Calorie calculator for your daily needs

Calorie calculator

Start here

Enter your age, sex, height, weight and activity level below. The result is your estimated maintenance calories. Everything else on this page builds on that one number.

Write the number down before you scroll. You will use it three times: to set a goal, to pick a macro preset and to check your progress two weeks from now.

How to read your calorie calculator results

What the number means

The number you see is your estimated maintenance calories, roughly what your body burns in a day given your stats and activity level. This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. A systematic review in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found it estimated resting metabolic rate within 10% of the measured value in more people than any other common equation, though errors were larger in some groups, including older adults. It isn't perfect, but it is a solid starting point.

It isn't perfect, but it is a solid starting point.

Tina Sassine, RD, MPH

If your goal is weight loss, you will eat below maintenance. A deficit of 250 to 500 calories a day is sustainable for most people. By the old 3,500-calories-per-pound rule, that works out to about 0.5 to 1 pound a week. Smaller deficits are easier to stick with and help preserve muscle, which matters most if you are also strength training. For what to eat during a deficit, our complete guide to the best foods for weight loss covers the food choices that keep you full on fewer calories.

A modeling study in The Lancet showed why: as weight comes off, the calories you burn drop too, so the same deficit produces less loss each month. The NIDDK Body Weight Planner is built on that model if you want a projection over time.

If your goal is muscle gain, you need a modest surplus, typically 250 to 300 calories above maintenance, paired with progressive strength training 2 to 4 times a week. Eating more without lifting mostly adds body fat. The training is what tells your body to build muscle with those extra calories.

Protein target: whatever your goal, most people do well with about 0.7 to 1.0 g of protein per pound of goal body weight, or 1.6 to 2.2 g per kilogram. A meta-analysis of 49 trials found the benefit of extra protein for muscle gains in lifters leveled off around 1.6 g per kilogram a day, with some people benefiting up to about 2.2 g. The International Society of Sports Nutrition puts most active people at 1.4 to 2.0 g per kilogram. Protein preserves muscle during weight loss and supports muscle building in a surplus. Adjust based on your appetite and how you feel in workouts.

New to tracking progress? See how long it takes to notice weight loss for realistic timelines.

Choosing the right activity level

Be honest about how active you are

Your activity multiplier has a big effect on the estimate, so be honest with yourself here. Most people overestimate how active they are, and that leads to eating more than they need.

• Sedentary: a desk job with little intentional exercise. If you work from home and your main movement is walking to the kitchen, this is you.
• Lightly active: 1 to 3 short workouts a week, or a job that involves some standing and walking.
• Moderately active: 3 to 5 workouts a week with a mix of lifting and cardio.
• Very active: 6 to 7 hard training sessions a week, or a job that keeps you on your feet most of the day.
• Extra active: a physical job plus regular training. Think of a construction worker who lifts after a shift.

If you are between two levels, pick the lower one. It is much easier to add calories later if you are losing too fast than to chase down a too-high estimate that isn't producing results.

Setting a calorie deficit or surplus

Pick a pace you can hold

Once you know your maintenance calories, the next step is deciding how far to move from it.

For weight loss: the conservative approach is maintenance minus 250 calories a day. Progress is slower, but it is easier to sustain and less likely to bring intense hunger or energy crashes. The standard approach is maintenance minus 500 calories a day, which works out to about 1 pound a week in theory. In practice, results vary with water retention, consistency and the slowdown described above.

For muscle gain: a lean bulk usually means maintenance plus 250 to 300 calories a day, combined with progressive strength training. That limits fat gain while giving you enough energy to build muscle. For the training side, our exercise guide for weight loss covers how to structure workouts alongside your nutrition.

A worked example for a 2,200-calorie maintenance estimate

Want guidance specifically on carbs? Read carbs & weight loss: how to make them work for practical strategies.

Macro presets for popular calorie targets

Three splits, five calorie levels

Pick the style you will actually stick with. The best macro split is the one you can maintain. All three presets below include plenty of protein and leave room for vegetables and whole foods. Adjust by 5 to 10% based on your energy and workout performance.

The math is simple once you know the conversions: protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram, and fat has 9. At 1,600 calories, 30% protein is 480 calories, and 480 divided by 4 is 120 g.

Daily grams by calorie target and macro split (protein / carbs / fat)

Prefer food over math? Our Weight Loss Meal Plan and Build A Meal Plan take the portioning off your hands, and every meal's calories, protein, carbs and fat are listed on our Nutrition Info page, so you can see how a meal fits your preset before you order.

Plate templates & sample days

What 1,800 calories looks like

Numbers are useful, but what does a calorie target look like on a plate? This formula works across most calorie levels.

Here is a sample day at about 1,800 calories.

• Breakfast, about 400 calories: a Greek yogurt bowl with berries and measured granola. Oatmeal or our High Protein Overnight Oats, 20 g of protein a pouch, are other good options.
• Lunch, about 500 calories: a salmon rice bowl with roasted vegetables. Our salmon guide explains why fatty fish works well for weight management.
• Dinner, about 550 calories: chicken breast with roasted sweet potatoes and sauteed greens. Sweet potatoes add fiber and volume without many calories.
• Snacks, about 350 calories total: cottage cheese with fruit (here is why it works) or an apple with measured peanut butter, because peanut butter portions matter.

That adds up to 1,800: 400 plus 500 plus 550 plus 350. Swap the dinner for a 400-calorie meal and the same day lands near 1,650.

Want the cooking done for you? The High Protein Meal Plan adds 2 extra ounces of meat to each meal, about 10 g more protein, so a higher-protein preset is easier to hit. Add simple sides like rice or beans on bigger days to reach your carb target.

Troubleshooting a weight loss stall

The 10-day check before you change anything

Weight loss isn't linear. Water retention, sleep, stress and hormonal shifts can all hide fat loss on the scale. Before you panic, give any new calorie target at least 10 to 14 days to show results.

If progress stalls after two weeks, run through this checklist.

1. Log honestly for 7 to 10 days, weekends included, along with cooking oils, dressings and the handful of nuts you grabbed while making dinner. These invisible calories add up faster than most people realize.
2. Average your scale weight over those 7 to 10 days rather than fixating on any single weigh-in. Daily weights swing, and the trend matters more than the number.
3. Adjust one dial at a time. Either cut 100 to 200 calories a day from portions, or add 2,000 to 3,000 extra steps a day. Don't do both at once, because you want to know which one worked.
4. Protect your muscle. Keep protein high and keep lifting. Losing weight too fast or skipping resistance training costs muscle, which lowers the calories you burn and makes the weight harder to keep off.

A stall after a month or two is usually the slowdown the Body Weight Planner predicts, not a failure. Recalculate with your new weight, and the calculator will hand you a slightly lower maintenance number.