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How do you recommend calculating total caloric requirements for an individual?

Laura Schoenfeld:  Here is the link to the online calculator that I use. It’s, I believe, based on the Harris-Benedict equation for calorie needs. Basically there’s a handful of different types of nutritional needs calculations that have been designed over the last 50 to 100 years, and you can use online calculators to make it easier for you so you don’t have to do all the math by hand. I usually use the ones that take into account activity levels really specifically because that can make a really big difference in somebody’s calorie needs. Someone like me, if I wasn’t active, I might be able to get by on 1,800 calories a day with no problem, or maybe 2,000 or sometimes, but if I’m as active as I am, I really need more like 2,300, 2,400, or 2,500 calories a day to maintain my weight and to not cause problems. The exercise piece is a really important part of how much somebody should be eating, and like I said, I’ll put a link on the Facebook page to that.

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