Calorie Calculator
Estimate daily calorie needs based on age, gender, height, weight and activity level using Mifflin-St Jeor, Harris-Benedict or Katch-McArdle formulas.
⚙️ Settings
Result unit:
BMR estimation formula:
🍎 Food Energy Converter
Convert between Calories and other common food energy units.
🏃 Activity Level Guide
• Exercise: 15–30 minutes of elevated heart rate activity.
• Intense exercise: 45–120 minutes of elevated heart rate activity.
• Very intense exercise: 2+ hours of elevated heart rate activity.
📖 What are Calories?
A calorie (kcal) is a unit of energy. In nutrition, it measures the energy food provides and the energy your body uses. Managing calorie intake relative to calorie expenditure is the foundation of weight management.
🔬 BMR — Basal Metabolic Rate
Your BMR is the number of calories your body needs to sustain basic life functions (breathing, circulation, cell production) at rest. It accounts for roughly 60–75% of total daily energy expenditure for most people.
- Mifflin-St Jeor — the most widely validated formula for the general population.
- Revised Harris-Benedict — a classic formula, slightly less accurate than Mifflin for most people.
- Katch-McArdle — accounts for lean body mass; best if you know your body fat percentage.
⚡ TDEE — Total Daily Energy Expenditure
Your TDEE (maintenance calories) is your BMR multiplied by an activity factor. Eat below TDEE to lose weight; eat above to gain.
⚖️ Calorie Goals
- A 500 kcal/day deficit typically produces ~0.5 kg (1 lb) of weight loss per week.
- A 500 kcal/day surplus typically produces ~0.5 kg of weight gain per week.
- Do not go below 1200 kcal/day (women) or 1500 kcal/day (men) without medical supervision.
⚠️ Limitations
- All formulas are statistical estimates — individual metabolism varies significantly.
- Calorie needs change with age, muscle mass, hormones, and health conditions.
- Tracking both calories consumed and expended improves accuracy.