{
    "name": "Calorie Calculator",
    "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/calorie-calculator",
    "markdown": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/calorie-calculator.md",
    "category": "Health & fitness",
    "description": "Estimate the calories you need each day to keep your weight steady or to lose or gain at a set weekly rate, using Mifflin–St Jeor and your activity level.",
    "summary": "Your maintenance calories are your resting energy needs (Mifflin–St Jeor) multiplied by an activity factor. A weekly weight-change goal then adds or removes a fixed number of calories a day.",
    "also_called": [
        "Daily calorie calculator",
        "Calorie intake calculator"
    ],
    "applies_to": "Worldwide",
    "last_updated": "2026-10-29",
    "computation": "Results are computed in the visitor’s browser on the HTML page. This API describes the calculator; it does not compute results.",
    "inputs": [
        {
            "name": "sex",
            "label": "Sex",
            "type": "segmented",
            "default": "female",
            "options": {
                "female": "Female",
                "male": "Male"
            }
        },
        {
            "name": "age",
            "label": "Age",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "30",
            "unit": "years"
        },
        {
            "name": "units",
            "label": "Units",
            "type": "segmented",
            "default": "metric",
            "options": {
                "metric": "Metric (cm, kg)",
                "us": "US (ft, in, lb)"
            }
        },
        {
            "name": "height_cm",
            "label": "Height",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "165",
            "unit": "cm",
            "shown_when": {
                "units": "metric"
            }
        },
        {
            "name": "weight_kg",
            "label": "Weight",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "60",
            "unit": "kg",
            "shown_when": {
                "units": "metric"
            }
        },
        {
            "name": "height_ft",
            "label": "Height (feet)",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "5",
            "unit": "ft",
            "shown_when": {
                "units": "us"
            }
        },
        {
            "name": "height_in",
            "label": "Height (inches)",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "5",
            "unit": "in",
            "optional": true,
            "shown_when": {
                "units": "us"
            }
        },
        {
            "name": "weight_lb",
            "label": "Weight",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "132",
            "unit": "lb",
            "shown_when": {
                "units": "us"
            }
        },
        {
            "name": "activity",
            "label": "Activity level",
            "type": "select",
            "default": "moderate",
            "options": {
                "sedentary": "Sedentary (little or no exercise)",
                "light": "Lightly active (1–3 days a week)",
                "moderate": "Moderately active (3–5 days a week)",
                "very": "Very active (6–7 days a week)",
                "extra": "Extremely active (physical job or twice-daily training)"
            }
        },
        {
            "name": "goal",
            "label": "Goal",
            "type": "select",
            "default": "maintain",
            "options": {
                "maintain": "Maintain weight",
                "lose_025": "Lose 0.25 kg (≈0.5 lb) a week",
                "lose_05": "Lose 0.5 kg (≈1 lb) a week",
                "lose_1": "Lose 1 kg (≈2 lb) a week",
                "gain_025": "Gain 0.25 kg (≈0.5 lb) a week",
                "gain_05": "Gain 0.5 kg (≈1 lb) a week"
            }
        }
    ],
    "outputs": [
        {
            "key": "target",
            "label": "Calories per day for your goal",
            "format": "integer"
        },
        {
            "key": "maintenance",
            "label": "Maintenance calories (TDEE)",
            "format": "integer"
        },
        {
            "key": "bmr",
            "label": "Resting energy (BMR)",
            "format": "integer"
        },
        {
            "key": "daily_change",
            "label": "Daily adjustment for the goal",
            "format": "integer"
        }
    ],
    "formula": {
        "text": "BMR = 10W + 6.25H − 5A + s;  Maintenance = BMR × activity factor;  Target = Maintenance + (weekly change in kg × 7,700 ÷ 7)",
        "variables": {
            "W": "weight in kg",
            "H": "height in cm",
            "A": "age in years",
            "s": "+5 for men, −161 for women",
            "activity factor": "1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (extremely active)",
            "7,700": "approximate kcal in 1 kg of body-weight change"
        }
    },
    "worked_example": {
        "inputs": {
            "sex": "female",
            "age": "30",
            "units": "metric",
            "height_cm": "165",
            "weight_kg": "60",
            "height_ft": "5",
            "height_in": "5",
            "weight_lb": "132",
            "activity": "moderate",
            "goal": "lose_05"
        },
        "steps": [
            "BMR = 10 × 60 + 6.25 × 165 − 5 × 30 − 161 = 600 + 1,031.25 − 150 − 161 = 1,320.25 kcal.",
            "Maintenance = 1,320.25 × 1.55 (moderately active) = 2,046 kcal a day.",
            "Losing 0.5 kg a week needs about 0.5 × 7,700 ÷ 7 = 550 kcal a day less.",
            "Target = 2,046 − 550 ≈ 1,496 kcal a day."
        ],
        "result": "A moderately active 30-year-old woman, 165 cm and 60 kg, needs about 2,046 kcal a day to maintain her weight, or about 1,496 kcal to lose roughly 0.5 kg a week."
    },
    "interpretation": "Treat the number as a starting point. Track your weight for two to four weeks; if it moves faster or slower than planned, adjust intake by 100–200 kcal a day. Weight loss usually slows over time as the body adapts, so the same deficit produces less loss later on.",
    "assumptions": [
        "Mifflin–St Jeor equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy adults.",
        "Conventional activity multipliers: 1.2, 1.375, 1.55, 1.725 and 1.9.",
        "About 7,700 kcal per kg of body-weight change (the metric form of the “3,500 kcal per pound” rule)."
    ],
    "limitations": [
        "Individual energy needs can differ noticeably from any prediction equation.",
        "The 7,700 kcal rule ignores metabolic adaptation, so it overstates long-term weight loss (Hall, 2008).",
        "Not for children, pregnancy or breastfeeding, or people with medical conditions that affect metabolism."
    ],
    "rules": null,
    "faqs": [
        {
            "question": "What is the difference between this and the BMR calculator?",
            "answer": "The BMR calculator gives resting energy and a table by activity level. This page adds a weight goal and shows the daily calories needed to reach it."
        },
        {
            "question": "Is it safe to lose 1 kg a week?",
            "answer": "For many people it means a deficit of about 1,100 kcal a day, which is hard to sustain and can leave intake below resting needs. A slower rate is easier to keep up; talk to a doctor or dietitian before a large deficit."
        },
        {
            "question": "Why has my weight loss slowed on the same calories?",
            "answer": "As you lose weight your energy needs fall, and the body adapts. Recalculate with your new weight every few kilograms."
        }
    ],
    "sources": [
        {
            "title": "Mifflin MD et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr, 1990",
            "url": "https://www.qxmd.com/r/2305711"
        },
        {
            "title": "Hall KD. What is the required energy deficit per unit weight loss? Int J Obes, 2008",
            "url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2376744"
        }
    ],
    "related": [
        {
            "name": "BMR Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/bmr-calculator"
        },
        {
            "name": "BMI Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/bmi-calculator"
        },
        {
            "name": "Macro Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/macro-calculator"
        },
        {
            "name": "Calories Burned Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/calories-burned-calculator"
        },
        {
            "name": "TDEE Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/tdee-calculator"
        },
        {
            "name": "Calorie Deficit Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/calorie-deficit-calculator"
        }
    ],
    "disclaimer": "This is a general screening estimate for adults, not medical advice or a diagnosis. Talk to a qualified health professional about your health.",
    "publisher": "GM¹X CalcVerse"
}