🔥 Calorie Calculator – Daily Calorie Needs

How Many Calories Do You Need Per Day? (Global Guide)

Your daily calorie needs depend on several personal factors — age, sex, current weight, height and how physically active you are. This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which is considered the most accurate formula for estimating calorie needs by nutrition professionals and dietitians worldwide.

The result you get is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) — the total number of calories your body needs to maintain your current weight given your activity level.

How to Use the Results

• To lose weight: Eat approximately 500 calories below your TDEE. This creates a deficit that leads to roughly 0.5kg (1lb) of fat loss per week — a safe, sustainable rate.
• To maintain weight: Eat at your TDEE. Your weight will stay stable.
• To gain weight: Eat approximately 500 calories above your TDEE to gain roughly 0.5kg per week.

What is BMR?

BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate — the number of calories your body burns just to stay alive at complete rest (breathing, circulation, organ function). It represents your absolute minimum calorie needs. Most people should never eat below their BMR.

What is TDEE?

TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It is your BMR multiplied by an activity factor that accounts for how much you move throughout the day. TDEE is your true maintenance calorie level — the number you use as your starting point for any diet goal.

Understanding Activity Levels

• Sedentary: Desk job, little walking, no planned exercise
• Lightly active: Light walking or exercise 1–3 days per week
• Moderately active: Exercise or sports 3–5 days per week
• Very active: Hard exercise or physical job 6–7 days per week
• Extra active: Very intense daily training or extremely physical work

Most people overestimate their activity level. When in doubt, choose one level lower than you think — it leads to more accurate results.

Calorie Calculator – Metric and Imperial Units

Our calorie calculator supports both metric units (kilograms and centimetres, used across the UK, Australia, Europe, Africa and Asia) and imperial units (pounds and inches, used in the United States). Simply select your preferred unit system — your results will be identical regardless of which you choose.

Calories, Kilojoules and Kilocalories

In the United States and many countries, calories on food labels refer to kilocalories (kcal). In Australia, the UK and Europe, food labels often show both kilocalories (kcal) and kilojoules (kJ). This calculator uses kilocalories — the standard used in nutrition science worldwide. To convert to kilojoules, multiply by 4.184.

Weight Loss, Maintenance and Weight Gain

A daily calorie deficit of 500 kcal leads to approximately 0.45 kg (1 lb) of fat loss per week — this rate is considered safe and sustainable by health authorities including the NHS (UK), the CDC (USA) and the WHO. Equally, a surplus of 500 kcal/day supports gradual, healthy weight gain for those who need it.

Frequently Asked Questions