Calorie Calculator

Find out how many calories you burn each day, and how many to eat for weight loss or weight gain.

years

Exercise 3–5 days/week

Maintenance CaloriesEnter your details to calculate your daily calories

What is a calorie deficit?

A calorie deficit means eating fewer calories than your body burns in a day (your maintenance level, or TDEE) — the gap forces your body to draw on stored fat for the difference, which is how weight loss happens. A calorie surplus is the reverse, eating more than you burn, which is needed for weight gain.

Worked Example — Male, 70 kg, 175 cm, 30 years, Moderate activity

BMR1,649 kcalat complete rest
Maintenance (TDEE)2,556 kcalto stay at the same weight
Weight Loss (−0.5 kg/wk)2,006 kcalthe standard recommended deficit

Weight Loss & Gain Tiers

Every target below is derived from the same maintenance number — 1 kg of body fat is roughly 7,700 calories, spread across the week.

Mild Loss (−0.25 kg/week)

A small, easy-to-sustain deficit

Weight Loss (−0.5 kg/week)

The most commonly recommended pace

Extreme Loss (−1 kg/week)

Aggressive — harder to sustain, more muscle loss risk

Mild Gain (+0.25 kg/week)

Slow, lean-focused surplus

Weight Gain (+0.5 kg/week)

Faster surplus, more likely to include fat gain

Frequently Asked Questions

A tool that estimates how many calories your body burns per day (maintenance/TDEE) from your age, weight, height, sex, and activity level, then shows calorie targets for weight loss or weight gain based on that number.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • This isn't a food-item calorie lookup. It estimates how many calories your body needs based on your stats and activity level — it doesn't look up calories for specific foods, restaurant menu items, or recipes.
  • Very low targets aren't automatically better. A number well below your Extreme Loss tier usually isn't sustainable and can risk nutrient deficiency — the tiers shown are meant to be realistic ranges, not a floor to undercut.
  • Activity level is where most people overestimate. "Moderate" assumes real structured exercise most days — a desk job with occasional weekend activity is closer to "Light" or "Sedentary," and picking too high inflates every number that follows.

References

  • Mifflin-St Jeor equation (1990)
  • Institute of Medicine — Dietary Reference Intakes

Last reviewed July 2026

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