Health
Use this calorie calculator to estimate daily calories for maintenance, a calorie deficit for weight loss, or a mild calorie surplus for weight gain.
Find maintenance calories, daily calorie intake, and simple weight loss or weight gain targets from age, sex, height, weight, and activity level.
Health calculators are informational and are not medical advice.
This calorie calculator estimates how many calories you may need per day from age, sex, height, weight, and activity level. If you search for maintenance calories, a maintenance calorie calculator, or a daily calorie intake calculator, start with the maintenance result.
Maintenance calories are the estimated intake that keeps body weight roughly stable. Real maintenance can be higher or lower, so it is best to compare the estimate with your body weight trend over a few weeks.
For weight loss, the key number is the calorie deficit: eating fewer calories than your estimated maintenance calories. This page works as a simple calorie deficit calculator for weight loss by showing a mild target below maintenance.
A larger deficit can move weight faster, but it is often harder to keep and may affect training, hunger, and daily energy. A steady, moderate deficit is usually easier to track.
For weight gain, the calculator adds a mild calorie surplus above maintenance. This can help if you are trying to gain weight slowly or support muscle-building training.
If body weight does not move after a few weeks, increase or decrease the target gradually instead of making a very large jump at once.
A kcal calculator gives a target, but calorie counting is how you compare that target with real food intake. A calorie tracker can help you record meals, drinks, portions, and snacks more consistently.
For better accuracy, track body weight trends, sleep, training, and appetite alongside calories. The calculator is a starting point, not a fixed rule.
Daily calorie needs are estimated from BMR x activity multiplier. A mild calorie deficit subtracts about 300 kcal per day, while a mild surplus adds about 300 kcal per day.
A moderately active 30-year-old male at 175 cm and 72 kg has estimated maintenance calories of roughly 2,550 kcal per day.
Start with maintenance calories, then adjust based on your goal. Eat near maintenance to keep weight stable, below it for weight loss, or above it for weight gain.
A calorie deficit calculator estimates a daily intake below maintenance calories. This page uses a mild deficit of about 300 kcal per day as a practical starting point.
Maintenance calories are estimated by calculating BMR and multiplying it by an activity factor. More daily movement or training raises the estimate.
Yes. The maintenance result is an estimated daily calorie intake for keeping weight stable, and the loss and gain targets show simple adjustments.
This calculator estimates targets. A calorie counter or calorie tracker is used afterward to log the food and drinks you actually consume.
The maintenance estimate is a rough total daily energy expenditure, which includes resting metabolism plus activity. It is not a wearable or lab measurement.