Calorie Calculator

Calorie Calculator: Find Your Daily Calories

Wondering how many calories you actually need each day? This free online calorie calculator gives you an answer in a few seconds. Enter your age, height, weight, and activity level, and it calculates your maintenance, weight loss, and weight gain calories using the Mifflin-St Jeor formula, the same method used to estimate BMR and TDEE.

Your Calorie Calculator

Follow these steps:

1. Choose your units: Metric (cm and kg), US (feet, inches and pounds), or Other Units (pick your own mix, such as feet with kg, meters, or stone). Need to convert a value first? Pick Other Units and the Unit Converter will open.
2. Select your gender (jins) and enter your age (umar).
3. Enter your height (qad) and your weight (wazan).
4. Choose your activity level (see below) and your goal: lose, maintain, or gain weight.
5. Click Calculate. Your results will show next to the form, with targets for maintaining, losing, or gaining weight. Use Clear to start again.

How to choose your activity level

• Sedentary (1.2): little or no exercise
• Light (1.375): mild workouts on 1 to 3 days each week
• Moderate (1.55): exercise 3 to 5 days a week
• Active (1.725): hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week
• Very Active (1.9): intense training daily, or a job that keeps you on your feet all day

This calculator is for adults aged 18 to 80.

Your Results

The calculator shows these results:

• BMR, short for Basal Metabolic Rate, is what your body burns just lying still. A BMR of 1500 means your body needs at least 1500 calories a day before you even get out of bed.
• TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. This adds everything together: walking, exercise, even digesting your food. A BMR of 1500 with the Moderate factor (1.55) comes to roughly 2325 calories.
• Maintenance calories are just another name for your TDEE. Eat around that number and your weight holds steady (wazan wahi rehta hai).
• Weight loss targets come in three paces: mild (250 calories less, about 0.25 kg a week), normal (500 less, about 0.5 kg a week) and fast (1,000 less, about 1 kg a week). A target below the safe minimum of 1,500 calories for men or 1,200 for women shows "Not recommended", with a note to talk to a doctor first.
• Weight gain targets work the other way: 250, 500 or 1,000 calories added on top. Choose Gain as your goal to see them first, or open "Show weight gain targets" under the loss results.

For weight loss goals you will also find sample zigzag calorie schedules, a table showing how extra exercise changes weekly weight loss, and your next steps.

How to Calculate Calories: BMR vs TDEE

To get your BMR, the calculator runs the Mifflin-St Jeor formula, a method from a 1990 study that's still the standard for healthy adults today.

From there, your BMR gets multiplied by an activity factor, and that gives you your TDEE, or Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

Maintenance, Weight Loss and Weight Gain

Stick to maintenance, and your weight barely moves. You're eating roughly what your body burns.

Weight loss (wazan kam karna): Eat fewer calories for weight loss than your maintenance. Mayo Clinic says 1 pound (0.45 kg) of fat holds 3,500 calories. A 500-calorie deficit per day works out to roughly a pound lost per week.

Weight gain (wazan barhana): Use the calorie calculator for weight gain by eating more than your maintenance. Whatever your fitness goal, choose nutritious foods like protein, daal, milk, and eggs, not only sweets or fried food. For men, foods that increase testosterone also tend to be high in the right calories for muscle and weight gain.

Pakistani Food Calories and Portion Sizes

This Pakistani food calorie guide shows rough estimates. Calories change with the recipe, ghee, and portion size. Common questions include roti calories, biryani calories, and how much a home-cooked meal costs you.

Values are rough estimates and change with the recipe and portion size.

Restaurant food usually has more ghee and oil, so it has more calories than home-cooked meals. Keep rice and curry portions small. If you have diabetes, the best Pakistani breakfast for diabetes guide can help you plan lower-calorie morning meals.

How to Use a Calorie Deficit Calculator to Plan Weight Loss

This weight loss calorie calculator takes the guesswork out of planning. Here's roughly how to put the numbers to use:

1. Find your BMR and TDEE. Use the calculator above. If you know your body fat percentage, the Katch-McArdle formula can be more accurate for lean people.
2. Set your goal. To lose 1 pound (0.45 kg) a week, eat 500 fewer calories than your TDEE each day. Do not cut more than 1,000 calories a day.
3. Track what you eat. A calorie app on your phone makes this easy. Many apps include brand-name foods and restaurant dishes. A written food diary also works.
4. Check your progress weekly. Weigh yourself at the same time each day, ideally in the morning. Weekly averages are more reliable than daily numbers because weight shifts with water intake.
5. Adjust as needed. No change after two weeks? Cut calories a little or move more.

Counting calories works best when combined with a balanced diet that includes protein, fiber, vegetables, and whole grains.

Zigzag Calorie Cycling

Cut calories for weight loss for too long, and your body adjusts. Weight loss can stall. Zigzag calorie cycling mixes higher- and lower-calorie days. Your weekly total stays the same.

This also gives you flexibility around events or family dinners. A good place to start: keep high and low days 200 to 300 calories apart, with the high day near maintenance.

Types of Calories and Their Effects

Not every calorie acts the same way once it’s inside your body. Calories come from three main sources:

• Carbohydrates: 4 calories per gram. You get them from rice, roti, bread, fruit, and sugar. They are the body’s main fuel.
• Protein: 4 calories per gram. Chicken, eggs, daal, fish, and dairy are good sources. It supports muscle growth and helps you feel full for longer.
• Fat: 9 calories per gram. Found in ghee, oil, nuts, and butter. Fat is calorie-dense but essential for hormones, vitamins, and brain function.

Drinks also add calories. Sodas, packaged juices and sweetened chai can account for a large share of daily intake without making you feel full. Water, plain tea and black coffee have almost no calories.

Some countries list food energy in kilojoules (kJ) instead of calories. The Food Energy Converter above switches between kcal, kJ and other units in one tap.

Foods that take more effort to chew, like vegetables, fruit, and lean meat, keep you full longer and give more nutrients per calorie than processed foods. For a broader look at diet and fitness, see the guide on how to improve men's health naturally.

Calories Burned from Common Exercises

Exercise burns calories and helps you stay in a deficit without cutting too much food. The table below shows estimates for one hour of activity at three body weights.

These are estimates. Actual calories burned depend on fitness level, intensity, and body composition.

Limits of This Calculator

The calculator offers an estimate, not an exact figure. The Mifflin-St Jeor formula usually lands within 10% of real BMR, but every body is different. People with a lot of muscle may burn more than the result shows. People with a lot of extra weight may burn less.

Have diabetes, heart disease, another long-term condition, or pregnancy? Speak to your doctor before changing your calories (doctor se mashwara karein). You can book a consultation with Dr. Ibrahim for personalized guidance on diet and calorie targets. You can also read about natural ways to control diabetes alongside diet changes. With a history of eating disorders, get a doctor’s advice before starting a calorie deficit.

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