Health & Fitness
Daily Calorie Calculator
Estimate your daily calorie needs for maintaining, losing or gaining weight, based on your measurements and activity level.
Updated 3 Sep 2026
Your estimated maintenance intake is 2,556 calories a day. For your selected goal the target is 2,556 calories. These are population estimates. Anyone with a medical condition, or who is pregnant, should speak to a doctor or registered dietitian before changing their intake.
Enter your measurements, activity level and goal. The calculator estimates your maintenance calories and a target adjusted for your goal, with a floor to keep the recommendation within safe limits.
What is the Daily Calorie Calculator?
Your maintenance calorie level is the intake at which body weight stays roughly stable. Eating consistently below it tends to cause weight loss; above it, gain.
The relationship is not as precise as calorie arithmetic suggests. Metabolic rate adapts to intake, and the body is not a simple ledger.
How to use the Daily Calorie Calculator
- Enter weight, height, age and sex.
- Choose the activity level that honestly reflects a typical week.
- Select your goal.
Most people overestimate their activity level. If in doubt, pick the level below the one you were going to choose.
Formula
Goal adjustments:
Lose weight steadily − 500 kcal/day
Lose weight gradually − 250 kcal/day
Maintain 0
Gain gradually + 250 kcal/day
Gain steadily + 500 kcal/day
A 500-calorie daily deficit corresponds to roughly 0.5 kg of weight loss per week, based on the approximation that a kilogram of body fat stores about 7,700 calories. That approximation holds reasonably well in the short term and less well over months, as metabolic adaptation reduces the actual deficit.
How the calculation works
The calculator estimates resting metabolic rate, scales it for activity, then applies the adjustment for your chosen goal.
If a calculated target falls below widely cited clinical floors — 1,200 calories for women and 1,500 for men — the result is raised to that floor and flagged. Sustained intake below those levels risks nutrient deficiency and should only happen under medical supervision.
Worked example
A 30-year-old man, 70 kg, 175 cm, moderately active, aiming to lose weight steadily:
- BMR = 1,648.75
- Maintenance = 1,648.75 × 1.55 = 2,556 calories
- Target = 2,556 − 500 = 2,056 calories
Uses and benefits
- Get a realistic starting point rather than guessing.
- See how much activity level changes the number.
- Understand why very low targets are counterproductive.
Frequently asked questions
A deficit of 250–500 calories a day is the usual recommendation, corresponding to roughly 0.25–0.5 kg per week. Larger deficits produce faster initial loss but are harder to sustain and more likely to cost muscle alongside fat.
Because intakes below about 1,200 calories for women and 1,500 for men make it very difficult to meet nutrient requirements. Sustained intake at that level should only happen with medical supervision, so the calculator raises the target to that floor and says so.
No. Protein intake, sleep, resistance training and consistency all affect body composition independently of the calorie total. Two people eating the same number of calories can end up with very different results.
References
Based on the Mifflin-St Jeor equation with standard activity multipliers. These are population estimates and individual needs vary considerably. This is general information, not dietary advice. Anyone with a medical condition, a history of disordered eating, or who is pregnant or breastfeeding should speak to a doctor or registered dietitian before changing their intake.