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Health & Fitness · Body Metrics Formula verified

Calorie Calculator

Find how many calories a day to eat to maintain, lose or gain weight, built on your BMR, activity level and a rate of weekly change you choose.

Details
years
155090
cm
100160220
kg
30105180
On-screen number pad
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Calories to maintain weight
2,759
Moderately active kcal/day
Goal Rate Calories/day

Step-by-step proofCheck by hand
This is a population-formula estimate, not individualized medical or nutrition advice. It's built on the Mifflin-St Jeor BMR formula and the standard 3,500-kcal-per-pound rule of thumb, both population averages — actual results vary by individual metabolism, body composition, and how closely daily intake is tracked. A sustained large calorie deficit can be unsafe for some people. Consult a doctor or registered dietitian before starting a significant calorie-controlled diet, especially for weight loss beyond a mild rate.
Visual breakdown

Calorie targets by goal

Every bar starts from the same maintenance figure in the middle — a faster goal in either direction means a bigger daily deficit or surplus.

How calorie targets are calculated

This starts from the same BMR and TDEE calculation as the BMR calculator — weight, height, age and sex via the Mifflin-St Jeor formula, scaled up by your activity level to estimate maintenance calories. To lose or gain weight, a daily deficit or surplus is added on top, sized from your target weekly rate using the standard estimate that one pound of body fat is roughly 3,500 calories.

A faster target rate means a bigger daily deficit, which is why the table's numbers spread out further from maintenance the more aggressive the goal.

The 3,500-calorie rule
One pound of fat is estimated at about 3,500 calories — a long-standing rule of thumb, not an exact law of metabolism. Real results tend to run a bit slower over time as the body adapts.
Sustainable rates are usually better
Faster weight loss requires a larger, harder-to-sustain deficit and carries more risk of muscle loss. A mild-to-moderate rate (0.5–1 lb/week) is generally more sustainable.

The method

daily calories = TDEE ± (weekly rate × 3,500 ÷ 7)

Plus for a gain goal, minus for a loss goal, TDEE itself for maintenance.

Worked example

A 30-year-old moderately active man at 80 kg and 180 cm has a maintenance figure of about 2,759 calories/day. Targeting a 1 lb/week loss subtracts 3,500 ÷ 7 = 500 calories/day, for a target of 2,259 calories/day.

Frequently asked questions

How is my daily calorie target calculated?
It starts from your BMR via the Mifflin-St Jeor formula, scaled up by activity level to get maintenance calories (TDEE). To lose or gain weight, a daily deficit or surplus is added — sized from your chosen weekly rate using the standard estimate that one pound of body fat is roughly 3,500 calories.
Is the 3,500-calorie-per-pound rule accurate?
It's a long-standing, widely used estimate (from a 1958 study by Max Wishnofsky), and it's the figure this calculator and most others use for a simple estimate. More recent research shows the real relationship isn't perfectly linear — metabolism adapts somewhat as weight changes, so real-world results tend to run a bit slower than the simple math predicts, especially over many months. Treat the result as a starting estimate, not a guarantee.
Why does the table show multiple rates of weight loss?
Faster weight loss requires a bigger daily calorie deficit, which is harder to sustain and carries more risk of muscle loss and nutrient shortfalls. A milder, more sustainable rate (around 0.5–1 lb/week) is generally recommended over faster rates unless supervised by a healthcare provider — the table shows the trade-off directly.
Should I eat exactly this many calories every day?
Treat it as a target to average over a week rather than a number to hit exactly every single day — normal day-to-day variation in food, activity and water weight is expected. If your actual weight trend after a few weeks doesn't match the rate you were targeting, adjust the calorie target rather than assuming the plan failed.
Sources and method
  • BMR formula — Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, et al., "A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1990.
  • 3,500 kcal ≈ 1 lb of body fat — Wishnofsky M, "Caloric equivalents of gained or lost weight," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1958; still the standard simple estimate cited in most clinical and consumer calorie tools, alongside published research (e.g. Hall KD et al., The Lancet, 2011) noting the real relationship is not perfectly linear over time.
Last reviewed: 19 Sep 2026 Sources last verified: 19 Sep 2026 Results use the assumptions explained on this page. Report an error How we check calculations

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