Calorie Calculator – Measure Daily Calorie Intake

Counting calories is the core element of every weight loss, weight gain, or weight maintenance plan. This calorie calculator can easily calculate your ideal daily calorie intake to help you maintain your weight, lose weight, or gain weight. Just enter accurate data in the relevant fields.

Most basic calculators will give you only your daily calorie needs. This calorie intake calculator, however, will estimate your ideal daily calorie intake and a split-up of the perfect macronutrient composition of your diet.

Calorie Calculator

The calculator is based on the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which is considered by most nutritionists to give an accurate estimate of your calorie needs. This tool only provides general guidance, as activity levels and many other factors influence your daily calorie needs. It is only meant to be used as a guide and not as a substitute for professional medical advice. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, have a medical condition or are taking any medication, please consult your doctor or dietician before and after using this calculator.

How to use this calorie calculator?

This calculator is simple and requires only a few basic details such as your age, sex, weight, height, activity level, and weight goal. Once you fill out the required fields, the calculator will automatically generate an estimate of the daily calorie intake that is right for you.

If you are unsure about your activity level, maintain an activity journal and return to this tool after a week or a month. This will give you an accurate estimate of your ideal calorie intake.

How many calories should I eat in a day? 

When you want to lose weight, the first step is always to figure out how many calories you need to eat each day. Here is a table listing out the daily calorie requirements according to age and sex:

Estimated daily calorie ^[1]Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 needs:

Age	Moderately active* males	Moderately active* females
19-25	2800	2200
26-45	2600	2000
46-50	2400	2000
51-65	2,400	1,800
66 and above	2,200	1,800

Each person’s calorie requirement varies depending on age, sex, weight, height, activity level, and weight goal.

• Generally, men are supposed to have more calorie intake than women since they often have more muscle mass than women, which means they burn more calories at rest.
• Older adults are also supposed to have a lower calorie requirement than younger adults since they tend to be less active and have a slower metabolism.
• If you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, or have a medical condition, you may require more or fewer calories than the recommendations of the calorie calculator.

Daily calorie intake for weight loss

If you want to achieve healthy and sustainable weight loss, you must first know your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Your BMR is the number of calories your body burns at rest. You then need to create a calorie deficit. This means you need to eat fewer calories than your body needs and burn more calories through physical activity. A safe and sustainable calorie deficit is about 500 calories per day.

Daily calorie intake for weight maintenance

If your goal is to maintain weight, you must balance your calorie intake with the number of calories your body burns. You will have to maintain a healthy balance between your BMR, physical activity, and calorie intake.

Daily calorie intake for weight gain

To increase your weight and achieve your goal weight, you must eat more calories than the combined calorie burn of your BMR and physical activities.

Understanding activity levels

The calorie calculator factors in 6 different activity levels to estimate your ideal calorie intake. Let’s take a look at what each activity level implies.

1. Sedentary: If you do very little or no exercise or physical activities.
2. Light: If you perform light exercises between 1-3 times a week.
3. Moderate: If you do moderate exercises 4-5 times a week.
4. Active: If you exercise daily or do intense workouts 3-4 times a week.
5. Very active: If you do very intensive exercise 6-7 times a week.
6. Extra active: If you are into very intense exercise routines or physical jobs.

How to calculate your percentage of weight loss?

Your weight loss percentage is an important metric to track your progress when trying to lose weight. There are two ways to track your weight loss journey:

1. By weight: Weigh yourself at the same time every week and record your weight in a journal or on a spreadsheet. At the end of each week, subtract your current body weight from your starting weight.
2. By measurement: Measure your waist, hips, and thighs at the same time every week and record the measurements in a journal or on a spreadsheet. Track the changes.

At the end of each week, calculate your percentage of weight loss by dividing the amount of weight lost in a week by your starting weight and multiply that by 100.

Example: If you weighed 180 pounds to start with and weighed yourself after a week and find that you’ve lost 3 pounds in a week, your percentage of weight loss would be:

3/180*100= 1.66%

Conclusion

Keep all the above factors in mind and use the calorie calculator to find your ideal level of calorie intake. Incorporate the calculator’s macronutrient balance suggestions into your diet to avoid nutritional deficiencies and make your weight management journey simple, healthy, and hassle-free.