Free Calorie Calculator for Your Daily Energy Needs
Work out exactly how many calories your body needs each day using our straightforward calculator based on age, weight, height and activity level.
How to use: Daily Calorie Calculator UK | TDEE & BMR
Our calorie calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation to determine your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)—the calories your body burns at complete rest. Your BMR accounts for essential functions like breathing, circulation and cell production. Once we've calculated your BMR, we multiply it by your activity factor to get your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). This figure represents the total calories you burn through daily activities, exercise and movement. The calculation considers your age, sex, weight in kilograms, height in centimetres and how active you are, from sedentary office work to intense athletic training. This gives you a personalised calorie target rather than generic recommendations.
Let's say Sarah, a 34-year-old woman from Manchester, weighs 68kg and is 165cm tall with moderate exercise three times weekly. Her calculator would show a TDEE around 2,100 calories daily. For weight loss of roughly 0.5kg per week, she'd aim for 1,600 calories. Alternatively, consider James, a 42-year-old man in London weighing 85kg at 180cm with a sedentary desk job. His TDEE would be approximately 2,350 calories. To lose weight at a sustainable rate, he'd target 1,850 calories. These personalised figures beat generic online advice because they account for individual metabolism, which varies considerably between people.
Remember that your calorie needs aren't fixed—they shift with age, muscle mass changes and fitness improvements. Don't drop calories too drastically; a moderate deficit of 300-500 calories produces sustainable results without leaving you exhausted or deprived. Track your actual weight changes over three to four weeks rather than daily fluctuations. If you're strength training seriously, factor in additional protein and don't cut calories excessively, as this undermines muscle recovery. Use this calculator as your starting point, then adjust based on real-world results.