Calorie Calculator
Find how many calories your body burns in a day, and the target to hold, lose or gain weight.
https://calculators.nirajiitr.com/health/calorie-calculator
| SedentaryDesk job, little or no exercise | 1,979 kcal |
|---|---|
| Lightly activeLight exercise 1-3 days a week | 2,267 kcal |
| Moderately activeModerate exercise 3-5 days a week | 2,556 kcal |
| Very activeHard exercise 6-7 days a week | 2,844 kcal |
| Extremely activePhysical job or twice-daily training | 3,133 kcal |
How it works
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation estimates your basal metabolic rate — what you would burn lying still all day keeping your organs running. Multiplying by an activity factor gives total daily energy expenditure, the figure that actually matters when planning what to eat.
BMR = 10w + 6.25h − 5a + s · TDEE = BMR × activity factor- w
- Weight in kilograms
- h
- Height in centimetres
- a
- Age in years
- s
- +5 for men, −161 for women
- activity factor
- 1.2 when sedentary, up to 1.9 when extremely active
Worked example
A 30-year-old man, 175 cm tall, 70 kg, exercising three to five days a week.
- 110 × 70 = 700
- 26.25 × 175 = 1,093.75
- 35 × 30 = 150
- 4BMR = 700 + 1,093.75 − 150 + 5 = 1,648.75 calories
- 5Moderately active means × 1.55
About 1,649 calories at complete rest and roughly 2,556 a day in practice — so around 2,000 a day would put him on track to lose about half a kilo a week.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is what your body burns doing nothing at all — breathing, circulating blood, maintaining temperature. TDEE adds everything else: walking, working, exercising, even digesting food. BMR is typically 60-70% of TDEE. When people talk about maintenance calories, they mean TDEE.
Why the Mifflin-St Jeor equation?
It was published in 1990 and has repeatedly been found more accurate for modern populations than the older Harris-Benedict equation, which tends to overestimate. Equations that use body fat percentage, such as Katch-McArdle, can be more precise still, but only if you have a reliable body fat measurement.
How many calories should I cut to lose weight?
A deficit of roughly 500 calories a day corresponds to about half a kilo a week, since a kilo of body fat holds somewhere near 7,700 calories. Deficits much larger than that tend to cost muscle and become difficult to sustain. Slower loss is generally the loss that stays off.
How accurate is this number?
It is an estimate with real error bars — individual metabolic rates vary by 10% or more from any equation's prediction, and the activity multiplier is a broad bucket rather than a measurement. Use it as a starting point, then adjust: track your weight for two or three weeks and change the target based on what actually happens.
Which activity level should I pick?
Most people overestimate. A desk job with a few gym sessions a week is lightly or moderately active, not very active. Very active generally means hard training six or seven days a week, and extremely active means a physically demanding job on top of that. If unsure, pick the lower option.
Do I need to eat differently on rest days?
Not necessarily. Most people find it simpler to eat the same amount every day and let the weekly average do the work, since the body does not balance its energy books at midnight. Cycling calories to match training days can help, but it is a refinement rather than a requirement.
Related calculators
- BMR CalculatorYour basal metabolic rate, the calories your body burns at rest, from three formulas side by side.
- BMI CalculatorCheck your body mass index against both the international and the Asian cut-offs India actually uses.
- Body Fat CalculatorEstimate your body fat percentage from a tape measure, using the US Navy circumference method.