Whether you’re tracking calories for weight loss or building muscle, establishing an accurate baseline is key. Even when your body is completely at rest, it still burns calories to keep your heart circulating blood, growing and repairing cells, and adjusting hormone levels. Our calorie calculator works to determine how many calories your body uses during rest, then adds the number of calories you burn during a typical workout regimen. It draws upon factors such as age, height, weight, and current activity level to provide an idea of how many calories you need to consume to maintain your current weight.
Once you learn this number, you’ll be able to adjust your calorie intake and create a plan for weight loss or muscle gain (with or without the help of one of the best protein powders). Because women typically need to consume around 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day and men burn roughly 2,000 to 3,000, our calculator also factors in biological sex. (1) Plug in your data and start reaching for your goals with our calorie calculator.
Medical Disclaimer: The content on BarBend is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. The opinions and articles on this site are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. It’s always a good idea to talk to your doctor before beginning a new fitness, nutritional, and/or supplement routine. Individual needs for vitamins and minerals will vary.
Calorie Calculator
Calorie Calculator
How This Calorie Calculator Works
This calculator works by combining your basal metabolic rate (BMR) — the amount of calories your body burns at rest — with the number of calories you burn in a normal day, including during workouts. To determine your BMR, we use the same equations as our BMR calculator for fat loss and muscle gain. Once you have your BMR, your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is calculated using your height, weight, biological sex, and activity level.
These results are not intended to be sacred, but simply a solid starting point. Each person’s metabolism, including how much energy we require to perform certain tasks, can vary. We suggest sticking to your prescribed calories per day and weighing yourself each day for a week or two. If your weight remains constant, your calorie intake matches your TDEE. If it has changed, you can adjust your intake accordingly.
Tools like this calculator can offer guidance for calorie regulation, but it’s always a good idea to consult your healthcare professional or a registered dietitian when adjusting your nutrition habits. Here is a bit more detail about the formulas under the hood of our calorie calculator.
Basal Metabolic Rate
Remember, you need two numbers to arrive at your recommended daily calorie needs: daily energy expenditure and Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Your BMR is the amount of calories your body burns in a day at rest. So, how does this calorie calculator determine your BMR? Depending on whether you know your current body fat percentage, it uses one of two widely-accepted formulas to calculate this number.
[Related: What Is a Healthy Body Fat Percentage?]
1. Mifflin-St. Jeor
If you answer “no” when asked for your body fat percentage, then the calculator uses the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation.
Between this formula and the Harris-Benedict — another formula commonly used to calculate BMR — Mifflin St. Jeor is considered to be more accurate. (2)
2. Katch-McArdle
If you do know your body fat percentage, the calculator uses the Katch-McArdle formula.
Here, ℓ represents your lean body mass: your total weight minus the weight taken up by your body fat. Sometimes called the Cunningham formula, this is generally considered to be the most accurate way to work out your BMR, but only if you actually know your body fat percentage (most likely by completing a DEXA scan). (3)
If you can only estimate your body fat, it’s best to select “no” in the calculator and use the number provided by the Mifflin St. Jeor formula.
Total Daily Energy Expenditure
The calculator determines your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) by using your height, weight, and activity level. Keep in mind that this will be a rough estimate, not only because everyone’s body is different, but because not all activities require the same energy expenditure. For instance, a 155-pound person can burn roughly 144 calories in a 30-minute water aerobics session. That same person may also burn about 369 calories during an intense rowing workout. (4)
Depending on the type of exercise you generally perform, your calorie expenditure could vary rather widely. The number of calories burned walking will be less than the amount burned running because running is more vigorous. Even those who tend to fidget while remaining still (like bouncing legs while sitting) can burn hundreds of calories more each day than non-fidgeters. (5)
How To Use a Calorie Calculator
Determining your daily calorie expenditure is a good starting point regardless of your fitness goals. Whether you’re trying to cut a few pounds or bulk up, learn how to use our calculator to start making progress.
To Lose Weight
“Weight loss can be a frustrating process,” our expert reviewer and registered dietitian Lacy Puttuck says. “You are picking healthier foods, working out but still not seeing the scale budge. There could be a few reasons for this, but the most common is still consuming more calories than is needed to elicit weight loss.”
When you are trying to lose weight, remaining in a calorie deficit is a must. “Your body requires a certain amount of energy — measured in calories — to stay alive and perform all of your daily activities,” BarBend’s expert reviewer Gabrielle Fundaro explains in her article about calorie deficits. “When you’re in a calorie deficit, you lose weight because your body has to release the energy stored in your body fat in order to meet your energy needs.”
Simply put, you’ll stay in a calorie deficit if you expend more calories than you ingest. “You can do this by changing your diet to reduce your caloric intake, increasing your physical activity level (to increase your calorie expenditure), or a combination of both,” Fundaro adds. (6) Once you learn how many calories you expend daily, compare that to your daily intake to turn your brain into a calorie deficit calculator of sorts. After determining roughly how many calories you burn in a day, you can adjust your intake to be less than your total daily energy expenditure
Fundaro also highlights some good news about achieving a calorie deficit. “You don’t need to follow a specific diet or spend hours in the gym to create a calorie deficit,” she says. If you’re wondering if a calorie is just a calorie, Fundaro adds, “You can reduce your calorie intake by changing your food choices and using portion control without tracking or counting anything.” (6)
Quick and easy meal swaps can help reduce your calorie intake without sacrificing much by way of taste. Consider replacing a pork sausage (about 340 calories) with a leaner option, like turkey or chicken (roughly 140 to 160 calories). Another substitution comes first thing in the morning — simply opting for bagel thins (around 130 calories) over an average bagel (about 230 calories) is an easy swap to save you a cool 100 calories.
To Gain Muscle
Combined with regular strength training, knowing your daily calorie expenditure can be invaluable if you want to bulk up. BarBend editorial member and certified personal trainer Anthony O’Reilly says in his article about how to gain muscle that you may not need to take in as many calories as you think. “On average, you want to be eating just 200 calories (so, less than a pack of skittles) above your total daily energy expenditure (how many calories you burn in a day).”
First, use our calorie calculator to determine how many calories are required to maintain your current weight. “Then,” O’Reilly says, “add 100 to 300 extra calories every day. Eating any more might lead to the fat gain you are trying to avoid. If you’re still having trouble gaining muscle — and your workout routine and sleep are on point — try adding 100 calories.” Building muscle is not as simple as consuming more calories.
When you examine your diet looking for potential meal swaps, BarBend editorial member and certified personal trainer Jake Dickson says to start with one important macro. “One of the most heavily discussed aspects of nutrition, dietary protein is commonly and rightly referred to as the ‘building blocks’ of muscle tissue,” Dickson notes in his guide to bodybuilding meal prep.
To increase your protein intake while keeping an eye on your calories, consider keeping a bag of frozen shrimp on hand to add to pasta or salads. A 3-ounce serving can net you 18 grams of protein, while adding just 90 calories. Even taco night can be an opportunity to slash a few calories while boosting your protein. Replace your tortillas with a low-calorie option, then use lean ground meat like chicken or turkey to keep the protein level high and calorie count low.
How to Track Calories
Staring at a cold, hard number of calories and turning that number into a meal and workout plan is a daunting task. But as our expert reviewer and registered dietitian Lacy Puttuck points out, knowledge is power. “Calorie counting can be a valuable tool to meet your fitness goals. It is important to use the information to learn about foods and what they provide.”
“Food is our source of life and when we are aware and know what we are eating, we feel great and live our best,” she adds. Luckily, there are plenty of free and easy-to-use tools out there to help you keep track of your calorie intake and expenditure.
Apps
“Pick an app or another tool (some people like a spreadsheet), to start logging and tracking foods,” Puttuck says. “It is important to find one that makes sense to you, fits in your budget (there are many free options) and is convenient for you to use. Some examples include Lose It, My Fitness Pal, Noom, and Carb Manager.
These apps use vast libraries of both whole and processed foods, from apples to Honey Buns. For example, after you eat a Big Mac, you can pull up (and be terrified by) the amount of calories it contains and record that number in your daily log. By the end of each day, you’ll have a rather precise record of your calorie intake, along with other macronutrients like carbohydrates.
Many apps help with calorie tracking by letting you save common recipes you use or meals you eat, along with setting calorie goals. No matter which app you go with, Puttuck reminds us it’s all about gaining knowledge. “The important thing is to make sure and learn from your food choices and intake.”
Food Scale
Utilizing a food scale can also be a helpful tool for tracking calorie intake and getting some more intel on just how much you eat every day. “Tools like a food scale, measuring cups and measuring spoons…can be eye opening and informative,” Puttuck notes. “In general, we as humans are not very good at estimating portion sizes. Measuring foods is an excellent way to watch caloric intake.”
Recording the nutrition label or weighing everything you eat might sound mind numbing, but if you cook a lot, weighing your whole food ingredients is an efficient way to make counting macros easier.
Conclusion
The first step in managing your weight, whether you’re looking to shed a few pounds or gain some muscle, is learning how many calories you need to ingest and expend per day. Our calculator combines the amount of calories your body burns at rest with how many you use during exercise to give you a broad picture of your daily energy expenditure.
So, how can this help you reach your fitness goals? Once you have this information, you can use it as a baseline to either reduce or increase your daily intake to work towards those goals. Our calorie calculator is based on scientific formulas to provide you with the most accurate results possible. Armed with this new knowledge, you’ll be on your way to crafting a meal plan or exercise regimen that can assist in achieving the results you’re after.
Best Calorie Calculator FAQs
How many calories should you eat per day?
The number of calories you consume each should be based on your goals, primarily whether you want to lose weight or build muscle. “When you consume fewer calories than your body needs, you enter a calorie deficit, or a state of negative energy balance that may result in (mostly) fat loss,” says BarBend expert reviewer Gabrielle Fundaro in a BarBend piece that addresses the question, How many calories should I eat per day? “When you consume more than your body needs, some of the excess energy can be used to build muscle mass, and a portion is stored in the form of body fat.” (7)(8)
What is a caloric deficit?
How do you count calories?
We have found that there are two easy methods for calorie counting: tracking your intake on an app and using a food scale to measure the weight of your food. Many apps have preset libraries that allow you to look up specific foods to track metrics like calorie, carbs, and water intake. Some apps also help you record nutrient information in a food diary.
How many calories do I burn in a day?
You can use this calculator to work out how many calories you burn in a typical day. Our calculator combines your Basal Metabolic Rate (the number of calories your body uses while sedentary) and the amount of calories you burn from exercise to determine your total daily energy expenditure.
How many calories should I eat for weight gain?
Anyone trying to figure out how to bulk up should remember one thing: building muscle takes time. Along with starting a strength-training program, we recommend eating roughly just 100-200 calories more than you burn in a day.
References
- 2020 – 2025. (n.d.-b). https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans_2020-2025.pdf
- Frankenfield, D., Roth-Yousey, L., & Compher, C. (2005). Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults: a systematic review. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 105(5), 775–789.
- Zanella PB, et al. Estimating Resting Energy Expenditure by Different Methods as Compared With Indirect Calorimetry for Patients With Pulmonary Hypertension. Nutr Clin Pract. 2018 Apr;33(2):217-223.
- Harvard Health. (2021, March 8). Calories burned in 30 minutes for people of three different weights. https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/calories-burned-in-30-minutes-for-people-of-three-different-weights
- Koepp GA, et al. Chair-based fidgeting and energy expenditure. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2016 Sep 1;2(1):e000152.
- Ge, L., Sadeghirad, B., Ball, G. D. C., da Costa, B. R., Hitchcock, C. L., Svendrovski, A., Kiflen, R., Quadri, K., Kwon, H. Y., Karamouzian, M., Adams-Webber, T., Ahmed, W., Damanhoury, S., Zeraatkar, D., Nikolakopoulou, A., Tsuyuki, R. T., Tian, J., Yang, K., Guyatt, G. H., & Johnston, B. C. (2020). Comparison of dietary macronutrient patterns of 14 popular named dietary programmes for weight and cardiovascular risk factor reduction in adults: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised trials. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 369, m696.
- Espinosa-Salas S, Gonzalez-Arias M. Nutrition: Macronutrient Intake, Imbalances, and Interventions. [Updated 2023 Aug 8]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK594226/
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee on the Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2023 Jan 17. 4, Factors Affecting Energy Expenditure and Requirements. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK591031/
