Find out exactly how many calories you should eat per day to lose, maintain, or gain weight. Our free Calorie Calculator gives you personalized results based on your goals and activity level.
About the Calorie Calculator
The first and most important question in any fitness journey is, "How many calories should I eat each day?" The Calorie Calculator from TechnoCodex is designed to give you a clear, science-based answer to that question. By understanding your unique daily calorie needs, you can create an effective nutrition plan to achieve your goals, whether that's losing weight, gaining muscle, or simply maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Our calculator provides a personalized estimate by analyzing key factors: your age, gender, height, weight, and daily activity level. It uses this information to determine your "maintenance calories"—the number of calories you need to consume to keep your weight the same. This number is the essential baseline from which all your goals are planned. The tool takes the guesswork out of dieting and empowers you to take control of your nutrition with concrete, actionable numbers.
How to Use the Calorie Calculator
Getting your personalized calorie target is simple. Just follow these steps:
- Select Your Units: Start by choosing between Metric (kg, cm) or Imperial (lbs, ft, in).
- Enter Your Personal Details: Provide your gender, age, current weight, and height.
- Choose Your Activity Level: Be honest about your typical week to get the most accurate result. This ranges from a sedentary lifestyle (desk job) to being super active (daily intense exercise and a physical job).
- Calculate Your Results: The tool will instantly show your maintenance calories and provide clear targets for your specific fitness goals.
Setting Your Calorie Goal: Use Cases
Once you have your maintenance number, you can set a goal:
- For Weight Loss: To lose weight, you must create a caloric deficit by eating fewer calories than your maintenance number. Our calculator suggests a safe deficit (typically 500 calories less) to aim for a sustainable loss of about 0.5 kg (1 lb) per week.
- For Weight Maintenance: To stay at your current weight, simply aim to eat your calculated maintenance calories each day.
- For Muscle Gain: To build muscle effectively, you need a caloric surplus to fuel growth and recovery. The tool provides a recommended surplus (typically 500 calories more) to support muscle gain when paired with resistance training.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is a calorie?
A calorie is a unit of energy. In nutrition, calories refer to the energy we get from the food and drink we consume, as well as the energy we expend in our daily activities.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
For a safe and sustainable rate of weight loss, it is generally recommended to eat about 500 calories less than your maintenance calories (TDEE) each day. This creates a caloric deficit that leads to weight loss over time.
Why does my activity level matter so much?
Your activity level is one of the biggest factors in determining your daily calorie needs. The more you move—whether through formal exercise or just being on your feet—the more fuel (calories) your body needs to function.
Is this calorie calculation 100% accurate?
This calculator provides a highly accurate estimate based on a proven scientific formula (Mifflin-St Jeor). However, every individual is different. Think of this number as the best possible starting point. You can adjust your intake up or down based on your progress after a few weeks.