Daily needs calculator

Find a starting point for your daily calories, protein, fat, carbs, fibre, sugar, salt and water, with the reason behind each number.

General information, not medical advice. This tool is for healthy adults (18+). It is not for pregnancy or breastfeeding, anyone under 18, or anyone with a medical condition such as diabetes, kidney disease or an eating disorder. If that's you, please speak to your doctor or a registered dietitian.

Sex

Female Male

The calorie formula uses sex at birth because it affects body make-up.

Age (years)

Height (cm)

Weight (kg)

How active are you on a normal day?

Mostly sitting: desk job, little exercise. Moderately active: on your feet some of the day, or exercise 2–3 times a week. Active: physical job, or exercise most days. Very active: hard physical job, or hard training every day.

Do you lift weights or do other resistance training?

Yes, 2+ times a week No

Your goal

Lose fat Maintain Gain muscle

I'm pregnant or breastfeeding

I have a medical condition or take medicine that affects my diet or weight

How we got these numbers: Mifflin-St Jeor (1990) for resting calories, EFSA activity levels, and guidance from WHO, EFSA, the US Dietary Guidelines and peer-reviewed sports-nutrition research. Each result shows its sources.

Where the numbers come from

Calories at rest (BMR): Mifflin-St Jeor equation, men 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age + 5; women the same − 161. Mifflin et al. 1990
Activity: BMR × 1.4 / 1.6 / 1.8 / 2.0 (EFSA physical activity levels). EFSA 2017
Losing: 500 kcal below maintenance, not below 1,200 kcal (women) or 1,500 kcal (men). AHA/ACC/TOS 2013. Gaining: 10% above maintenance. Iraki et al. 2019
Protein: lifting 1.6–2.2 g/kg (Morton et al. 2018); exercising 1.4–2.0 g/kg (ISSN 2017); losing weight 1.2–1.6 g/kg (Leidy et al. 2015); everyone else 1.2–1.6 g/kg (US Dietary Guidelines 2025–2030); minimum 0.83 g/kg (EFSA 2012; US RDA 0.8 g/kg); over 65 at least 1.0–1.2 g/kg (PROT-AGE 2013); never more than 35% of calories (US DGA 2020–2025, App. 1).
Fat, free sugar, salt, fibre: fat about 30% of calories, saturated fat under 10%, free sugar under 10% (ideally 5%), salt under 5 g, fibre at least 25 g. WHO Healthy diet. Fat never under 20%, carbs 45–60%: EFSA. Fibre 14 g per 1,000 kcal, carbs at least 130 g: US DGA 2020–2025.
Grams from calories: 4 kcal per g protein and carbs, 9 kcal per g fat. FAO 2003
Water: 2.0 litres (women) / 2.5 litres (men) a day from drinks and food. EFSA

Choosing one number inside each range (for example 1.6 g/kg rather than 2.2 g/kg) and rounding calories to 10 kcal are our own choices.