Maryland Heart Center

About the Heart

UMMC's Heart and Heart Surgery Program ranked as one of the nation's 50 best by U.S. News & World Report's 2010 "Best Hospitals" survey.

How Many Calories and Fat Grams Do You Need?

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Center for Preventive Cardiology

Assess your activity level, first

This formula will help you to calculate the number of calories and percentage of fat grams you need each day at your current weight if you are relatively inactive to moderately active.

moderately active person = a working person who doesn't do a great deal of exercise
relatively inactive person = a person with a sedentary lifestyle
if you're more than moderately active, calorie needs may have to be adjusted so that you don't lose weight

To maintain your current weight, follow this formula

To determine the number of calories and fat grams you need to consume each day in order to lose or gain weight, consult your doctor or a registered dietitian.

Write your body weight in the equation that fits your activity level and gender. Then, multiply.
1. Moderately active male:
  _____ pounds x 15 calories = _____ total calories per day.
2. Moderately active female:
  ____ pounds x 12 calories = _____ total calories per day.
3. Relatively inactive male:
  ____ pounds x 13 calories = _____ total calories per day.
4. Relatively inactive female:
  ____ pounds x 10 calories = _____ total calories per day.
Take total calories and multiply by 30 percent.
____ calories per day x .30 = ____ calories from fat per day.
Take calories from fat per day and divide by 9 (there are 9 calories per gram of fat):
____ calories from fat per day divided by 9 =____ fat grams per day.

Remember, saturated fats should account for only 10 percent of the total fat grams consumed.

Please call if you would like to make an appointment or talk to someone about our services. Patients dial 1-866-408-6885, physicians dial 410-328-6622 or 1-800-318-1019.