Calculate Basal Metabolic Rate and daily calorie needs by activity level
| Activity level | kcal/day |
|---|---|
Little or no exercise, desk job (BMR × 1.2) | 1,971 |
Light exercise 1 to 3 days a week (BMR × 1.375) | 2,258 |
Moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week (BMR × 1.55) | 2,546 |
Hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week (BMR × 1.725) | 2,833 |
Very hard exercise or a physical job (BMR × 1.9) | 3,121 |
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For general information only, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or a qualified professional about your health. Terms of use
How to Use
- Choose your Gender and enter your Age and Weight (kg).
- Enter your Height in centimetres, or tap Feet + inches if you know it as, say, 5 ft 7 in.
- Your BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor) appears straight away, with the older Harris-Benedict figure next to it for comparison.
- Pick the Activity level closest to your usual week to see your daily calories (TDEE). You can also tap a level in the table below.
- Use copy result or pdf to keep the numbers, and reset to start again.
What is BMR?
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body burns at complete rest just to keep you alive: breathing, blood circulation, temperature control and making new cells. Think of it as the energy you'd need if you lay still all day and did nothing. This BMR calculator works it out from your age, gender, height and weight.
BMR, TDEE and calorie targets
| Term | Meaning | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| BMR | Calories at complete rest | Baseline for all calculations |
| TDEE | BMR × activity multiplier | Daily calories to maintain weight |
| Deficit | TDEE − 500 kcal | Lose ~0.5 kg/week |
| Surplus | TDEE + 300–500 kcal | Build muscle / gain weight |
The Mifflin-St Jeor formula
Women: BMR = (10 × kg) + (6.25 × cm) − (5 × age) − 161
Clinical studies have found it the most accurate formula for the general population. Take a 30-year-old man who weighs 70 kg and is 170 cm tall: 700 + 1,062.5 − 150 + 5 = about 1,618 kcal a day. The calculator also shows the older Harris-Benedict formula (as revised in 1984) for comparison. It often comes out a little higher.
Activity multipliers
| Activity level | Multiplier | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | × 1.2 | Desk job, little or no exercise |
| Lightly Active | × 1.375 | Light exercise 1–3 days/week |
| Moderately Active | × 1.55 | Moderate exercise 3–5 days/week |
| Very Active | × 1.725 | Hard exercise 6–7 days/week |
| Extra Active | × 1.9 | Very hard exercise + physical job |