The Harris Benedict method calculates your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) using your age as well as weight and height.

This is useful for insight as to how many calories we need to think about reducing as we get older.

In the UK we are told that the ‘average’ women needs 2000 calories per day. You however, are not average! Use this calculator to help you work out the number of calories you should consume based on:

  • your weight in kg
  • your activity levels

How many calories you need is obviously related to how active you are. For many of us it will vary on a day to day basis. A fitness tracker such as a Fitbit can be useful to see how your calories needs vary over a week. We are told that our metabolism slows when we get older if we do nothing about it.

You may also be interested in the Basal Metabolic Rate calculator here


Samantha Valand is a Pilates teacher, Yoga Instructor and Personal Trainer. Who helps women fall in love with exercising again after the menopause. You can find some inspiration over on the blog  Samatha has a free newsletter  and a fun way to sign up is through my 'Elements of Exercise | Post menopause Quiz' which help you figure out what type of fitness focus to set next using Elements of Exercise framework