Number One Calorie Calculator
Choose metric or imperial, then enter sex, age, height, weight, and how active you are. We estimate BMR and TDEE in your browser and show calories to maintain, lose, or gain — nothing is uploaded.
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kcal per day
MaintainEnergy to keep you alive if you stayed in bed. Mifflin–St Jeor.
Harris–Benedict check: —. The two usually sit close.
A common gap for about half a kilogram (1 lb) a week.
A modest surplus, paired with strength work if you want muscle.
Background
BMR is basal metabolic rate: the energy your organs use at rest. TDEE is total daily energy expenditure — BMR plus walking around, fidgeting, and training. Eat near TDEE and weight tends to hold. Eat a little under and it eases down; a little over and it creeps up. The “calorie” on a food label is a kilocalorie; we show both kcal and kilojoules (kJ) because some countries print the latter.
The headline number uses Mifflin–St Jeor (1990), which is the equation most dietitians prefer for otherwise healthy adults: it needs sex, age, height, and weight, then a multiplier for how active you say you are. Harris–Benedict is an older cousin, shown as a check. Neither sees muscle versus fat, and both trust your activity label — “moderate” is easy to overstate.
Men usually burn more at the same weight because they carry more lean mass. Energy use falls slowly with age. Taller people have more tissue to keep warm, so they sit a little higher. None of that replaces a clinical look at thyroid issues, medications, or a history of dieting that has slowed things down.
A 500 kcal gap is a textbook path to about half a kilogram (1 lb) a week. Real weeks are messier: weekends, step counts, sleep. If a deficit would drop you under about 1,200 kcal (women) or 1,500 kcal (men), talk to a clinician rather than pushing further. These figures are not a meal plan, and they are not for children, pregnancy, or eating-disorder recovery.
Lifestyle
Lasting change is almost never a crash diet or a week of punishment in the gym. Bodies respond better to routines you can keep: enough food to fuel the day, movement you actually enjoy, sleep, and a bit of patience. The cards below are general tips, not a plan — and they are not a substitute for medical advice, especially if you have an eating disorder, are pregnant, or live with a long-term condition.
A modest energy gap works better than cutting whole food groups. Build plates around vegetables, protein, and fibre; drink water first; keep treats in the picture so the plan does not snap. Walk more weeks than you sprint. Strength work two or three times a week helps you keep muscle while the number on the scale eases down. Aim for roughly half a kilogram (about 1 lb) a week, not overnight.
Add nourishing extra rather than only extra sugar: nuts, dairy or fortified alternatives, olive oil, eggs, beans, and an additional snack. Pair that with resistance training so new weight is not only fat. Eat on a regular rhythm even when appetite is low, and give yourself time — sudden gain is as brittle as sudden loss. If food has become frightening or you are losing weight without trying, ask for clinical help.
Move most days in a way that raises your pulse and still leaves you able to talk. Sit less. Eat a mix of plants, protein, and foods you like, without moralising every plate. Sleep enough that the next day is possible. Go easy on alcohol and ultra-processed defaults. Progress is the week you can repeat, not the day you were perfect.
