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Daily calorie calculator

Calculate how many calories you need per day to maintain, lose or gain weight, based on your sex, age, weight and activity level.

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Maintain weight (kcal/day)

1884

Lose weight (~0.5 kg/week): 1384 kcal/day

Gain weight (~0.5 kg/week): 2384 kcal/day

This calculator is for informational and educational purposes only; it does not provide medical or nutritional advice and does not replace assessment by a healthcare professional.

Calculate how many calories you need per day to maintain your weight, lose it or gain it, based on your sex, age, weight, height and activity level.

First it calculates your basal metabolic rate (BMR) — the calories your body burns at rest — using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation: for men, 10×weight(kg) + 6.25×height(cm) − 5×age + 5; for women, 10×weight(kg) + 6.25×height(cm) − 5×age − 161. It then multiplies that BMR by a factor based on your activity level to get daily maintenance calories, and from there subtracts or adds 500 kcal/day to estimate a weight loss or gain pace of roughly 0.5 kg per week.

Use cases

  • Setting a daily calorie target before starting a weight-loss or weight-gain plan.
  • Checking how many calories are needed just to maintain your current weight.
  • Adjusting calorie intake when your activity level changes.

How it works

  1. 1

    Enter sex, age, weight and height

    Fill in your basic personal details.

  2. 2

    Choose your activity level

    Pick sedentary, light, moderate, active or very active, based on how much exercise you get each week.

  3. 3

    Check your three calorie targets

    You'll see daily calories to maintain, lose (~0.5 kg/week) or gain (~0.5 kg/week) weight.

Technical details

Uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation for basal metabolic rate — the formula nutrition professionals currently consider more accurate than the older Harris-Benedict equation — multiplied by the matching activity factor to get total daily calorie needs.

Frequently asked questions

Why add or subtract 500 kcal to lose or gain weight?

A daily deficit or surplus of about 500 kcal works out to roughly 3,500 kcal a week, the figure traditionally associated with a weight change of about 0.5 kg per week. It's a general estimate, not an exact value for every person.

Which activity level should I pick if I don't do structured exercise?

If your day involves little movement (desk job, little or no exercise), choose sedentary. Reserve the higher levels for when you train or play sport several days a week on a regular basis.

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