Figuring out how many calories you actually need each day is harder than it sounds, since it depends on your body size, sex, age, and how active you are. This calorie calculator takes those personal details plus an activity level and a goal, then turns them into a daily calorie target you can use for planning meals, tracking intake, or checking whether your current eating habits line up with what your body needs.
How to use this calorie calculator
- Select your sex from the dropdown (Male or Female).
- Choose your unit system: Metric (cm/kg) or Imperial (in/lb).
- Enter your age in years.
- Enter your height in centimeters or inches, depending on the unit system you picked.
- Enter your current weight in kilograms or pounds.
- Select an activity level: Sedentary, Light (1 to 3 days/wk), Moderate (3 to 5 days/wk), Active (6 to 7 days/wk), or Very active.
- Pick a goal: Lose weight, Maintain, or Gain weight.
- If you chose Lose weight or Gain weight, select an intensity level: Mild (±250 kcal/day), Standard (±500 kcal/day), or Aggressive (±750 kcal/day).
- Optionally, enter a goal weight if you want the calculator to estimate a projected finish.
- Click “Calculate my calories” to generate your results.
- Review your daily calorie target, maintenance calories (TDEE), daily adjustment, weekly rate, and protein guide.
- Use “Export Excel,” “Export PDF,” or “Export CSV” to save your results, or “Copy report” and “Share” to send them elsewhere. Use “Clear all” to start over.
What this calorie calculator does
This calorie calculator first estimates how many calories your body burns in a day just to maintain its current weight, shown as “Maintenance (TDEE).” That number accounts for your age, sex, height, and weight, then scales up based on the activity level you select, since someone who trains six days a week burns more than someone with a sedentary desk job. From there, the calculator applies your goal and intensity setting to produce a “Daily calorie target,” which is your maintenance number adjusted up or down depending on whether you want to lose, maintain, or gain weight.
Beyond the daily target, the results include a weekly rate, a projected finish if you entered a goal weight, a protein guide expressed as kcal per kg of bodyweight, and totals for weekly intake and total calories to change. Together these numbers give you a full picture rather than just a single figure to aim for.
Understanding maintenance calories and activity level
Maintenance calories, or TDEE, represent the energy your body uses across a full day, including basic bodily functions plus movement and exercise. The calculator multiplies a baseline estimate by an activity factor tied to the level you select. Higher activity levels push the maintenance number up because more movement burns more energy, while lower activity levels keep it closer to what your body needs at rest.
| Activity level |
Typical description |
| Sedentary |
Little to no regular exercise |
| Light |
1 to 3 days per week of exercise |
| Moderate |
3 to 5 days per week of exercise |
| Active |
6 to 7 days per week of exercise |
| Very active |
Intense daily training or physically demanding work |
How goal and intensity settings adjust your target
Once maintenance calories are set, the goal you choose tells the calorie calculator which direction to move. Maintain leaves your target at maintenance level. Lose weight subtracts calories, and Gain weight adds them. The intensity level then sets how large that adjustment is: Mild moves your target by about 250 kcal per day, Standard by about 500 kcal per day, and Aggressive by about 750 kcal per day. A larger daily adjustment generally produces a faster weekly rate of change, which is why the results also show a weekly rate and, if you entered a goal weight, a projected finish estimate.
A few things to keep in mind
The numbers this calorie calculator produces are population-based estimates. Individual metabolisms can vary by roughly 10 percent or more in either direction, so treat the daily calorie target as a starting point rather than an exact figure. If you are planning a significant weight change or you have a medical condition, it is worth talking to a doctor or registered dietitian before making major adjustments to your intake. This tool is not a substitute for medical advice.
Frequently asked questions
What does “Maintenance (TDEE)” mean in the results?
It is the estimated number of calories your body burns in a typical day at your current weight and activity level, before any goal adjustment is applied. It serves as the baseline the calorie calculator uses to build your daily calorie target.
How does the calorie calculator decide my daily calorie target?
It starts from your maintenance calories, then adds or subtracts an amount based on your goal (lose, maintain, or gain) and the intensity level you pick, which sets whether the daily adjustment is mild, standard, or aggressive.
Why do I need to enter an activity level?
Activity level accounts for calories burned through exercise and daily movement on top of basic bodily functions. Selecting a level that does not match your real routine will skew your maintenance calories and, in turn, your daily calorie target.
Is the goal weight field required?
No, it is optional. Entering a goal weight lets the calorie calculator estimate a projected finish and total calories to change, but you can still get a daily calorie target and weekly rate without filling it in.
