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Calorie Calculator Calculate daily calorie needs with macro breakdown for weight loss, maintenance, or muscle gain.

Calorie Calculator illustration
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Calorie Calculator

Calculate daily calorie needs with macro breakdown for weight loss, maintenance, or muscle gain.

1

Enter Your Profile

Input sex, age, weight, height, activity level, and unit system.

2

Set Your Goal

Choose between weight loss, maintenance, or weight gain.

3

View Results

See daily calorie target with protein, carb, and fat macro breakdown.

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What Is Calorie Calculator?

The Calorie Calculator determines your daily calorie needs based on your physical characteristics, activity level, and fitness goals. Unlike a simple TDEE calculator, this tool goes further by providing a complete macronutrient breakdown — showing recommended daily grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. The macros are tailored to your goal: higher protein for muscle gain, balanced macros for maintenance, and optimized ratios for weight loss. The calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation for BMR, applies activity multipliers for TDEE, then adjusts by ±500 calories for weight change goals. This combined approach gives you actionable nutrition targets.

Why Use Calorie Calculator?

  • Complete calorie and macronutrient breakdown in one tool
  • Goal-specific calculations for lose, maintain, or gain
  • Uses the accurate Mifflin-St Jeor formula
  • Supports both metric and imperial units

Common Use Cases

Diet Planning

Get specific calorie and macro targets for your nutrition plan.

Bodybuilding

Calculate surplus calories and high-protein macros for muscle building.

Weight Loss

Find the right calorie deficit with adequate protein to preserve muscle.

General Wellness

Understand your nutritional needs for a balanced, healthy diet.

Technical Guide

Calorie needs are calculated using TDEE = BMR × Activity Factor, then adjusted by goal (−500 for loss, +500 for gain). Macros are distributed as follows: Protein is set at 1.8g/kg body weight for maintenance/loss and 2.2g/kg for gain (4 cal/g). Fat is set at 25% of total calories (9 cal/g). Remaining calories are allocated to carbohydrates (4 cal/g). This distribution prioritizes adequate protein for muscle preservation during weight loss and muscle synthesis during gain, while providing sufficient fat for hormonal health. The moderate carbohydrate allocation supports energy needs and training performance.

Tips & Best Practices

  • 1
    Protein intake of 1.6-2.2g/kg is optimal for muscle maintenance and growth
  • 2
    Track calories for 1-2 weeks to develop awareness of portion sizes
  • 3
    Weigh yourself weekly at the same time — daily fluctuations are normal
  • 4
    Adjust calories by 100-200 if weight is not changing as expected after 2 weeks

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
A moderate deficit of 500 calories below your TDEE is recommended, resulting in approximately 0.5 kg (1 lb) of weight loss per week.
Q What are macros?
Macros (macronutrients) are protein, carbohydrates, and fat — the three categories of nutrients that provide calories. Each gram of protein and carbs has 4 calories; each gram of fat has 9 calories.
Q How much protein do I need?
For general fitness, 1.6-2.2g per kg of body weight is recommended. This calculator uses 1.8g/kg for maintenance and 2.2g/kg for muscle gain.
Q Are the macro ratios fixed?
The suggested macros are a starting point based on evidence-based guidelines. You can adjust ratios to fit your preferences as long as total calories remain the same.
Q Should I eat the same every day?
Consistency helps, but you can average over the week. Some people prefer higher calories on training days and lower on rest days.

About This Tool

Calorie Calculator is a free online tool by FreeToolkit.ai. All processing happens directly in your browser — your data never leaves your device. No registration or installation required.