Calorie Calculator
Determine your maintenance calories and personalized targets for losing, maintaining, or gaining weight.
What is Calorie Calculator?
A Calorie Calculator estimates the number of calories you need each day to maintain, lose, or gain weight. It starts by calculating your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and then adjusts for your activity level to determine maintenance calories. From there, it applies a surplus or deficit based on your selected goal.
One pound of body weight is roughly equivalent to 3,500 calories. Therefore, a daily deficit of 500 calories leads to approximately one pound of weight loss per week. This tool helps you set realistic, data-driven nutrition targets.
How to Use
- Enter your gender, age, height, and weight.
- Select your typical activity level from the dropdown menu.
- Choose your goal: lose weight, maintain, or gain weight.
- Click Calculate to see your maintenance calories, target intake, and estimated timeline.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
A safe and sustainable approach is to reduce your maintenance calories by 250-500 per day, which typically results in 0.5 to 1 pound of weight loss per week.
What are maintenance calories?
Maintenance calories represent the amount of energy you need to consume daily to maintain your current weight, accounting for both your BMR and physical activity.
Is a 1,000 calorie deficit safe?
Very large deficits can lead to muscle loss, nutrient deficiencies, and metabolic slowdown. Most adults should aim for a moderate deficit and consult a healthcare professional for aggressive plans.
Why does activity level matter?
Activity level significantly impacts total energy expenditure. Someone who exercises daily burns far more calories than a sedentary person, even if they share the same BMR.