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Calorie calculator
Wondering roughly how much you can eat without gaining or losing weight? This estimates your daily calorie burn. It first calculates your resting metabolic rate, the energy your body uses at rest, using the well-regarded Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then multiplies that by an activity factor to give a maintenance figure. It also offers gentle targets for losing or gaining. Enter your sex, age, height and weight, choose how active a typical week is, and you get a daily number to plan meals or a diet around.
Estimate from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. Real needs vary with body composition and health, so treat these as a starting point.
How it works
- Enter sex, age, height and weight. Metric and imperial both work; the figures convert behind the scenes.
- Mifflin-St Jeor gives resting metabolic rate: for men, 10 x weight(kg) + 6.25 x height(cm) minus 5 x age + 5; for women the final term is minus 161.
- That resting figure is multiplied by an activity factor, from about 1.2 for sedentary up to roughly 1.7 for very active, to give maintenance calories.
- Maintenance holds your weight steady. The loss and gain figures shift it by about 250 calories a day for a gradual change.
maintenance = BMR x activity factor, where BMR is Mifflin-St Jeor
Resting metabolic rate comes from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation: ten times weight in kilograms, plus 6.25 times height in centimetres, minus five times age, then plus five for men or minus 161 for women. That resting figure is multiplied by an activity factor from about 1.2 to 1.7 to give maintenance calories. The loss and gain targets shift maintenance by roughly 250 each way.
- BMR
- resting calories burned at complete rest
- activity factor
- 1.2 sedentary up to about 1.7 very active
- maintenance
- daily calories to hold weight steady
Activity multipliers used
| Sedentary | x 1.2 | little or no exercise, desk-bound |
| Lightly active | x 1.375 | light exercise 1 to 3 days a week |
| Moderately active | x 1.55 | moderate exercise 3 to 5 days |
| Very active | x 1.725 | hard exercise 6 to 7 days |
Worked example
A 30 year old man, 175 cm, 75 kg, lightly active: resting burn near 1,649 calories, scaled to about 2,336 a day to maintain weight. Aiming to lose slowly puts the target around 2,086, while a gentle gain sits near 2,586.
Key facts
- Resting metabolism alone often accounts for around two-thirds of the calories an inactive person burns in a day.
- A pound of body fat stores roughly 3,500 calories, which is why a 250 a day deficit shifts about half a pound a week.
- The Mifflin-St Jeor equation was published in 1990 and tends to predict resting burn more closely than older formulas.
- Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, so two people of the same weight can have different resting rates.
Tips
- Pick the activity level you genuinely average across a week, since most people overrate how active they are.
- Track your weight for two to three weeks and adjust the calorie target if the trend is not moving as expected.
- Spread protein across meals when losing weight, as it helps preserve muscle while the deficit does its work.
- Re-run the numbers after a noticeable weight change, because a lighter body burns fewer calories at rest.
Maintenance calories for a 175 cm, 75 kg, 30-year-old
| Activity level | Man | Woman |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | 2,039 | 1,839 |
| Lightly active | 2,336 | 2,108 |
| Moderately active | 2,633 | 2,376 |
| Very active | 2,930 | 2,644 |
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is the number?+
Mifflin-St Jeor is among the more dependable estimates for healthy adults, but it cannot read your exact body composition, genetics or non-exercise movement. Use it as a starting point and adjust after watching real results over two to three weeks.
Do I eat the resting or the maintenance figure?+
Maintenance, for most people. Resting metabolic rate is only what the body uses at complete rest. Daily movement, work and exercise burn more, which the activity multiplier adds back in.
Why a 250 calorie shift for loss or gain?+
A daily 250 calorie deficit or surplus tends to change weight by around half a pound a week, a pace most people can sustain without feeling deprived or piling on fat. Larger gaps work faster but are harder to hold.
Does it suit athletes or older adults?+
It is a general adult estimate. Very muscular athletes may burn more than it predicts, and metabolism tends to ease with age. Treat the result as a guide and refine it against your own trend.
Things to watch
- This is general guidance, not medical advice; check with a clinician or dietitian before a major change to how you eat or train.
- The estimate cannot read your body composition, genetics or daily fidgeting, so treat it as a starting point and not a precise prescription.
- Very low calorie targets can be harmful and are not appropriate without professional supervision.
Sources
- A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure (Mifflin-St Jeor) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Last updated: 2026
This is an estimate for general guidance, not financial, tax, legal or medical advice. Figures can change and individual circumstances vary. Always confirm with the official sources listed before making decisions.
- This is general guidance, not medical advice. Speak to a professional before big changes to diet or exercise.
- Estimates resting and total energy use; it does not set macronutrient targets.
- Not intended for pregnancy, children, or anyone with a medical condition affecting metabolism.
Reviewed by Vikas Dulgunde.