Calorie & Macro Calculator
Find out how many calories your body needs a day, and exactly how much protein, carbs and fat, for your goal.
6 questions, under a minute
Sex
The formula is different for men and women.
How old are you?
Age must be between 18 and 80.
How old are you?
This calculator is built for ages 18 and up. A growing body has different needs.
Your height and weight
Height must be between 140 and 220 cm.Height must be between 4'7" and 7'3".
Weight must be between 40 and 250 kg.Weight must be between 88 and 551 lb.
How long have you been lifting weights?
This sets the right pace for your goal.
How often do you train?
On your feet all day for work, or walking 10,000+ steps a day? Pick one level higher.
Your daily target
0kcal
To lose kg a week
To gain kg a week, about kg a month
To maintain your weight
Faster than this, you start losing muscle, not just fat.
Faster than this, most of the extra weight is fat, not muscle.Without lifting, extra food turns mostly into fat. Lifting is what builds muscle.
This is your starting point. The scale will tell you if it's exact.
The pace was slowed slightly to keep you above a healthy calorie minimum.
Your maintenance is already close to the healthy minimum, so eating less isn't the right move. Keep your calories here and lose weight by moving more: more training and more daily steps. For a personal plan, talk to a doctor or dietitian.
- Protein0g
- Carbs0g
- Fat0g
Lift weights 2 to 5 times a week and hit your protein every day. That's what keeps your muscle while the fat comes off.
Train with progressive overload: over time, lift a little more weight or do more reps. Extra food only turns into muscle when your training asks for it.
Maintaining is a great time to build strength. Train hard, hit your protein, and your shape improves at the same weight.
Every week, check this
Weigh yourself most mornings, after the toilet and before eating. Compare each week's average to the week before. Ignore week 1, and only change something if it happens 2 weeks in a row.
- Dropped less than kgEat 150 kcal less kcalDon't go lower. Move more instead.
- Dropped to kgChange nothing
- Dropped more than kgEat 150 kcal more kcal
- Always hungry? Build meals around protein and vegetables before eating less.
- Scale jumped overnight? That's water from salt, carbs or a big meal, not fat. Trust the weekly average.
- Rose less than kgEat 150 kcal more kcal
- Rose to kgChange nothing
- Rose more than kgEat 150 kcal less kcalDon't go lower. Move more instead.
- Struggling to eat enough? Add calorie-dense foods like nuts, olive oil, rice and milk.
- Big jump in week 1? That's water and food, not fat. Judge from week 2.
- Went up more than 0.5 kgEat 150 kcal less kcalDon't go lower. Move more instead.
- Stayed within 0.5 kgChange nothing
- Went down more than 0.5 kgEat 150 kcal more kcal
- Weight moving up and down daily? Normal. Only the 2 to 3 week average matters.
- Training more than before? Your needs go up. Run the calculator again.
How do I work out my weekly average?
Weigh yourself every morning. At the end of the week, add up the numbers and divide by how many days you weighed. That's your weekly average.
Example: 80.4 + 80.1 + 80.6 + 79.9 + 80.0 = 401.0 ÷ 5 = 80.2 kg
Why an average? Your weight goes up and down every day because of water and food. The average shows the real trend.
Adjust
How is this calculated?
Your maintenance kcal
Your resting burn is estimated from your sex, age, height and weight, then adjusted for how often you train. That's your maintenance. To lose weight, calories are reduced to match your pace (about 7,700 kcal per kg). To gain, about 5,500 kcal per kg are added. Protein is set per kg of body weight, fat at 30% of calories (never below a healthy minimum), and carbs fill the rest.
- Resting burn: Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the most accurate formula for most adultsMifflin et al., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1990Frankenfield et al., Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2005
- Pace: 0.5 to 1% of body weight per week or less keeps muscle during fat lossHelms et al., Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2014
- Protein 1.6 to 2.2 g/kgMorton et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018
- Fat 20 to 35% of caloriesInstitute of Medicine dietary reference intakes
Built by Anas Haddad. Evidence-based, no guesswork.
These numbers are an estimate to start from, not medical advice. Not for pregnancy, breastfeeding, under-18s, or medical conditions.
