Calorie Calculator
Find out how many calories you burn in a day and how many to eat to lose weight, stay where you are or build muscle.
Your result will appear here
Fill in your details and press Calculate.
How the calorie calculator works
Your daily calories are worked out in three steps, using the same formulas dietitians and most calorie calculators use.
1. Calories at rest (BMR)
Your basal metabolic rate is estimated with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the most accurate general formula for healthy adults:
- Men:
10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age + 5 - Women:
10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age − 161
2. Maintenance calories (TDEE)
BMR is multiplied by an activity factor to get the calories you burn on a normal day:
- Sedentary (little or no exercise): × 1.2
- Lightly active (1-3 days a week): × 1.375
- Moderately active (3-5 days a week): × 1.55
- Very active (6-7 days a week): × 1.725
- Extremely active (hard training or a physical job): × 1.9
3. Your goal
To lose weight the calculator subtracts 500 kcal, which works out to about 0.5 kg (1 lb) per week. To build muscle it adds 300 kcal, a lean bulk that limits fat gain. To stay in shape you eat your maintenance calories. The target never goes below 1,200 kcal for women or 1,500 kcal for men.
Example: a 30-year-old man, 180 cm and 80 kg, moderately active, has a BMR of 1,780 kcal and maintenance calories of 2,759 kcal. To lose weight he would aim for about 2,259 kcal a day.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories should I eat to lose weight? +
Eating about 500 calories below your maintenance calories leads to roughly 0.5 kg (1 lb) of weight loss per week, which is the pace most guidelines recommend. A 250 calorie deficit is gentler, and 1,000 is the upper limit for most people. Women should not go below 1,200 calories a day and men below 1,500 without medical supervision.
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE? +
BMR (basal metabolic rate) is what your body burns at complete rest just to stay alive. TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) adds everything you do on top of that: walking, working, exercise. TDEE is your maintenance calories, the amount that keeps your weight stable.
How accurate is this calorie calculator? +
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is the most accurate general formula for estimating BMR and is recommended by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Still, it is an estimate: most people land within about 10% of it. Track your weight for 2 to 3 weeks and adjust by 100 to 200 calories if it moves faster or slower than expected.
Should I eat back the calories I burn exercising? +
No. Your activity level already includes your workouts, so the result is your full daily target. Adding exercise calories on top would count them twice.
Why is there a minimum calorie limit? +
Very low calorie diets make it hard to get enough protein, vitamins and minerals, and they speed up muscle loss. That is why 1,200 calories a day for women and 1,500 for men are the usual minimums without a doctor's supervision. If your target would fall below that, the calculator raises it to the minimum.
How often should I recalculate my calories? +
Recalculate every time your weight changes by about 4 to 5 kg (10 lb), or when your activity level changes. A lighter body burns fewer calories, so the same intake gives slower results over time.
This calculator gives general estimates for healthy adults, not medical advice. It is not suitable during pregnancy or breastfeeding, for children, or if you have a medical condition or a history of eating disorders. Talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before making big changes to your diet.
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