What is the calculation for daily calorie burn?

A lot of dietitians and nutritionists use the Harris Benedict Equation to calculate how many calories you need. (It's a little complicated, but there are a lot of calculators online that will do it for you)

This equation will give you your Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR. This value is the number of calories you need just to exist.

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

After you have calculated your BMR you can factor in your activity.

If you are mostly sedentary, and don't do much activity at all, multiply that BMR by 1.2

If you do light exercise 1-3 days per week, multiply that BMR by 1.375

IF you are moderately active (3-5 days per week) multiply by 1.5

If you are very active (5-6 days) multiply by 1.725

If you are extra active (very hard exercise, physical jobs, etc) multiply by 1.9

Most Americans probably would multiply by somewhere between 1.2-1.55. You can use any number you like to multiply by, it doesn't have to be the set numbers.

After multiplying, you have calculated the number of calories you need to consume to maintain your body weight. From here, you can add calories or subtract calories to gain or lose weight.