Calorie Calculator - BMR and Daily Calorie Needs (TDEE)

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What is a Calorie Calculator?

A calorie calculator estimates how many calories your body uses in a day. That number is useful because your weight depends on the balance between the calories you eat and the calories you burn. If you eat about as many as you burn, your weight tends to stay steady. If you eat fewer, you tend to lose weight, and if you eat more, you tend to gain weight.

This tool first estimates your BMR, the calories your body needs at complete rest, and then adjusts it for how active you are to get your TDEE, your total daily energy expenditure. It then shows three goal cards so that you can see a starting point for losing, maintaining or gaining weight.

How to Use the Calorie Calculator

1. Choose your gender, Male or Female.
2. Enter your age in years.
3. Enter your height in centimetres or feet, and your weight in kilograms or pounds.
4. Choose the activity level that matches an average week for you.
5. Click Calculate.
6. Read your BMR and daily calorie needs, then look at the three goal cards and the macro breakdown.

Results are rounded to whole numbers. The tool is meant for healthy adults aged 18 and over.

What You See on the Page

Item	Meaning
BMR	The calories your body would use in a day at complete rest
Daily calorie needs (TDEE)	Your estimated total calories per day, including your activity
Weight Loss card	Your daily calorie needs minus 500 kcal
Maintain Weight card	Your daily calorie needs, the amount expected to keep your weight about the same
Weight Gain card	Your daily calorie needs plus 500 kcal
Macro breakdown	An example split of your calories into protein, carbs and fats, in grams

The Formula: Mifflin-St Jeor

The calculator estimates your BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which is widely used for adults. Weight is in kilograms, height is in centimetres and age is in years.

Men:    BMR = (10 x weight) + (6.25 x height) - (5 x age) + 5
Women:  BMR = (10 x weight) + (6.25 x height) - (5 x age) - 161

Your daily calorie needs (TDEE) are then your BMR multiplied by an activity factor:

TDEE = BMR x activity factor

Activity Levels Explained

Activity level	What it means	Factor
Sedentary	Little or no exercise, mostly sitting, for example a desk job	1.2
Lightly Active	Light exercise or sport 1 to 3 days a week	1.375
Moderately Active	Moderate exercise or sport 3 to 5 days a week	1.55
Very Active	Hard exercise or sport 6 to 7 days a week	1.725
Extra Active	Very hard exercise, a physical job, or training twice a day	1.9

If you are not sure which level fits you, choose the lower one. Many people think they are more active than they are, and picking a higher level than your real routine makes your result too high.

Calorie Calculation Examples

Example 1: Man, 30 years, 175 cm, 70 kg, Moderately Active

Step	Calculation	Result
BMR	(10 x 70) + (6.25 x 175) - (5 x 30) + 5 = 700 + 1,093.75 - 150 + 5	1,649 kcal
Daily calorie needs (TDEE)	1,648.75 x 1.55	2,556 kcal
Weight Loss card	2,556 - 500	2,056 kcal
Maintain Weight card	2,556	2,556 kcal
Weight Gain card	2,556 + 500	3,056 kcal

Example 2: Woman, 28 years, 160 cm, 60 kg, Lightly Active

Step	Calculation	Result
BMR	(10 x 60) + (6.25 x 160) - (5 x 28) - 161 = 600 + 1,000 - 140 - 161	1,299 kcal
Daily calorie needs (TDEE)	1,299 x 1.375	1,786 kcal
Weight Loss card	1,786 - 500	1,286 kcal
Maintain Weight card	1,786	1,786 kcal
Weight Gain card	1,786 + 500	2,286 kcal

These are only examples. Your own result depends on your own numbers, and any estimate can be higher or lower than what your body really uses.

Understanding the Three Goal Cards

Goal	Daily calories	What to expect (rough guide)
Weight Loss	TDEE minus 500 kcal	Weight tends to go down slowly, around 0.5 kg a week as a rough guide
Maintain Weight	TDEE	Weight tends to stay about the same
Weight Gain	TDEE plus 500 kcal	Weight tends to go up slowly, and some of it may be fat unless you also do strength training

These are general starting points. Bodies respond differently, so watch your weight over a few weeks and adjust slowly. Large cuts in calories are not a good idea without medical advice.

Macro Breakdown: Protein, Carbs and Fats

Macros are the three nutrients that supply your calories. The tool shows an example split of your daily calories, for instance 40 percent carbs, 30 percent protein and 30 percent fat, and converts it into grams. Each gram gives a different amount of energy:

Nutrient	Calories per gram
Protein	4 kcal
Carbohydrates	4 kcal
Fats	9 kcal

Example for a 2,000 kcal day with a 40 / 30 / 30 split:

Macro	Share	Calories	Grams
Carbs	40%	800 kcal	200 g
Protein	30%	600 kcal	150 g
Fats	30%	600 kcal	about 67 g

This split is an example and not a prescription. The right balance depends on your health, your food habits and your goals, and a doctor or dietitian can help you set targets that suit you.

BMR vs TDEE

Term	Stands for	What it includes
BMR	Basal Metabolic Rate	Only the energy your body uses at rest: breathing, circulation, body temperature and other basic functions
TDEE	Total Daily Energy Expenditure	BMR plus the energy for daily movement, work and exercise, and for digesting food

TDEE is the number that matters for planning your daily food intake. BMR is not a target to eat at, because it does not include any activity.

Why Your Real Needs May Differ

• Muscle mass: Muscle uses more energy than fat, and the formula does not measure your body composition.
• Genetics and hormones: Two people with the same numbers can burn different amounts.
• Activity estimate: Picking the wrong activity level is the most common reason for a result that is too high.
• Sleep and stress: Both can affect appetite and energy use.
• Health conditions and medicines: Some of them change how your body uses energy.
• Age: Calorie needs generally go down slowly with age, which the formula includes, but individual differences remain.

Tips for Using Your Result

• Treat the number as a starting point. Follow it for two to three weeks and see how your weight changes.
• Adjust slowly. Change your intake by small steps, not by large cuts.
• Choose the lower activity level if you are unsure.
• Focus on food quality as well as calories. Vegetables, fruit, pulses, whole grains and enough protein help you feel full.
• Weigh yourself in the same way each time, for example in the morning under similar conditions, and look at the trend instead of daily changes.
• Recalculate when your weight or routine changes, because your calorie needs change with them.
• Talk to a doctor or dietitian if you have a health condition, if you take regular medicines or if you plan a big change in your diet.

Who Should Be Careful With Calorie Calculators

This calculator is meant for healthy adults aged 18 and over. Please speak to a doctor or a registered dietitian before you use any calorie target if one of these applies to you:

• You are under 18.
• You are pregnant or breastfeeding.
• You have diabetes, a thyroid problem, kidney disease, heart disease or another medical condition.
• You have a history of an eating disorder, or you feel that thinking about food and weight is affecting your health or mood.
• You are an elite athlete, or you do very heavy training.

Eating far less than your body needs can be unsafe, especially for a long time. If your weight loss target looks very low to you, do not follow it without medical advice.

Common Mistakes

• Choosing too high an activity level: This makes your calorie result too high and slows your progress.
• Eating at your BMR: BMR is not a daily target, because it does not include movement.
• Cutting calories too much: Large cuts are hard to keep up and may not be safe.
• Expecting exact results: The result is an estimate, so adjust with real-life results.
• Not updating the numbers: If your weight changes a lot, calculate again.
• Mixing up units: Check that you picked kg or lbs, and cm or feet, correctly.
• Ignoring food quality: The same number of calories from different foods does not feel the same or work the same for your body.

Privacy and Accuracy

• The calculation is done in your browser, and the details you enter are not sent to our server.
• We do not save your age, height, weight or results.
• The result is an estimate based on a general formula, and your real calorie needs may be higher or lower.
• This is an estimate and not medical advice. It does not diagnose, treat or prevent any condition. Speak to a doctor or a registered dietitian for advice that fits you.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate my daily calorie needs?

Enter your gender, age, height, weight and activity level, then click Calculate. The tool first estimates your BMR, which is the energy your body uses at rest, and then multiplies it by an activity factor to estimate your daily calorie needs, also called TDEE.

What is BMR?

BMR stands for basal metabolic rate. It is the number of calories your body would burn in a day if you stayed at rest, just to keep basic functions such as breathing, circulation and body temperature going. It does not include movement or exercise.

What is TDEE?

TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure. It is your estimated total calories burned in a day, including your BMR plus the calories used for daily movement, work and exercise. Eating about your TDEE is expected to keep your weight roughly the same.

Which formula does this calculator use?

It uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which is widely used to estimate BMR in adults. For men, BMR = 10 x weight in kg + 6.25 x height in cm - 5 x age + 5. For women, the last number is minus 161 instead of plus 5.

Which activity level should I choose?

Choose the one that matches an average week. Sedentary means little or no exercise. Lightly Active is light exercise 1 to 3 days a week. Moderately Active is moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week. Very Active is hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week. Extra Active is very hard exercise or a physical job, or training twice a day. If you are unsure, pick the lower one, because people often overestimate how active they are.

How many calories should I eat to lose weight?

The Weight Loss card shows your daily calorie needs minus 500 kcal. As a rough guide, a gap of about 500 kcal a day can lead to around 0.5 kg of weight loss per week, but results vary from person to person. Do not go very low on calories without medical advice, and talk to a doctor or dietitian if you are unsure.

How many calories should I eat to gain weight?

The Weight Gain card shows your daily calorie needs plus 500 kcal. This is a general starting point, and the actual gain depends on your body, your food choices and your activity. If you want to gain muscle rather than fat, strength training and enough protein matter as well.

What is the macro breakdown?

Macros are the three main nutrients that give you calories: protein, carbohydrates and fats. The tool shows an example split of your daily calories, such as 40 percent carbs, 30 percent protein and 30 percent fat, converted into grams. Protein and carbs give 4 kcal per gram and fat gives 9 kcal per gram. The split is an example, not a prescription.

How accurate is the calorie calculator?

It gives an estimate. Real calorie needs vary with muscle mass, genetics, hormones, sleep, health conditions and how active you really are, so your actual needs can be higher or lower than the result. Use it as a starting point, watch how your weight changes over a few weeks and adjust.

Can I enter height in feet and weight in pounds?

Yes. You can enter height in centimetres or feet and weight in kilograms or pounds. The tool converts them for the calculation, using 1 foot = 30.48 cm and 1 pound = 0.4536 kg.

Who should not rely on this calculator?

The calculator is meant for healthy adults aged 18 and over. It is not suitable for children and teenagers, or for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and it may not fit people with medical conditions, a history of an eating disorder or elite athletes. If any of this applies to you, speak to a doctor or a registered dietitian.

Is my information sent to a server?

No. The calculation is done in your browser using JavaScript, and the details you enter are not sent to our server.

Is this calorie calculator free, and is it medical advice?

The tool is free and needs no signup. It gives an estimate only and is not medical advice.