How many calories should I eat?

I can't remember how many times I've been asked that question! In a culture focused on dieting and body weight, everyone seems to want to know how many calories they should eat to drop that first 20 pounds or the last five.

Until recently, almost every health professional and online interactive calorie counting page used something called the Harris-Benedict equation to estimate calorie needs. Talk about antiquated, Harris-Benedict was first published in 1919 based on an equation using height, weight, age, sex and activity level to determine calorie intake. Only 136 men and 103 women participated in the study ‑- not a large number by anyone's definition. So, it's not surprising that this method is wrong 5 to 15 percent of the time!

Even relying on a 1,200-calorie diet to lose weight is outdated. A better way to determine your optimum calorie intake is by finding your resting metabolic rate (RMR), which is simply the amount of calories our bodies burn at rest. Once you have your RMR measured, you know exactly how much food you can ‑- and should ‑- eat to lose weight, gain weight or just stay healthy.

Indirect Calorimetry
We don't estimate blood sugar, blood pressure or cholesterol levels ‑- we measure them. So, why would we not measure RMR? Actually, technology to measure calorie intake has existed for years. Unfortunately, you had to be involved in a research study at a major university to use it! Fortunately, recent advances have led to hand-held, portable devices that work just as well as the large, expensive machines used by hospitals and universities. And the cool thing is, they're showing up at health clubs, outpatient divisions of hospitals and private nutritionists' offices across the country.