Calorie Calculator

How many calories should you eat? Pick a goal and a rate, and get a daily target based on your body and how active you are.

Your details

years
kg
Sex
cm
Desk job plus training 2–4 times a week, or on your feet part of the day

Your results

Enter your age, height and weight to see your daily calorie target.

How to use it

  1. Choose your units, then enter your sex, age, height and weight.
  2. Pick your goal, for example "Lose 0.5 kg a week".
  3. Pick the activity level that matches a typical week, including your job and your training.
  4. Read your daily calorie target. The table shows targets for every other goal too.

How it's calculated

Step 1: your maintenance calories (TDEE). The same method as the TDEE Calculator: BMR from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, times a physical activity level (PAL) from the FAO/WHO/UNU report (1.40 sedentary, 1.60 lightly active, 1.85 active, 2.20 very active).

Step 2: adjust for your goal. A kilogram of body weight holds about 7,700 kcal (the “3,500 kcal per pound” rule; Hall, 2008). So:

daily change = rate per week × 7,700 ÷ 7

Losing 0.5 kg a week means about 550 kcal a day below maintenance. Gaining 0.25 kg a week means about 275 kcal a day above it. Results are rounded to the nearest 10 kcal.

Limits.

  • The 7,700 kcal rule works for the first weeks. Over months, your maintenance drops as you lose weight, so loss slows down (Hall, 2008).
  • When gaining, part of the weight is muscle, which holds less energy than fat. For a muscle-building target, use the Calorie Surplus Calculator.
  • The calculator withholds targets below 1,250 kcal/day. This is a site limit above the range NICE reserves for supervised low-energy diets. Individual energy needs vary.
  • Loss targets are also withheld if the daily deficit exceeds 1,000 kcal, the starting loss exceeds 1% of bodyweight per week, or the first week would take you below an adult BMI of 18.5. If a displayed estimate is below your estimated resting energy needs, the calculator flags it.

Sources

  1. Mifflin, M. D., St Jeor, S. T., Hill, L. A., Scott, B. J., Daugherty, S. A., & Koh, Y. O. (1990). A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 51(2), 241–247.
  2. FAO/WHO/UNU (2004). Human energy requirements: report of a Joint FAO/WHO/UNU Expert Consultation. FAO Food and Nutrition Technical Report Series 1. Table 5.3.
  3. Hall, K. D. (2008). What is the required energy deficit per unit weight loss? International Journal of Obesity, 32(3), 573–576.
  4. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (1998). Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults. NIH Publication No. 98-4083.
  5. NICE. Overweight and obesity management (NG246). Low-energy and very-low-energy diets for adults.
  6. World Health Organization (2000). Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Technical Report Series 894. Adult BMI classification.
  7. Helms, E. R., Aragon, A. A., & Fitschen, P. J. (2014). Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: nutrition and supplementation. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 11, 20.

Questions

How fast should I lose weight?

US health guidelines (NHLBI) suggest 0.5 to 1 kg (1 to 2 lb) a week. Slower is easier to keep up and helps you keep muscle, especially if you're already fairly lean.

How is this different from the TDEE Calculator?

TDEE is what you burn in a day, so it's what you eat to stay the same weight. This calculator starts from your TDEE and adds or takes away calories for your goal.

Why does the target stop working after a while?

As you lose weight, you burn fewer calories, so the same intake gives a smaller deficit. Recalculate with your new weight every few weeks, or use the Weight Loss Timeline Calculator to see how it slows down.

What if the target is below my BMR?

Then the rate is very aggressive for your size. The calculator warns you. Choose a slower rate, or talk to a doctor or dietitian before eating that little.

Updated November 9, 2026.