Calculate exactly how many calories you should eat per day to lose weight, maintain, or gain muscle. Get personalised macro targets (protein, carbs, fat), a daily meal calorie split, and an estimated weekly progress rate. Supports metric (kg/cm) and US (lbs/ft/in) units.
Calorie Intake Calculator is part of the Nutrition & Diet collection. If you want a broader view of similar workflows, open the Nutrition & Diet category page or browse all QuickTools categories.
Common next steps after this tool include Protein Intake Calculator, Carb Intake Calculator and Fat Intake Calculator.
The calculator uses a three-step process: estimating your resting energy needs (BMR), adjusting for how active you are (TDEE), and then applying a calorie deficit or surplus based on your goal and rate.
BMR is the number of calories your body needs at complete rest to maintain basic life functions — breathing, circulation, cell repair. The calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the most accurate formula for the general population:
| Gender | Formula |
|---|---|
| Male | BMR = (10 × weight kg) + (6.25 × height cm) − (5 × age) + 5 |
| Female | BMR = (10 × weight kg) + (6.25 × height cm) − (5 × age) − 161 |
TDEE is your BMR multiplied by an activity factor that accounts for movement throughout the day:
| Activity Level | Description | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | Desk job, little or no exercise | × 1.200 |
| Lightly Active | Light exercise 1–3 days/week | × 1.375 |
| Moderately Active | Moderate exercise 3–5 days/week | × 1.550 |
| Very Active | Hard exercise 6–7 days/week | × 1.725 |
| Extra Active | Physical job + hard exercise or 2× daily training | × 1.900 |
A calorie surplus or deficit is added to your TDEE based on your goal and weekly rate of change. Because 1 kg of body fat stores approximately 7,700 kcal, a daily deficit/surplus of 550 kcal leads to roughly 0.5 kg change per week:
| Goal | Slow | Moderate | Fast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lose Weight | −275 kcal/day (~0.25 kg/wk) | −550 kcal/day (~0.5 kg/wk) | −1100 kcal/day (~1 kg/wk) |
| Maintain Weight | 0 kcal/day adjustment — eat at TDEE | ||
| Gain Muscle | +275 kcal/day (~0.25 kg/wk) | +550 kcal/day (~0.5 kg/wk) | +1100 kcal/day (~1 kg/wk) |
A safety floor is applied: 1,500 kcal/day for males and 1,200 kcal/day for females. If your calculated target falls below this, the calculator uses the floor value and shows a warning.
Macronutrients are calculated after the daily calorie target is set:
| Macro | Method | Calories per gram |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 1.8 g × body weight (kg) | 4 kcal/g |
| Fat | 25% of total daily calories | 9 kcal/g |
| Carbs | Remainder of calories after protein + fat | 4 kcal/g |
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Generic "eat less" advice doesn't work. Everyone has a unique TDEE depending on body size and lifestyle. A personalised calorie target removes the guesswork and gives you a clear number to aim for — whether you want to lose, maintain, or build.
A moderate deficit of 500 kcal/day (0.5 kg/week) is well-tolerated and preserves muscle. Extreme deficits cause fatigue, muscle waste, and metabolic slowdown. Similarly, a controlled surplus of 250–500 kcal/day minimises fat gain during a bulk.
Hitting your calorie target with the right macro split ensures your body gets enough protein to build or preserve muscle, enough carbs to fuel activity, and enough fat for hormonal health. Total calories determine weight change; macros determine body composition.
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