Calorie Calculator: How Many Calories Should I Eat a Day?
Enter your details to see how many calories you burn a day and how many to eat for your goal.
Your results
Your target was raised to a safe minimum. Losing weight faster than this is not recommended without medical supervision.
Get a meal plan for these numbers in RecipeMeHow the calculation works
Calories at rest (BMR) use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the formula most dietitians use: 10 × weight in kg + 6.25 × height in cm − 5 × age, plus 5 for men or minus 161 for women.
Maintenance calories are BMR multiplied by your activity level (1.2 to 1.9). To lose weight the target is 500 kcal below maintenance, which usually means about 0.5 kg a week; to build muscle it is 300 kcal above.
Protein is set per kg of body weight (1.6 g to maintain, 1.8 g to lose weight, 2.0 g to build muscle), fat is 30% of calories and carbs fill the rest.
These are estimates for healthy adults. If you are pregnant, under 18 or have a medical condition, ask a doctor or registered dietitian.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories should I eat a day?
Most adults need about 1,600–3,000 kcal a day depending on sex, age, size and activity. Use the calculator above for a personal estimate, then adjust after 2–3 weeks based on your weight trend.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
A deficit of about 500 kcal below your maintenance calories leads to roughly 0.5 kg (1 lb) of weight loss a week for most people.
How accurate is this calorie calculator?
The Mifflin-St Jeor formula is within about 10% for most people. Treat the result as a starting point and adjust it based on how your weight changes.