Estimate a daily calorie target that may help support your weight goals (maintain, lose, or gain). Enter your height, age, weight, activity level, and goal to get a starting point—actual needs can vary.

Calorie Intake Calculator
















Disclaimer: This calculator provides an educational estimate only and is not medical advice. It does not account for medical conditions, medications, pregnancy/lactation, or a history of eating disorders. For general safe weight-loss guidance, check public-health resources such as the CDC “Healthy Weight” pages or NIH/NIDDK materials, and talk to a clinician or registered dietitian for personalized recommendations.

Calorie Intake Formula

Understanding and estimating the number of calories you burn is the first step in any program for weight loss or gain, but it’s also important for individuals trying to maintain weight.

How is this calculated? To do that we need to visit the key component of this calculator, BMR.

BMR stands for basal metabolic rate. This is an estimate of the calories your body burns at rest based on your age, height, weight, and gender. Predictive BMR equations can be useful, but they can be off by 10% (or more) for some individuals depending on body composition and other factors. This calculator uses the following commonly used formula (Mifflin–St Jeor):

BMR Formula
BMR Formula
  • BMR = basal metabolic rate (kcal/day)
  • w = weight (kg)
  • h = height (cm)
  • a = age (years)
  • s = constant (+5 for men / −161 for women)

Now that we have an estimate of the calories you burn at rest, we apply an activity factor to estimate your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). This factor varies because “working out” can mean very different intensities, so treat the result as an estimate.

The last step is to adjust for your weight goal. A common rule of thumb is that a 500 calorie-per-day deficit corresponds to about 1 lb of weight loss per week (because 1 lb is often approximated as 3,500 calories). Likewise, a 250 calorie-per-day deficit is roughly 0.5 lb/week. These are rough estimates—real-world results vary.

Calories Burned Calculator

What’s unique about the calculator above is that it takes into account your activity level and uses that to estimate your total daily calorie needs. Your activity can vary day to day, so many people track weekly averages to smooth out fluctuations.

Clear and simple, the best way to increase the total amount of calories you burn each day is by increasing your activity. Play around with the calculator above to see just how much this can affect you.

Weight Loss Calorie Calculator

Not only can this calculator estimate the number of calories you need to eat in order to maintain weight, but it can also estimate the calories you need to consume in order to lose weight.

For many people, a deficit of about 250–500 calories per day is a practical starting point for steady weight loss (often around 0.5–1 lb per week). Losing about 1–2 lbs per week more commonly corresponds to roughly a 500–1,000 calorie per day deficit, though this varies by person and becomes harder (and sometimes less appropriate) as body weight decreases. Very large deficits can be difficult to maintain and may increase fatigue and hunger.

Losing Weight

You can use this calculator to determine a baseline for losing weight. When you try to lose weight it’s important to weigh yourself on the same day every week at roughly the same time. Your body weight can fluctuate by several pounds per day due to water, glycogen, and food volume, so it’s important to weigh yourself consistently.

The most important phrase to remember when trying to lose weight is this:

Calories in, Calories out

In other words, fat loss requires that you take in less energy than you expend over time. You can achieve this in two different ways: eat less, exercise more, or (most commonly) some combination of both. Many factors (appetite, water retention, adaptive changes in metabolism, and tracking error) can affect what you see on the scale day to day, but they do not change the underlying principle of energy balance.

An additional aspect of losing weight that is important is your protein intake. Protein is essential in building and maintaining muscle. If you’re in a caloric deficit, your body can lose both fat and lean mass. Getting enough protein (and doing resistance training) can help reduce muscle loss during this time.

Weight Loss Supplements

Some products marketed as “weight-loss supplements” may slightly affect appetite or energy, but evidence is often limited and results (when present) are usually modest. Dietary supplements are not FDA-approved as weight-loss treatments, and product quality/contents can vary—some supplements have been found to contain hidden stimulants or drug-like ingredients. If you choose to use any supplement, talk with a clinician/pharmacist first, especially if you have high blood pressure, heart disease/arrhythmias, anxiety, diabetes, are pregnant/breastfeeding, or take prescription medications.

1) Thermogenics

“Thermogenic” supplements are typically ingredients such as caffeine and certain plant compounds that may slightly increase energy expenditure and/or reduce perceived fatigue for some people. When they have an effect, it’s usually through nervous system stimulation (and sometimes appetite), not by “supplying an enzyme.” The size of the effect is often small, can decrease over time with tolerance, and side effects (jitters, sleep disruption, faster heart rate) may outweigh benefits for many people.

2) Stimulants/Appetite Suppressant.

Stimulant-based products and “appetite suppressants” don’t directly “burn fat,” but they can make some people feel less hungry. However, stimulants can raise heart rate and blood pressure, worsen anxiety, interfere with sleep, and interact with medications. Avoid exceeding label directions, and do not combine multiple stimulant products. If you experience chest pain, fainting, severe palpitations, or shortness of breath, seek medical care.

3) Surgery

While not actually a supplement, there are medical procedures (such as bariatric surgery) that can lead to significant weight loss by reducing appetite, limiting food intake, and/or changing digestion. These procedures are expensive and can come with serious health risks, so they should be considered only with guidance from qualified healthcare professionals.