Calorie calculator
Your basal rate, your daily need and a target, with the working.
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Example
Example: a 38-year-old woman, 5 ft 5 in and 172 lb, aiming to lose 1 lb a week
Settings: Female, Age 38, US units, Height 5 ft and 5 in, Weight 172 lb, Activity “Light exercise 1–3 days a week” (two gym classes a week, a desk job), Goal “Lose about 1 lb (½ kg) a week”, Equation Mifflin–St Jeor.
- The units are converted first: 172 lb = 78 kg, 5 ft 5 in = 165.1 cm.
- Basal metabolic rate: 10 × 78 + 6.25 × 165.1 − 5 × 38 − 161 = 1,461 kcal, the calories used at complete rest.
- Daily need (TDEE): 1,461 kcal × 1.375 for light exercise = 2,009 kcal to keep her weight.
- Target: 2,009 − 500 = 1,509 kcal a day, which comes to about 1 lb (0.5 kg) a week.
| Activity | Factor | Daily need | To lose 1 lb a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little or no exercise | 1.2 | 1,753 kcal | 1,253 kcal |
| Light exercise 1–3 days a week | 1.375 | 2,009 kcal | 1,509 kcal |
| Moderate exercise 3–5 days a week | 1.55 | 2,265 kcal | 1,765 kcal |
| Hard exercise 6–7 days a week | 1.725 | 2,520 kcal | 2,020 kcal |
About 1,509 kcal a day, as an estimate. The revised Harris–Benedict equation gives a basal rate of 1,516 kcal and a target of 1,584. With Macronutrients set to Balanced: 132 g protein, 132 g carbohydrate and 50 g fat. Weigh in for a few weeks and adjust; ask your doctor if you have a health condition.
How it works
- Choose your sex and type your age, height and weight — in feet, inches and pounds or in centimetres and kilograms.
- Choose how active you are and what you want: keep, lose or gain weight.
- The target comes first, then the basal rate with the equation filled in, the daily need and the difference.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the basal metabolic rate?
- The calories your body uses at complete rest in a day — breathing, circulation, keeping warm. Mifflin–St Jeor estimates it as 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age, + 5 for men or − 161 for women.
- Which equation should I use?
- Mifflin–St Jeor, which studies found closest for most adults today. The revised Harris–Benedict equation is the older one and usually gives a little more.
- How much should I eat to lose weight?
- About 500 kcal a day below your daily need loses roughly 1 lb (½ kg) a week. Faster is harder to keep up; women should not go below about 1,200 kcal a day, men 1,500, without a doctor.
- How accurate is it?
- It is an estimate: people of the same size can differ by a few hundred calories. Weigh yourself for a few weeks and adjust.
- What is TDEE, and how is it worked out here?
- Total daily energy expenditure: the calories you use in a day, shown here as “Daily need”. It is the basal rate times an activity factor: 1.2 for little or no exercise, 1.375 light, 1.55 moderate, 1.725 hard and 1.9 for very hard exercise or a physical job.
- Why does it warn me about 1,200 calories?
- When a weight-loss target comes out below 1,200 kcal a day for a woman, or 1,500 for a man, the result adds a line saying to go that low only with a doctor’s or dietitian’s advice. In the example above, sitting most of the day with the 1½ lb goal would give 1,003 kcal, and the warning appears.
- Is anything uploaded?
- No. It is worked out in your browser, and nothing you type leaves your computer.