Calorie Calculator
Calculate how many calories you need per day to maintain your weight, based on sex, age, height, weight and activity level.
How to use the calorie calculator
- Choose sex and enter age, height and weight.
- Choose the activity level that best describes your everyday life.
- The calculator shows how many calories you need to maintain your weight, plus estimates for weight loss and weight gain.
How the calorie need is calculated
The calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor formula, one of the most widely used and accurate formulas for estimating resting metabolic rate (BMR):
Women: BMR = 10 × weight + 6.25 × height − 5 × age − 161
BMR tells you how many calories your body uses at complete rest. To find your actual daily calorie need (TDEE), we multiply BMR by an activity factor that reflects how much you move in daily life and through exercise.
To lose weight, you can subtract roughly 500 kcal per day for a loss of around 0.5 kg per week. To gain weight, you'd typically add 300–500 kcal per day.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is calorie burn at complete rest. TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is BMR multiplied by your activity level, giving your actual daily calorie need.
Why am I not losing weight even though I'm eating below maintenance calories?
Weight loss depends on a sustained calorie deficit over time. Fluid balance, hormonal fluctuations, and inaccurate food tracking can cause short-term deviations from the calculation.
Should I use the same activity level every day?
No, the activity level should reflect an average of your week. If your activity varies a lot, it may be more accurate to calculate a weekly average.