Find your daily calorie target for fat loss, maintenance, or muscle gain. Enter your age, gender, height, weight, and activity level - the calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor BMR formula plus your activity factor to estimate exactly how much you should eat.
Your daily target
1,738 kcal
Weight loss
Maintenance (TDEE)
2,238 kcal
BMR
1,628 kcal
At rest
Pick a goal
For sustainable progress, avoid deficits larger than 500 kcal/day unless guided by a professional. If you're a beginner, prioritise consistency and protein intake over chasing the lowest possible calorie number.
Часть содержимого пока показывается на английском.
Calorie counting remains the most reliable, evidence-based foundation of weight management. Despite the popularity of carb-cycling, intermittent fasting, keto and dozens of other dietary frameworks, the underlying truth is that total calorie balance - calories in vs calories out - determines whether body weight goes up, down or stays the same. This calculator gives you the specific number to target for your goal (fat loss, maintenance or muscle gain) based on your individual metabolism and activity level.
The calculation uses the Mifflin-St Jeor BMR equation (the most accurate predictive formula for adults) multiplied by an activity factor (1.2-1.9 depending on how active you really are), then adjusted by a goal-specific deficit or surplus. The output is a daily calorie target that, sustained over weeks and months, produces predictable body composition change. ±10% individual variation around the calculated number is normal - track actual progress over 2-3 weeks and adjust by 100-200 kcal/day if reality differs from the prediction.
Enter your gender, age, height, and weight.
Select your weekly activity level honestly - most people overestimate this.
View your maintenance calories (TDEE).
Choose a goal: maintain, mild loss, weight loss, mild gain, or weight gain.
Use the recommended calorie target as a starting point. Adjust by 100–200 kcal/day after 2 weeks if needed.
Calorie balance is the foundation of weight change. To lose fat, eat below your TDEE. To gain muscle, eat slightly above. The calculator builds on Mifflin-St Jeor BMR + activity factor and applies standard deficit/surplus values used by sports nutritionists.
Target = TDEE + Goal Adjustment Where TDEE = BMR × Activity
The calculator computes daily calorie target in three steps. Step one: BMR using Mifflin-St Jeor. Step two: TDEE = BMR × Activity Factor. Step three: Target = TDEE + Goal Adjustment, where goal adjustments range from −1000 kcal (aggressive fat loss) to +500 kcal (lean muscle gain). For most adults, moderate goals (−500 for fat loss, +250 for muscle gain) work best - they produce sustainable change without the metabolic and psychological costs of extreme deficits/surpluses.
A 500 kcal/day deficit produces approximately 0.5 kg/week of fat loss for most adults. The math: 1 kg body fat ≈ 7700 kcal energy stored; 500 × 7 ≈ 3500 kcal/week ≈ 0.45 kg fat. In reality the first 2-3 weeks of any deficit also lose 1-2 kg of water and glycogen (which carries water) - the long-term steady-state loss is closer to 0.5 kg/week. Larger deficits produce more loss short-term but trigger metabolic adaptation (BMR drops, NEAT drops) that erodes the advantage over months.
Protein intake is the critical non-calorie variable. Regardless of total calorie target, aim for 1.6-2.0 g protein per kg body weight per day. High protein during deficit preserves muscle (most weight loss otherwise comes from muscle + fat); high protein during surplus maximises muscle synthesis. For a 70 kg adult, that's 112-140 g protein daily - roughly 450-560 kcal of the daily total, leaving 1300-1800 kcal for carbs and fat depending on the rest of your target.
BMR ≈ 1465 kcal. Activity factor 1.375. TDEE ≈ 2014 kcal. Goal adjustment −500 for moderate fat loss: target ≈ 1514 kcal/day. Protein target 112-140 g (450-560 kcal). Remaining 950-1060 kcal for carbs and fat - typical split 40-50% carbs, 25-35% fat by calories.
BMR ≈ 1750 kcal. Activity factor 1.725. TDEE ≈ 3019 kcal. Goal adjustment +250 for lean gain: target ≈ 3269 kcal/day. Protein target 120-150 g. Remaining 2670-2780 kcal split between carbs (higher for performance) and fat. Aim for 0.25-0.5 kg/month weight gain - anything faster is largely fat.
A 500 kcal/day deficit gives roughly 0.5 kg/week of fat loss for most people. Avoid going below your BMR for long periods - it can cause muscle loss and metabolic adaptation.
Trained lifters can gain 0.25–0.5 kg of muscle per month with a 200–300 kcal surplus. Beginners may add slightly more. Bigger surpluses tend to add fat, not extra muscle.
Tracking for the first 2–4 weeks helps you understand portions. After that, most people can maintain results by eyeballing portions and weighing only key items like rice, oil, and meat.
Common reasons: under-tracking (especially oils, sauces, drinks), overestimating activity, hidden water retention from training or salt, or hitting a plateau that needs a re-feed week.
Sub-1000 kcal/day diets should only be done under medical supervision. They risk muscle loss, gallstones, hair loss, and severe metabolic slowdown.
Every 3–4 kg of body weight change, or every 4–6 weeks during active dieting. As you get lighter, your TDEE drops slightly - don't keep eating the same amount forever.
Body composition, daily energy needs and pregnancy timelines all rest on formulas validated across millions of people, but no single number tells the whole story. The values from this calculator are point estimates with a known margin of error - body fat from skinfold or US Navy method has roughly a ±3% standard error compared to a DEXA scan, and BMR can vary ±10% person to person at the same height and weight. Use these numbers to track trends week over week, not to chase decimal precision day to day.
Pair this tool with the BMR, TDEE, calorie and macro calculators to turn a single measurement into an actionable plan. None of these tools are a substitute for a qualified doctor, registered dietitian or certified strength coach - but they remove the busywork so you spend more time on training and recovery, less on math.
The Calorie Calculator is part of the Health & Fitness suite on Online Calculator Tools, alongside 6 related calculators. All tools share the same UI patterns, the same privacy-first rendering (nothing is sent to a server), and the same commitment to showing the formula and assumptions behind every result.
