Daily Calorie Calculator
Find your daily calorie needs and targets for losing, maintaining, or gaining weight.
Sex
kg
cm
years
Activity level
2,056 kcal
2,556 kcal
3,056 kcal
Formula
Examples
| Input | Result |
|---|---|
| TDEE 2480, goal: maintain weight | Eat about 2480 cal/day |
| TDEE 2480, goal: lose 0.5 kg/week | Eat about 1980 cal/day (500 deficit) |
| TDEE 2480, goal: gain 0.5 kg/week | Eat about 2980 cal/day (500 surplus) |
About this calculator
A daily calorie calculator estimates how many calories you should eat each day to reach a specific goal, whether that is losing fat, maintaining your current weight or gaining muscle. It turns the abstract idea of energy balance into a concrete daily target, making it much easier to plan meals and track progress.
The calculation works in two steps. First it finds your basal metabolic rate (BMR) using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then multiplies it by an activity factor (from about 1.2 for sedentary up to 1.9 for extremely active) to get your total daily energy expenditure, or TDEE. Your TDEE is the calories needed to maintain weight. To lose weight the calculator subtracts a deficit, and to gain it adds a surplus. Because roughly 7700 calories equal one kilogram of body fat, a daily 500-calorie change shifts your weight by about 0.5 kg per week.
To use it, enter your sex, age, height, weight and activity level, then choose your goal. The tool shows your maintenance calories plus suggested targets for mild and faster loss or gain, so you can pick a pace that suits you.
Interpret the numbers as ranges, not exact prescriptions. The maintain figure is your anchor; eating consistently below it drives fat loss, while eating above it supports weight or muscle gain. A moderate deficit of 15 to 20 percent below maintenance is sustainable for most people, whereas aggressive cuts are harder to stick to and risk muscle loss.
Use the result wisely. Activity level is easy to over-estimate, so start one tier lower if unsure and adjust after watching the scale and the mirror for two to three weeks. Avoid dropping below roughly 1200 calories (women) or 1500 (men) without medical supervision, prioritise protein to protect muscle, and recalculate as your weight changes so your targets stay honest.
Frequently asked questions
A deficit of about 500 calories per day below your maintenance (TDEE) produces roughly 0.5 kg of fat loss per week, which is safe and sustainable. For faster loss some people use 750 to 1000, but larger deficits get harder to maintain and can cost muscle, so moderate is usually better.
Maintenance calories are your TDEE — the amount that keeps your weight stable because you burn exactly what you eat. Eating below maintenance leads to weight loss and eating above it leads to weight gain. It is the reference point all your goal targets are built around.
The most common reasons are under-counting calories (especially oils, drinks and snacks) and over-estimating activity level. Water retention can also mask fat loss for a week or two. Track intake honestly for two to three weeks, then lower the target by about 100 to 200 calories if the scale has not moved.
A modest surplus of about 250 to 500 calories per day above maintenance, combined with resistance training and adequate protein, supports lean muscle gain while limiting fat gain. Larger surpluses add weight faster but a greater share of it tends to be fat.
If your activity multiplier already reflects your regular exercise, you should not add those calories again, or you will erase your deficit. Only adjust for unusually large one-off sessions, and even then add back only part of the burn since fitness trackers tend to over-estimate.
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