Calorie calculator
Work out your daily calories and macros with the Mifflin–St Jeor formula: how much to eat to lose weight, keep it or build muscle. Free, no sign-up.
Free · no sign-up · instant result
Your daily calories
Your target
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kcal a day
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Protein
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Fat
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Carbs
A guide for a healthy adult. In the app your target is more precise: it accounts for your body composition and workouts and changes as your weight does.
How to work out your daily calories
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First, your basal metabolic rate — the energy your body uses at rest. Mifflin–St Jeor: for women 10 × weight + 6.25 × height − 5 × age − 161; for men it’s +5 instead of −161.
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Then multiply by your activity: from 1.2 (little movement) to 1.725 (training almost daily). That’s the intake that keeps your weight steady.
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To lose weight, eat 15–20% less. 1 kg of fat is about 7,700 kcal, so a 500 kcal daily deficit gives about 0.5 kg a week. For women I don’t recommend going below 1,200 kcal.
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Protein: 1.6–2 g per kg of body weight, so you lose fat rather than muscle; fat: about 30% of calories; carbs: the rest.
Count calories every day in my app
Photo or barcode, macro targets for your goal and workouts, a diary and charts. I see your week and tell you what to change. Free.
Calorie questions
How do I calculate my daily calories?
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Work out your basal metabolic rate with the Mifflin–St Jeor formula and multiply it by your activity factor. The calculator above does it for you: enter your sex, age, height, weight and activity.
How many calories a day to lose weight?
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15–20% below your maintenance. For many women that’s 1,400–1,800 kcal, but the exact number depends on weight, height and activity. Don’t go below 1,200 kcal.
How big should a calorie deficit be?
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A comfortable, safe deficit is 15–20% of maintenance, usually 300–500 kcal a day. A bigger one takes muscle, energy and the strength to train faster.
How many calories do I need to cut to lose 1 kg?
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About 7,700 kcal. With a 500 kcal daily deficit that’s about two weeks.
Count calories raw or cooked?
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Grains and pasta are more accurate weighed dry: cooked weight depends on the water. If you weigh cooked food, use the calories for the cooked product. In the app you can simply snap the plate on a scale.
Can I count calories from a photo?
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Yes. AI recognises the foods, estimates portion weights and counts calories and macros. If the plate is on a kitchen scale, it reads the display, which is more accurate.
Can I lose weight on 1,500 kcal a day?
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For most women, yes: 1,500 kcal is usually below maintenance, so weight comes off gradually. The exact number depends on your height, weight and activity — check it in the calculator so the deficit isn’t too big.
Which free calorie counting app should I choose?
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One that is easy to use every day. In my app you can count calories from a photo of your plate or a barcode and see macro targets for your goal — free after signing up.