Calotank

Tools and guides

Calorie calculator – estimate your daily calorie needs

How much energy do you need each day? Get an approximate estimate of the calories needed to maintain your weight. Free to use, with no account.

Published by CalotankUpdated

Estimate your daily energy needs

For healthy adults aged 19–78. Not for pregnancy, breastfeeding or planning individual nutrition care.

Consider work, daily tasks and exercise together. The factor already includes activity.

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Enter your details to calculate an estimate.

The calculator estimates energy needed to maintain your weight.

Method and limitations

Behind the number

How the estimate is calculated

The calculator estimates resting energy expenditure with the Mifflin–St Jeor equation, then multiplies it by your selected whole-day activity factor. The result estimates energy needed to maintain weight, not a weight-loss target.

Resting energy expenditure (kcal/day)

10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age + constant

Constant: −161 in the female equation, +5 in the male equation.

Maintenance calories ≈ resting energy expenditure × activity factor

The original study included 498 healthy adults aged 19–78. The equation uses two sex-specific constants. It does not individually account for factors such as body composition or hormonal status. Mifflin et al., 1990.

Activity covers the whole day

Factors 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 correspond to the low, moderate, active and very active lifestyle PAL levels described by EFSA. Consider work, everyday movement and exercise together. Do not add exercise calories to this result again. EFSA, 2013.

This calculator combines Mifflin–St Jeor with these activity levels. EFSA used different resting-energy equations in its own reference-value calculations.

What the estimate cannot tell you

Needs vary between people and from day to day. The result is rounded to the nearest 50 kcal for presentation; that rounding is not a margin of error. The calculator is not for children, pregnancy, breastfeeding or planning individual nutrition care. Weight and height input limits help catch typing errors; they do not establish suitability for everyone within those limits.

Questions about calorie needs

Is this the same as basal metabolism?

No. The calculation starts with estimated resting energy expenditure and applies an activity factor. Daily maintenance needs therefore include more than energy used at rest.

Why can the app’s calorie budget differ?

The website calculator estimates maintenance needs. The app’s budget depends on its selected goals and activity settings. Entries and results from this calculator are not transferred to the app.

How do I calculate the calories I eat?

You need the food’s energy content and your portion size. See the step-by-step guide and worked example.