Calorie Calculator
Free daily calorie & TDEE calculator — find your calorie targets
Enter your age, sex, height, weight and how active you are, and this estimates the calories your body uses in a day — both at complete rest and once daily activity is added in. From that it suggests targets for holding your weight steady, losing weight at a sensible pace, or gaining, so you have a number to aim at rather than a guess.
Your Details
Your Calorie Targets
Macro Targets at Maintenance
Protein 30% · Carbs 40% · Fat 30%
BMR, TDEE and why the numbers are a starting point
Two figures do the work here. Your Basal Metabolic Rate is roughly what you'd burn lying in bed all day keeping your heart, brain and organs running — usually the largest single part of your daily total. Multiply that by an activity factor and you get your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, the calories you actually use once walking, working and exercising are counted in.
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation used here is the one dietitians tend to reach for, but every such formula is built from population averages, so your own metabolism can sit a few hundred calories either side. The sensible way to use the result is as a starting figure: eat to it for a fortnight, watch what the scales actually do, and adjust from there rather than trusting the number blindly.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is TDEE and why does it matter? ▼
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total number of calories your body burns each day including exercise and daily movement. Eating at your TDEE maintains your weight; eating below it causes fat loss; eating above it causes weight gain.
What is the Mifflin-St Jeor equation? ▼
It's the formula used to estimate Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) — the calories you'd burn at complete rest. For men: BMR = (10 × kg) + (6.25 × cm) − (5 × age) + 5. For women: same formula minus 161. It's considered the most accurate of the common BMR formulas.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight? ▼
A deficit of 500 calories per day below your TDEE produces approximately 0.5 kg (1 lb) of fat loss per week, which is a safe and sustainable rate. The calculator shows both a moderate deficit (−250 cal) and a standard deficit (−500 cal) target.
What activity level should I choose? ▼
Choose "Sedentary" if you have a desk job and do little exercise. "Lightly Active" suits 1–3 days of light exercise per week. "Moderately Active" suits 3–5 days of moderate exercise. "Very Active" suits hard exercise 6–7 days a week, and "Extra Active" suits physical jobs or twice-daily training.
What are macros and how are they calculated? ▼
Macronutrients (macros) are protein, carbohydrates, and fat. A standard balanced split is 30% protein, 40% carbs, 30% fat of total calories. The calculator shows recommended daily grams of each macro at your maintenance calorie level.
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