Daily Calorie Calculator
Use this daily calorie calculator to find your exact caloric needs. Whether you want to drop fat, build lean tissue, or stay at your current weight, accurate numbers keep your nutrition plan on track without guesswork.
How Many Calories Do I Burn a Day? (BMR vs TDEE)
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total number of calories you burn each day through resting metabolism, basic daily movement, food digestion, and deliberate exercise. Consuming your TDEE maintains your current weight, while eating above or below it drives muscle gain or fat loss.
Your body burns fuel in two main stages. First is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): the baseline energy needed to keep your heart pumping, lungs breathing, and brain functioning at rest. Second is your activity level: everything from typing and walking up stairs to intense resistance training. Multiplying your BMR by your physical movement score provides your daily maintenance target.
Daily Calorie Intake Calculator Based on Age, Weight, and Height
Our tool uses the peer-reviewed Mifflin-St Jeor equation, widely recognized by clinical dietitians as more accurate than older models like the original Harris-Benedict formula.
BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age in years) + 5BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age in years) - 161Once BMR is calculated, multiply by your activity coefficient: 1.2 (sedentary), 1.375 (lightly active), 1.55 (moderately active), or 1.725+ (very active).
Calorie Calculator for Weight Loss and Muscle Gain
1. Calculate Your Maintenance Baseline: Enter your age, gender, height, and weight to determine your starting BMR, then scale it by your genuine movement habits over a normal 7-day week.
2. Pick a Specific Target: For weight loss, subtract 300 to 500 calories from your TDEE to burn fat steadily without tanking your daily energy. For lean muscle gain, add a controlled surplus of 200 to 300 calories alongside progressive strength training.
3. Balance Your Macronutrients: Calorie quantity sets your weight direction, but macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat) determine body composition. Aim for 0.7 to 1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight to preserve muscle, filling remaining calories with complex carbohydrates and healthy dietary fats.
4. Track, Weigh, and Adjust: Track your morning scale weight across 2 to 3 weeks. If weight does not shift as expected, adjust your intake by 100 to 150 calories up or down to keep progress moving.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many calories should I eat a day to lose weight?
To lose 1 pound of fat per week sustainably, eat roughly 500 calories below your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). If your TDEE is 2,200 calories, your daily weight loss target is 1,700 calories.
What is a calorie deficit for weight loss?
A calorie deficit occurs when you consume fewer calories than your body burns in a day. This forces your body to break down stored body fat for energy. A standard safe deficit is between 15% and 25% below your maintenance calories.
Is 1200 calories a day enough to lose weight?
For most adults, 1,200 calories a day is too low and hard to sustain. While it produces short-term weight loss, it frequently leads to muscle loss, nutrient deficiencies, low energy, and metabolic slowdown. Only very petite, sedentary individuals should use targets near this range.
How do I calculate my daily calorie needs?
First, calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. Next, multiply your BMR by your physical activity multiplier (from 1.2 for sedentary to 1.9 for very active) to determine your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
Daily Calorie Calculator
* Calorie and macronutrient calculations follow standard Mifflin-St Jeor metabolic equations. Individual metabolic adaptation, genetics, and lean muscle mass may influence exact weight outcomes. Consult a registered dietitian (RD) or physician before adopting an aggressive caloric deficit below 1,200 kcal/day.
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