Daily calories to maintain, lose or gain weight.
How many calories you need depends on your size, age, sex and how much you move, and this calorie calculator combines all of them to estimate how many calories you burn in a day, also called your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), and how many you would eat to maintain, lose or gain weight. It uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which many dietitians use, and adjusts it for how active you are. A table shows daily targets for mild weight loss through to weight gain, with a warning if any figure falls below a safe minimum.
How to Use the Calorie Calculator
- Choose US or metric units.
- Enter your age, sex, height and weight.
- Pick the activity level that matches a normal week:
- Sedentary: little or no exercise
- Light: exercise 1–3 days a week
- Moderate: exercise 3–5 days a week
- Very active: hard exercise 6–7 days a week
- Extra active: a physical job plus training
- Read your maintenance calories, the target for losing about 1 lb (0.5 kg) a week, and the table of other goals.
How Your Calories Are Calculated
Step 1: your resting burn (BMR) with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation
- Men: 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age + 5
- Women: 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age − 161
Step 2: your daily total (TDEE)
TDEE = BMR × activity factor. The factors are 1.2, 1.375, 1.55, 1.725 and 1.9, from sedentary to extra active.
Step 3: goals. Eating about 500 calories a day below your TDEE leads to a loss of roughly 1 lb (0.45 kg) a week for many people. The table also shows 250 and 1,000 calorie changes up or down.
Calorie Examples
A 35-year-old woman, 165 cm, 68 kg, moderately active. BMR = 680 + 1,031.25 − 175 − 161 = 1,375 kcal. TDEE = 1,375 × 1.55 = 2,132 kcal a day to maintain. To lose about 0.5 kg a week: about 1,632 kcal a day.
A 42-year-old man, 180 cm, 82 kg, lightly active. BMR = 820 + 1,125 − 210 + 5 = 1,740 kcal. TDEE = 1,740 × 1.375 = 2,393 kcal a day. To lose about 1 lb a week: about 1,893 kcal a day.
Safe Minimums
Very low intakes make it hard to get enough nutrients and are hard to keep up. The calculator marks any target below 1,200 kcal a day for women or 1,500 kcal a day for men with a ⚠ sign. Diets below these levels should only be followed with a doctor’s supervision.
Getting a Better Estimate
Any formula gives an estimate. People of the same size can burn different amounts. Use the result as a starting point:
- Eat at your target for two to three weeks, and weigh yourself at the same time of day.
- If your weight is not moving the way you expected, adjust your intake by 100 to 200 calories a day.
- Recalculate after a big change in weight or activity.
Picking an activity level that is too high is the most common reason estimates are off. If you are unsure, choose the lower one.
BMR, Macros and BMI
- To see just your resting burn, compared across three formulas, use the BMR calculator.
- To split your calories into protein, carbs and fat, use the macro calculator.
- To check whether your current weight is in a healthy range, use the BMI calculator.
Calorie Questions
What is TDEE?
TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure: all the calories you burn in a day, including your resting metabolism, digestion and activity. This calculator’s maintenance figure is your estimated TDEE.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
A common approach is to eat about 500 calories below your TDEE, which the calculator shows for you. Larger cuts lead to faster loss but are harder to keep up and can cost you muscle.
Why is the Mifflin-St Jeor equation used?
Studies comparing equations have found Mifflin-St Jeor to be among the most accurate for estimating resting energy use in healthy adults, so it is widely used by dietitians.
Does this work during pregnancy or for teenagers?
No. Pregnancy, breastfeeding and growing bodies have different energy needs. Ask a doctor or a registered dietitian for advice.
How we checked this page: the formula follows the original Mifflin-St Jeor paper, the activity factors are the standard ones, and both examples were worked by hand and match the calculator.
Sources: Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, et al. “A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1990; 51(2): 241–247. Frankenfield D, et al. “Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults: a systematic review.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2005; 105(5): 775–789.
This calculator is for general information only and is not medical or nutrition advice. Speak to a doctor or a registered dietitian before making big changes to your diet.