requires more physical movement than a desk job, and get up as often as possible. You tend to take the stairs instead of the elevator as well as other things that require you to be more active.
- Heavy Exercise (6-7 Days Per Week): In this category, you go above and beyond the average person’s weekly physical activity. You either have a very active and physically intense day job (such as construction, industrial work, or fitness training), or you fit a ton of extracurricular activity into your week, doing at least something every day. You push your body to the limit and you’re always looking to hit new fitness milestones!
3) Get Your Results
Based on the personal details you entered, including your BMR and activity level, you’ll get an estimated daily calorie recommendation for various levels of weight loss:
- Maintain Weight: Calories needed to maintain your current weight.
- Minor Weight Loss: Calories needed to lose 0.5 lb per week.
- Moderate Weight Loss: Calories needed to lose 1 lb per week.
- Maximum Weight Loss*: Calories needed to lose 2 lb per week.
These are the estimated number of calories that we recommend you consume each day to be successful based on your weight loss goals. For weight maintenance, your caloric intake should follow that first “Maintain Weight” number. For weight gain, your caloric intake should be above the weight maintenance number.
Once you have these results you can work towards creating a calorie deficit. A calorie deficit is when the number of calories you consume is smaller than the number of calories you burn. Over time, this calorie deficit could lead to weight loss. You can create a calorie deficit by reducing your daily calorie intake to our recommended results or increasing your activity levels (or ideally both!).
*It is not advisable to try and lose more than 2 pounds per week or to even start your weight loss goals with this maximum weight loss number. This can result in negative health effects as listed below. Always consult your doctor or a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) before beginning any weight loss plan.
What Happens If You Try and Cut Too Many Calories From Your Diet?
Your body needs a certain amount of food to function properly. Not getting enough calories in your diet can have some pretty serious health consequences:
- You won’t get all the nutrients that your body needs. This is going to impact everything from your brain to your bone mass to your metabolism.
- You will experience low energy levels which can impact your mood leaving you feeling angry, frustrated, and tired.
- You increase your risk of several health concerns such as constipation, developing gallstones, and dehydration.
- Your immune system will be out of whack resulting in a lot more sick days.
- Although you’ll feel more tired you’ll have a harder time falling asleep and staying asleep.
- Your body will start feeding on your muscle mass for energy resulting in a lower BMR or resting metabolism. This makes long-term weight loss more difficult because your body isn’t burning as much energy.
This is why it’s important that you use your calorie calculator results to work towards a healthy weight loss plan. Make sure the goals you are setting for yourself are realistic for your body, needs, and lifestyle. What works for someone else might not work for you!
Always check in with your doctor or a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) before beginning any diet plan. And if you are experiencing any of the above symptoms, stop your diet and check in with your doctor right away.
How to Use Your Calorie Calculator Results for Healthy Weight Loss
Step 1: Outline Your Healthy Weight Loss Goals
Before you start putting any plan in place it’s important to first start by outlining what exactly you want to achieve. 310 Nutritionist, Sierra Rodriguez, recommends identifying your “why”. Why do you want to become healthier? Why do you want to lose weight? It’s helpful to look at your values at this point and envision the new and improved person you hope to become.
Once you know your goals, make sure you write them down! You need to get clarity on what exactly you want to do, and then map it out with clear steps, so you can track your progress along the way. Plus, research shows that simply writing down your goals can make a big difference in reaching your results.
Need some help identifying your goals? Check out these articles on getting a healthy start to weight loss:
Step 2: Make Changes to Your Diet
Once you have your calorie calculator results and your outlined goals for healthy weight loss it’s time to make some changes to your diet to achieve your calorie deficit.
And believe it or not but the key to weight loss is not eating less, but about swapping in nutrient-rich items that work towards instead of against your weight loss goals. For example, there’s a difference between a high-calorie avocado and a high-calorie piece of cake. One offers empty calories while the other is packed with nutrients and keeps you feeling full for longer.
Making healthier food choices helps ensure that your body is in the best state for optimal digestion, peak mental and physical energy, and simply running the way it should be… so you can lose weight! Here are key things to keep in mind:
Major macronutrients you need:
- Complex carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, whole grains)
- Healthy fats (nutritious oils, avocados, olives, nuts/seeds, nut butter)
- Quality protein (chicken, turkey, lean beef, seafood, eggs, full-fat unsweetened dairy)
Foods to avoid:
- Sugar (especially sugar-sweetened beverages!)
- Highly-processed foods
- Refined grains
- Artificial sweeteners
- Processed meats
Healthiest ways to cut calories from your diet:
- Add more fiber-rich and protein-heavy foods into your diet: This keeps you feeling full for longer so you’re less likely to overeat!
- Swap out your sugar-sweetened beverages: It’s easy to drink up too many empty calories with sodas, fruit concentrates, and high-sugar protein shakes. Instead, opt for water or low-calorie alternatives like 310.
- Watch your portion sizes: It’s pretty easy to overeat with today’s extra-large food portions (especially at restaurants!). Get familiar with the right portion sizes of the foods you eat every day or use a food scale to help you know for sure!
- Stock your fridge with healthy alternatives: It’s tempting to fall back on bad diet habits when your pantry is stocked with the foods you know you shouldn’t be eating. It might be time for a grocery store refresh!
Check out these articles for more of a breakdown on the right foods for your weight loss goals:
Step 3: Track Your Calories
As you start making changes to your diet it’s helpful to track your caloric intake to make sure you are staying on target with your daily calorie recommendations. There are several ways to do this:
- Use a calorie-counting app
- Count calories manually using the back label of food products
- Use a food scale
- Keep a food journal
Keep in mind that to achieve healthy weight loss, this doesn’t always have to involve counting calories! Sometimes it’s helpful to have a target calorie number in mind to get a better sense of what your body needs, and then use intuitive eating, a planned eating schedule, or an understanding of portion sizes to guide your weight loss goals.
There are also several low-calorie diets that you can follow to help guide your calorie intake including:
- Paleo diet
- Keto diet
- Vegan diet
- Atkins diet
- Intermittent fasting
Step 4: Start an Exercise Routine
Your diet is an important piece of the weight loss puzzle. But you’re only going to get so far in reaching your weight loss goals if you don’t factor in your activity level or exercise.
You might have noticed on our calorie calculator that the higher your activity level, the more calories you need to consume. This is because the more active you are, the more calories your body will burn throughout the day. The higher your recommended daily calorie intake, the easier it will be to reach a calorie deficit.
To give you a sense of exactly how many calories you can burn through 30-minutes of exercise, here are the total calories lost for people of three different weights:
|
Activity |
125-pound person |
155-pound person |
185-pound person |
|
Weight lifting |
90 |
108 |
126 |
|
Yoga |
120 |
144 |
168 |
|
Dancing |
90 |
108 |
125 |
|
Golf |
105 |
126 |
147 |
|
Tai Chi |
120 |
144 |
168 |
|
Walking: 3.5 mph (17 min/mi) |
107 |
133 |
159 |
|
Kayaking |
150 |
180 |
210 |
|
Hiking |
170 |
216 |
252 |
|
Skiing |
180 |
216 |
252 |
|
Swimming: laps, vigorous |
300 |
360 |
420 |
|
Soccer |
210 |
252 |
294 |
|
Tennis |
210 |
252 |
294 |
|
Basketball |
240 |
288 |
336 |
|
Running: 5 mph (12 min/mile) |
240 |
288 |
336 |
|
Boxing: sparring |
270 |
324 |
378 |
|
Bicycling: 14-15.9 mph |
300 |
360 |
420 |
|
Gardening |
135 |
162 |
189 |
|
Mowing lawn: push, power |
135 |
162 |
189 |
|
Shoveling snow |
180 |
216 |
252 |
*Data source: Harvard Health
You might notice that a lot of these activities don’t burn off that many calories. To give you perspective, five Oreos are about 265 calories. This is why creating a calorie deficit is a lot easier through your diet than through exercise. For most people, it’s easier to choose not to eat those 265 calories of Oreos versus running for half an hour.
But it’s not just about how many calories your run around the block burns. Exercise also helps build muscle mass in your body which increases your basal metabolic rate (BMR). If you remember from earlier, this is how many calories your body burns at rest. If your body is burning more calories at rest thanks to an increased activity level it’s going to be a lot easier to lose weight.
This is why you can’t just rely on a regular exercise routine or a healthy diet to create a calorie deficit. You need a combination of exercise and a healthy diet for weight loss.
This doesn’t mean you need to become a bodybuilder. But it does mean that 30 minutes of exercise or heart rate-raising activities per day can help make your weight loss journey (and your overall health) that much better.
For more information on the importance of an exercise routine and how to get started, check out our articles below:
Step 5: Track Your Progress and Celebrate Your Wins!
In step 1 you outlined your healthy weight loss goals. As you start (or continue) your weight loss journey make sure to set up regular checkpoints to keep track of your progress towards those goals. This will help keep you motivated and give you indications on when things are and aren’t working so you can adjust your strategy to stay on target.
Also, make sure you are celebrating your wins and practicing patience with those not-so-fun moments. Losing weight is not always easy, so taking time to appreciate the steps you’ve taken or the milestones you’ve crossed are incredibly important.
And don’t feel like you need to go through this alone! You can share those milestones and receive support through our 310 community who are ready to cheer you on and offer guidance along the way.
And as things change (such as your weight, age, or activity level) make sure to head back to the 310 Calorie Calculator to get your adjusted recommended daily calorie intake.
It’s more than just the weight you see on the scale! Learn more about The Most Important Metrics to Track for Weight Loss.
What Should You Do If You Face a Weight Loss Plateau?
A weight-loss plateau is when you stop losing weight and can’t seem to get back your momentum or continued progress, even though you are staying on track with your healthy eating habits and exercise routine.
There are several reasons why this might be happening. It could be that your body is adjusting to your diet and becoming more energy-efficient, meaning you need fewer calories to perform the same activities. This also could be a result of losing weight. The lighter you are, the fewer calories you need.
Whatever the cause, a weight loss plateau halts your weight loss progress. As frustrating as this might feel, this is actually a normal part of weight loss. In fact, not experiencing any kind of weight loss plateau while trying to lose weight would be unusual.
When you find yourself in a weight loss plateau, here are a few things you can try to get back on track:
- Try zigzag cycling (more on that below!)
- Increase or change up your exercise routine
- Drink more water
- Switch up your ratios of calories and nutrients
- Recalculate your daily recommended calorie intake using the calorie calculator to see if anything’s changed
It might also be time to check if you are at a point in your weight loss journey where slowing down is normal. This often happens as you get closer to your weight loss goal, where you just aren’t going to see as much speedy progress.
Zigzag Cycling
Zigzag cycling is when you alternate the number of calories you eat on a given day to avoid your body adapting to your eating habits. You have the same weekly calorie goal but you switch between high-calorie and low-calorie days. This is like intermittent fasting, only you aren’t fasting at any point during the week, you’re just getting strategic about your calorie allocation.
For example, let’s say your recommended daily calorie intake is 2,000 calories or 14,000 calories for the week. Three days of the week could be your low-calorie days where you eat 1,700 calories and four days of the week could be your high-calorie days where you eat 2,225 calories.
This switches up the cadence of your calorie intake, keeping your metabolism on its toes and decreasing the likelihood of a weight loss plateau. You don’t need to use zigzag cycling to get through or avoid weight loss plateaus but some people find it helpful!
How 310 Nutrition Can Help With Weight Loss
Start With Our 310 Shakes
Unlike many other shakes that contain unhealthy ingredients like sugar, artificial sweeteners, chemical additives, and more, our 310 Shakes offer simple, well-balanced nutrition from organic plant superfoods.
This means our 310 Shakes help:
- Support a healthy metabolism
- Keep you full and satisfied
- Curb cravings
- Support enhanced immunity
- Aid in your ultimate health, fitness, and weight loss goals!
For weight loss, we recommend that you replace two regular meals per day with 310 Shakes. For weight maintenance, we recommend that you replace at least one regular meal per day. Our shakes are not only a convenient way to get quality nutrition on a busy schedule (and on the go!), but they will also help you stay within your daily allotted calorie goals. Plus there are so many delicious smoothie recipes you can try!
Find the Right Weight Loss Solutions for Your Goals
Along with 310 Shakes, we also offer so many other products to help you get ahead of your weight loss goals, fully optimize your nutrition, keep your energy levels up, and regularly cleanse and hydrate your body.
To easily track your progress, metrics, and goals try:
For delicious and nutritious additions to your smoothies try:
To hydrate, cleanse, balance, energize and satisfy sugar cravings try:
For enhanced immune support try:
If you’re following a keto diet try:
Join Our 310 Community!
Ready to begin? If you have further questions, feel free to ask them in the 310 Nutrition Community, where 310 Health Coaches are always there to help. Or you can chat right now with someone on our Customer Service Team.
Also, feel free to check out our 310 Learning Center, plus the 310 Blog for articles on living your healthiest lifestyle, amazing recipes, success stories, and more. We’re excited to be on this journey to better health along with you. Welcome to the 310 family!
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