Nutrition Calculators YOUR CALORIE NEEDS Before tackling your ultimate goal--optimal nutrition--you need to figure out how many calories you burn per day. You can do that by adding up three things: (1) The calories you burn simply to stay alive. (2) The calories you burn in daily activities. (3) The calories you burn in "purposeful exercise," like running. Here's how the math works for a 140-pound woman who runs 5 miles a day: Basic existence: 140 x 10 = 1,400 calories. Daily activities: .5 x 1,400 = 700 calories. Running: 5 x 100 = 500 calories. Add the three, and you get the total calorie-burn for the day: 2,900 calories. Use the above system to quickly calculate your own daily calorie needs. Back