Calorie Calculator
How many calories you need a day — to keep your weight, lose it or gain it — and how long it will take.
At a glance
- Works out resting energy (BMR) with Mifflin–St Jeor, the revised Harris–Benedict or Katch–McArdle (from body fat), and your maintenance calories (TDEE) for five activity levels.
- Sets a daily target to lose 0.25–1 kg or gain up to 0.5 kg a week, using about 7,700 kcal per kg of body weight.
- Warns when a target drops under 1,200 kcal (women) or 1,500 kcal (men), or below your BMR.
- Splits the calories into protein, fat and carbohydrate for a balanced, high-protein or lower-carb diet, plus a fibre goal.
- Projects your weight week by week — recalculating your needs as you get lighter — and estimates the date you’ll reach your goal.
- Metric or US units; your details are remembered on this device only.
Step by step
How to work out your daily calories
- 1
Enter your details
Sex, age, height and weight.
- 2
Choose your activity
From sedentary to extra active — be honest, most people overestimate.
- 3
Pick a goal
Keep your weight, or lose or gain a set amount a week, and your goal weight.
- 4
Follow and adjust
Eat around the target for 2–3 weeks, compare with your scale, and adjust by 100–200 kcal.
Features
Everything you need, nothing you don’t
BMR and TDEE
Three formulas, five activity levels.
Calorie target
For a weekly loss or gain.
Safety checks
Flags targets that are too low.
Macros
Protein, fat, carbs and fibre.
Goal date
A realistic week-by-week curve.
kg or lb
Metric and US units.
How the calculation works
BMR is the energy your body uses at rest. The Mifflin–St Jeor formula is 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age, plus 5 for men or minus 161 for women. Multiplying BMR by an activity factor (1.2 to 1.9) gives TDEE, the calories that keep your weight steady. A 30-year-old man of 70 kg and 175 cm has a BMR of about 1,649 kcal; if he exercises 3–5 days a week, his TDEE is about 2,556 kcal. To lose 0.5 kg a week he would eat about 550 kcal less: roughly 2,006 kcal a day.
Activity levels
| Level | What it means | Factor |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | Desk job, little or no exercise | 1.2 |
| Lightly active | Light exercise 1–3 days a week | 1.375 |
| Moderately active | Exercise 3–5 days a week | 1.55 |
| Very active | Hard exercise 6–7 days a week | 1.725 |
| Extra active | Physical job, or training twice a day | 1.9 |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
Which formula is the most accurate?
Why does weight loss slow down?
How much protein do I need?
Is it safe to eat less than 1,200 calories?
Does it work during pregnancy?
Keep going
Related tools
BMI Calculator
Free BMI calculator: enter height in feet or cm and weight in kg or lb to see your BMI, WHO or Asian (Indian) category and healthy weight range.
Age Calculator
Calculate your exact age in years, months and days, the next birthday countdown and age on any date. Check exam age limits as on a cut-off date. Free.
Percentage Calculator
Free percentage calculator: X% of a number, one number as a percent of another, percentage increase or decrease, marks and discounts — with the steps.
Unit Converter
Convert length, weight, area, volume, temperature, speed, data and 8 more quantities — including guntha, bigha, tola and lakh. Type “5 ft 10 in to cm”.
Pomodoro Timer
A free Pomodoro timer for study and work: 25-minute focus sessions with breaks, tasks, a chime and notifications, and your daily focus time and streak.
EMI Calculator
Calculate your loan EMI, total interest and full repayment schedule instantly. See yearly charts, the impact of prepayments and download the schedule.
Last updated Report a problem or suggest a feature