Calorie calculator
Daily calories to maintain your weight, lose it or gain it.
Calories to maintain your weight
2,220 kcal
Per day · BMR 1,620 kcal
Daily calories for your goal
- Lose 1 kg a weekBelow the usual safe minimum; only with medical advice1,120 kcal
- Lose 0.5 kg a week1,670 kcal
- Lose 0.25 kg a week1,950 kcal
- Maintain weight2,220 kcal
- Gain 0.25 kg a week2,500 kcal
- Gain 0.5 kg a week2,770 kcal
- Basal metabolic rate (BMR)
- 1,620 kcal
- Activity factor
- × 1.375
Uses the Mifflin–St Jeor equation, the most accurate of the common formulas for most adults, and assumes about 7,700 kcal per kg of body fat. Bodies vary by 10% or more; track your weight for a few weeks and adjust. Not for pregnancy, children or medical conditions.
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How to calculate your daily calories
- 1
Enter your sex, age, height and weight.
- 2
Choose your activity level honestly.
- 3
Read your maintenance calories.
- 4
Pick a target to lose or gain weight at a steady pace.
How many calories you need
Your body burns energy just to keep you alive: breathing, circulation, keeping warm. That’s your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Daily activity adds to it. The calculator estimates both from your sex, age, height, weight and activity level, then shows the calories to maintain your weight and targets to lose or gain it at a steady pace.
A daily calorie calculator, TDEE calculator and BMR calculator: calories to lose weight, maintain or gain.
How it’s worked out
- BMR with the Mifflin–St Jeor equation: 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age, plus 5 for men or minus 161 for women.
- Maintenance calories = BMR × an activity factor: 1.2 for a desk job with little exercise, up to 1.9 for heavy daily training.
- Goals add or subtract calories using about 7,700 kcal per kg of body fat.
For a 30-year-old man of 70 kg and 175 cm, BMR is about 1,650 kcal. With light exercise (× 1.375), maintenance is about 2,270 kcal a day. To lose 0.5 kg a week he’d aim for about 1,720.
Choosing your activity level
Most people overestimate. If you sit for most of the day and walk a little, choose sedentary even if you go to the gym twice a week; choose light if you exercise on most days. A physical job such as construction or farm work counts as very active.
Losing weight sensibly
- Aim for 0.25–0.5 kg a week. Faster loss is harder to keep up and costs more muscle.
- Don’t go below about 1,200 kcal (women) or 1,500 kcal (men) without medical supervision; the calculator flags targets below these.
- Weigh yourself at the same time each week and adjust by 100–200 kcal if the scale doesn’t move after three or four weeks. Everyone’s metabolism differs a little.
- Protein, vegetables and enough sleep make a calorie target much easier to stick to.
Check where you stand with the BMI calculator, and plan exercise with the running calculator. This page gives general information, not medical advice; it isn’t designed for pregnancy, children or medical conditions.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories do I need a day?
It depends on your size, age and activity. A 30-year-old man of 70 kg and 175 cm who exercises lightly needs about 2,270 kcal to maintain his weight; a 30-year-old woman of 60 kg and 160 cm, about 1,770.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
Eating about 550 kcal a day less than maintenance loses roughly 0.5 kg a week, since a kilogram of body fat holds about 7,700 kcal. Losing 0.25–0.5 kg a week is easier to keep up and keeps more muscle.
What is BMR?
Basal metabolic rate: the energy your body uses at complete rest. Your daily need is BMR times an activity factor, from 1.2 for a desk job to 1.9 for heavy daily training.
Why does the calculator warn about low targets?
Below about 1,200 kcal for women or 1,500 for men it’s hard to get enough nutrients, so very low diets should only be followed with medical supervision.