Calorie Needs Calculator
Calculate your BMR and total daily energy needs from age, sex, height, weight, and activity level — using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation.
At rest your body burns about 1,699 kcal a day (BMR). Adjusting for your activity level, your total daily energy expenditure is 2,633 kcal — the calories you'd eat to maintain weight.
Daily calories by goal
Results update as you type. The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is the most accurate widely used formula at population level, but individual energy expenditure varies — treat the numbers as a starting estimate, not a prescription.
Formula
The Mifflin-St Jeor BMR equation:
BMR = 10·kg + 6.25·cm − 5·age + s, where
s = +5 for males, s = −161 for females. TDEE is BMR multiplied by
an activity factor (sedentary 1.2 → extra-active 1.9). Goal calories are TDEE shifted by
±500 or ±1000 — the latter giving roughly 1 kg of weight change per week (3,500 kcal ≈ 0.45
kg of fat).
When this calculator is useful
Estimating how much energy your body uses in a day is the starting point for any considered eating plan, whether you want to lose weight, maintain it, or gain. Use this calculator when you need a personalised figure before deciding how much to eat — when beginning a training programme, planning your weekly meals, or working out why your weight has stalled. It gives you a maintenance figure (TDEE) plus daily targets for losing or gaining, expressed in kcal, the unit shown on every food label across the EU.
It is designed for everyday orientation rather than clinical precision. The EFSA reference intake of 2,000 kcal (8,400 kJ) a day for an average adult is a single population figure, not a target tailored to you — your real needs shift with your age, height, weight and activity level. This calculator gives you a personalised estimate in place of that generic benchmark.
Understanding your result
Two numbers do the work. Your BMR (basal metabolic rate) is what your body burns completely at rest, simply keeping you alive, and it is normally the largest part of your daily total. Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) takes that BMR and multiplies it by an activity factor to reflect how much you genuinely move — TDEE is what you would eat to keep your weight stable.
The goal targets build on maintenance. A deficit of roughly 500 kcal a day points towards losing about half a kilogram a week, the gradual pace national guidelines across the euro area recommend; a surplus does the opposite for gaining. The activity multiplier is where most of the error sits, so if your weight is not moving the way the figures predict, your true activity level is very likely one step below what you chose.
A worked example
Take a 40-year-old woman, 170 cm tall, weighing 72 kg, who walks daily and does two light gym sessions a week. Her BMR from the Mifflin-St Jeor formula is about 1,420 kcal. Multiplying by a lightly active factor of around 1.375 gives a TDEE near 1,950 kcal (roughly 8,160 kJ) — close to the EFSA 2,000 kcal reference, as you would expect for someone of average build. To lose about half a kilogram a week she would aim for roughly 1,450 kcal a day.
Points to be careful about
Most frustration with calorie targets comes from a few avoidable errors rather than anything wrong with the formula itself.
- Overestimating your activity level — most people choose a bucket too high, which inflates TDEE and stalls weight loss.
- Treating the figure as exact; it carries a margin of around ±10%, so use it as a starting point and adjust by watching the scales over a few weeks.
- Attempting a severe deficit of 1,000 kcal or more, which is hard to maintain and risks dropping below a safe calorie floor.
- Forgetting to recalculate as your weight changes — a lighter body burns fewer calories, so the target gradually drifts down.
European reference intakes and units
Across the EU, food labels follow EFSA reference intakes, with the headline daily energy figure of 2,000 kcal (8,400 kJ) used to calculate the percentage reference intakes printed on packaging. That number is a labelling convention for an average adult, not a personal recommendation — your own TDEE from this calculator may sit well above or below it depending on your size and how active you are.
EU labels show energy in both kilojoules and kilocalories, where 1 kcal is about 4.184 kJ; this calculator works in kcal, the figure most people track, and uses metric height and weight (cm and kg) for the Mifflin-St Jeor formula. National bodies such as Germany's DGE or France's ANSES publish their own intake guidance, but all favour gradual deficits over very-low-calorie dieting. For a medical condition or supervised support, consult a doctor or a registered dietitian in your country rather than relying on a calculator alone.
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Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between BMR and TDEE?▾
BMR is what your body burns completely at rest — keeping organs running and core temperature stable. TDEE adds all the daily activity on top: walking, work, exercise, digestion. TDEE is the figure you'd eat to keep weight stable.
How accurate is the Mifflin-St Jeor formula?▾
It's the most accurate widely-used BMR equation at population level — replaced Harris-Benedict in clinical use through the 1990s and 2000s. Individual variation is still ±10% or more (genetics, body composition, age-related metabolic adaptation), so treat the figure as a calibrated starting estimate, not a precise daily target.
Are calorie units the same as kilocalories?▾
On nutrition labels and in dietary advice, yes — 'calories' (capital C, sometimes) is shorthand for kilocalories (kcal). One kcal is the energy to raise 1 kg of water by 1°C. The 'calorie' as a small physics unit (1/1000th of a kcal) doesn't appear in dietetics. Some EU labels show both kcal and kilojoules (kJ); 1 kcal ≈ 4.184 kJ.
What activity level should I pick?▾
Be honest. 'Sedentary' = desk work, minimal walking. 'Lightly active' = 1–3 light sessions/week or daily walking. 'Moderately active' = 3–5 structured workouts. 'Very active' = 6–7 sessions OR a physical job. 'Extra active' = serious training plus heavy physical work. Most people overestimate their activity by one notch — if you're tracking weight and not losing on the suggested deficit, drop a level.
Is the 1,200 kcal floor universal?▾
It's a conservative rule of thumb for adult women; ~1,500 is more often used for adult men. Both reflect that very low intakes make meeting micronutrient targets without supplementation difficult, and that metabolism adapts down. EU national guidelines vary slightly (Germany's DGE, France's ANSES, etc.) but all recommend gradual deficits over very-low-calorie diets except under clinical supervision.
Does this work for athletes?▾
It gives a baseline. Endurance and strength athletes commonly need significantly more than the formula predicts, especially during training blocks (extra 500–1500 kcal/day during heavy training is normal for serious athletes). Use the 'extra active' multiplier as a starting point, then adjust based on how your weight, performance, and recovery respond over several weeks.