Calorie Calculator
How many calories you should eat a day to lose fat, hold steady, or build. Your macros come with it.
What is a macro calculator?
A macro calculator breaks your daily calorie target into the three macronutrients that matter most: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Knowing your macros lets you build muscle, lose fat, or maintain weight while optimizing energy, recovery, and hormones.
This free tool uses the scientifically validated Mifflin–St Jeor equation to estimate your BMR, then factors in activity, goal, and diet preference to deliver personalized targets.
Frequently asked
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Your calorie target
This is the number to average across the week, not hit exactly every day. It already accounts for your training, so do not add workout calories back on top.
Why protein is listed too
Calories decide whether the scale moves. Protein decides whether what you lose is fat or muscle. Cutting calories without protecting protein is how people get smaller and softer at the same time.
The deficit is deliberate
Fat loss uses a 500 calorie deficit, which is about a pound a week. Aggressive enough to see progress in the mirror, mild enough that you can still train hard and sleep.
How to adjust after two weeks
- 1Weigh in the same way every morningAfter the bathroom, before food or water, same clothing. One day means nothing. The seven day average is the number you read.
- 2Compare week two's average to week one'sLosing fat: you want a half pound to one percent of bodyweight down per week. Building: a quarter to half pound up. Holding steady inside those ranges means the numbers are right, so leave them alone.
- 3Move calories, not everything at onceOff target for two straight weeks? Change calories by roughly 150 to 200 and hold protein exactly where it is. Protein is what protects the muscle you already built.
- 4Recheck the calculator when your weight moves 10 lbA lighter or heavier body burns a different amount. Ten pounds in either direction is the trigger to run these numbers again.
Numbers are the easy part.
Eating them every day is where people fall off. Turn these macros into a full 7 day meal and training plan, built around your body, free.
Start my free 7 day kickstartCommon questions
How many calories should I eat a day?
It depends on your size, age, and how much you move. The calculator estimates the calories you burn in a full day using the Mifflin–St Jeor equation, then adjusts for your goal: a 500 calorie deficit to lose fat, your maintenance number to hold, or a 300 calorie surplus to build.
How many calories to lose 1 pound a week?
A pound of fat is roughly 3,500 calories, so about a 500 calorie daily deficit. That is exactly what the calculator applies when you pick the fat loss goal. Bigger deficits are not faster in practice; they cost you muscle, sleep, and training quality.
Is 1,200 calories too low?
For most adults, yes. Very low intakes make protein hard to hit, wreck training performance, and set up the rebound. Use the number the calculator gives you. If it lands above what you expected, that is usually the point: most people undereat protein and overeat everything else.
Do I need to eat the same calories every day?
No. Your body reads the weekly average, not the daily total. Landing within about 100 calories most days is enough. Consistency across the week beats precision on any single day.
Should I eat back the calories I burn from exercise?
No. Your activity level is already built into the number, which is why the calculator asks how often you train. Adding workout calories on top double counts them and stalls fat loss.