Health
Calorie Calculator
Estimate your daily calorie needs based on your age, weight, height, and activity level. Adjust your goal to lose, maintain, or gain.
Guide
How to use the Calorie Calculator
The Calorie Calculator helps you make a quick estimate, compare scenarios, and understand the numbers behind the result. It is designed for fast planning, with enough context to make the answer useful instead of just a number.
- Enter current measurements as accurately as possible, using the unit system that fits you best.
- Compare the result with the displayed ranges or targets to understand the estimate in context.
- Adjust assumptions such as activity level, sex, age, or goal where the calculator supports them.
Method
How this calculator works
It estimates basal metabolic rate, applies an activity multiplier, and adjusts calories for the selected goal.
This calculator is useful for setting a starting daily calorie target for weight maintenance, loss, or gain.
Because assumptions matter, try a few values that represent optimistic, typical, and conservative cases.
Health calculators are screening and planning tools, not medical advice. They cannot replace a clinician's evaluation.
Example
Worked example
A 35-year-old woman, 5'6" (168 cm) and 150 lb (68 kg), moderately active: Mifflin-St Jeor gives a BMR of about 1,394 calories, and the 1.55 activity multiplier brings TDEE to roughly 2,160 calories a day. For steady weight loss the calculator would suggest around 1,660 a day — a 500-calorie deficit.
FAQ
Common questions
How many calories should I cut to lose a pound a week?
The traditional rule of thumb is a 500-calorie daily deficit for about one pound (0.45 kg) per week, based on roughly 3,500 calories per pound of fat. Real-world loss is somewhat slower over time as your body adapts, so treat it as a starting estimate.
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is what your body burns at complete rest; TDEE is your total daily burn including activity. This calculator estimates BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and multiplies by an activity factor (1.2 sedentary up to 1.9 very active) to get TDEE.
Why am I not losing weight at my calculated calories?
These estimates carry a ±10–15% margin, and people commonly underestimate intake and overestimate activity level. Track honestly for two to three weeks; if weight is flat, lower the target by 100–200 calories and reassess.
What information do I need for the Calorie?
You usually need sex, age, height, weight, activity level, and goal. You can change the inputs and recalculate as many times as needed.
How does the Calorie calculate the result?
It estimates basal metabolic rate, applies an activity multiplier, and adjusts calories for the selected goal.
Are the results exact?
Health calculators are screening and planning tools, not medical advice. They cannot replace a clinician's evaluation.
Related
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Sources