Calorie Calculator
How Many Calories Should You Eat a Day?
Your daily calorie needs depend on your age, gender, height, weight and activity level. This calorie calculator estimates your maintenance calories - the number that keeps your weight steady - and shows the targets to lose or gain weight.
Consider the default profile: a 30-year-old man at 175 cm and 70 kg who trains three to five days a week. Mifflin-St Jeor puts his BMR at about 1,649 calories, and the moderate activity multiplier of 1.55 lifts maintenance to roughly 2,556. Choosing the lose-weight goal sets his target near 2,056 calories a day, a pace of about 0.5 kg per week; the gain goal moves him to about 3,056. A woman of 30, 165 cm and 60 kg with light activity lands much lower - maintenance around 1,815 - which shows why copying someone else's calorie numbers rarely works.
Fill in six fields and you have your answer: age, gender, height, weight, activity level and goal. The activity options describe how often you train, from sedentary up to very active, and the goal selector offers lose, maintain or gain. The calculator estimates BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, multiplies by an activity factor to reach TDEE, then applies the goal adjustment - 500 calories subtracted for loss or added for gain. You get three numbers back: your daily target, your maintenance calories, and your BMR as the floor you should not crash below for long stretches.
This estimate serves people starting a first structured diet, athletes resetting after a season off, and anyone who has been eating intuitively without results. It is deliberately generic: it does not know your muscle mass, your job, your NEAT, or medical conditions such as thyroid disorders that shift energy needs. The 500-calorie adjustment is a blunt rule tied to roughly half a kilogram weekly, and formulas can miss true needs by 10% or more. Use the output as an experiment with a two-to-three-week test window, track the trend, and adjust by 100-200 calories if the scale disagrees with the math.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
Eat roughly 500 calories below your maintenance level to lose about 0.5 kg (1 lb) per week. A smaller deficit of 250 calories gives slower but often more sustainable loss, and you should avoid going below your BMR for extended periods.
How many calories does the average person need?
The typical adult range is about 2,000-2,500 calories per day, but it varies widely with body size and activity. An active 90 kg man may need over 3,000, while a sedentary small-framed woman may need closer to 1,600. Your personal number depends on your inputs here.
Why am I not losing weight at my calculated calories?
Estimates can be off by 10-20%, food labels are imprecise, and people often underestimate portions. If you are stuck after 2-3 weeks, reduce intake by another 100-200 calories or increase your activity, and track food more carefully.
How often should I update my calorie target?
Recalculate after every 2-3 kilograms of weight change or a major shift in activity. A lighter body burns less, so the target that produced steady loss at 80 kg may simply maintain weight at 76 kg. A monthly review keeps the deficit honest.
Is it safe to eat 1,200 calories a day?
For most adults, 1,200 calories is below recommended minimums and makes it hard to cover protein, vitamin and mineral needs. Very low intakes should happen only under medical supervision. Most people lose weight more sustainably by eating 300-500 calories below a correctly estimated maintenance level.
Do calories matter more than macros?
For weight change, yes - energy balance decides whether the scale moves. Macros then shape how you feel and what you lose: adequate protein protects muscle, and enough fat supports hormones. Get calories right first, then set protein near 1.6 g per kg of body weight and divide the rest as you prefer.