Daily Calorie Calculator
Estimate the calories you burn at rest, the calories you burn in a normal day, and the intake that matches your goal.
Enter your details to see how many calories you burn a day.
- Basal metabolic rate—
- Lose about 1 lb a week—
- Maintain your weight—
- Gain about 1 lb a week—
Estimates use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. Cut no more than 500 to 1,000 calories below maintenance unless a doctor tells you otherwise.
How the estimate works
The calculator runs two steps. First it estimates your basal metabolic rate, the energy your body spends on breathing, circulation, cell repair and everything else that keeps you alive at complete rest. Then it multiplies that figure by an activity factor to reach your total daily energy expenditure, or TDEE, which is the number of calories you actually burn in a day.
The resting figure uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which researchers consider the most accurate of the simple predictive formulas for the general population. It takes your weight, height, age and sex into account, because muscle mass, body size and age all change how much energy you use.
Choosing your activity level
| Level | What it describes | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | Desk job, little or no exercise | 1.2 |
| Lightly active | Light exercise one to three days a week | 1.375 |
| Moderately active | Moderate exercise three to five days a week | 1.55 |
| Very active | Hard exercise six to seven days a week | 1.725 |
| Extra active | Physical job or training twice a day | 1.9 |
Most people overestimate this. A desk job plus three gym sessions a week is moderately active, not very active. If your weight is not moving the way the numbers predict, the activity multiplier is almost always the reason.
Turning calories into a plan
One pound of body fat stores roughly 3,500 calories. Eating 500 calories a day below your maintenance level adds up to about a pound a week, which is the pace most guidelines recommend. Eating 1,000 below maintenance produces about two pounds a week, but few people sustain it, and losing muscle becomes a real risk.
Do not eat below your resting rate
Dropping below your basal metabolic rate for long stretches is hard on your body and rarely lasts. If the calculator puts your weight-loss target under your resting figure, either raise the target or add activity rather than cutting food further. Anyone eating under 1,200 calories a day should be under medical supervision.
Calories are only half the picture
Two people can eat the same number of calories and get very different results, because protein, fiber and fat affect how full you feel and how much muscle you keep. Aim for protein at every meal, plenty of vegetables, and mostly unprocessed carbohydrates. Then use the calorie figure as the outer boundary rather than the whole strategy.