Health

Calorie/Kilojoule intake

Judy Davie

By Judy Davie

**”I was wondering what an average calorie/kilojoule intake should be for me and my partner who are looking at losing weight and are both 26.”

— Natalie**

Without your current weight it’s impossible to tell you off the top of my head. If you are both quite large, with a lot of weight to lose, your kilojoule intake is higher than someone with much less to lose. Your height is another factor as is the difference in sexes. A man’s energy intake is usually greater than a woman’s.

To find out exactly how many kilojoules your body burns to maintain its current weight you need to find your basal metabolic rate (BMR). This is quite a complicated scientific calculation factoring in your age, height and weight. Free BMR calculators are available on the internet.

Once you have a figure from one of these calculators, deduct 2,000kJ or 500 calories to give you the amount of energy to consume for weight loss.

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