Free-living measurement
Doubly labeled water
Measures total energy expenditure over several days while a person follows their normal routine.
Daily calorie needs
Calorie Calculator
Estimate your resting energy and daily maintenance calories using published equations and your usual activity level.
🔥 Your estimate
Estimated maintenance calories
The calculator estimates resting energy first, then applies a physical activity level to estimate maintenance calories.
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Understanding energy needs
What does a daily calorie estimate measure?
For a weight-stable adult, daily energy needs are approximately equal to total energy expenditure (TEE): the energy used by the body across a typical 24-hour day.
1
Resting metabolism
Energy used to keep the body functioning at rest.
2
Food processing
Energy used to digest, absorb and metabolize food.
3
Daily movement
Work, commuting, household activity and spontaneous movement.
4
Exercise
Planned training and other sustained physical activity.
From measurement to estimate
How scientific institutions determine energy requirements
Energy expenditure can be measured directly in research or estimated from population data when laboratory testing is not practical.
Laboratory measurement
Indirect calorimetry
Uses oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production to measure resting energy expenditure.
Everyday estimate
Prediction equations
Use age, body size and activity data to estimate needs without specialist equipment.
FAO / WHO / UNU framework
[5]Energy requirement = BMR × PAL
The international factorial approach estimates basal metabolic rate, then multiplies it by physical activity level: daily energy requirement = BMR × PAL.
2023 Dietary Reference Intakes
[9]EER = intercept + A × age + B × height + C × weight
The National Academies equations estimate EER directly from age, sex, height, weight and activity category, using expanded doubly labeled water data.
CookGo calculation method
The formula used by this calculator
The default calculation uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation for resting energy, then applies the selected PAL to estimate daily maintenance calories.
This is best described as Mifflin-St Jeor combined with the FAO/WHO/UNU PAL framework. It is not a single “WHO formula.”
Male coefficient
10W + 6.25H − 5A + 5
Female coefficient
10W + 6.25H − 5A − 161
Daily maintenance calories
RMR × PAL
W = weight in kg · H = height in cm · A = age in years
How to interpret PAL
PAL describes a whole lifestyle over time, not just scheduled workouts. The five choices in the calculator are practical points within the broader institutional ranges.
| Lifestyle | PAL range | Typical pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary or light activity | 1.40–1.69 | Mostly seated work, limited daily walking or regular light activity. |
| Active or moderately active | 1.70–1.99 | More daily movement, physical work or regular moderate-to-vigorous activity. |
| Vigorous activity | 2.00–2.40 | Sustained physical work or substantial high-volume training. |
Why different methods produce different answers
Each method estimates a different part of energy expenditure or relies on different inputs. A difference between calculators does not necessarily mean one made an arithmetic error.
Mifflin-St Jeor
- Main inputs
- Age, height, weight
- Best suited to
- General resting-energy estimate
Revised Harris-Benedict
- Main inputs
- Age, height, weight
- Best suited to
- Alternative resting-energy comparison
Cunningham
- Main inputs
- Fat-free mass
- Best suited to
- When a body-fat estimate is available
2023 DRI EER
- Main inputs
- Age, height, weight, activity
- Best suited to
- Direct daily-energy estimate
Indirect calorimetry
- Main inputs
- Respiratory gases
- Best suited to
- Measured individual resting energy
Turn the estimate into a useful baseline
A calculated result is most useful as a starting value. Real-world patterns can help you understand how closely it matches your usual energy expenditure.
- 1.Use an activity level that reflects work, transport, household movement and exercise together.
- 2.Compare trends over multiple weeks rather than reacting to one day of intake or one scale reading.
- 3.Recalculate after a meaningful change in body weight, routine or training volume.
This method is designed for general adults. Growth, pregnancy, breastfeeding and clinical nutrition use different energy-requirement models.
From daily needs to real meals
Check the calories in a recipe
Import a recipe link, text or photo to estimate calories, protein, carbohydrates and fat.
Methods and references
- [1]Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1990;51(2):241–247.
- [2]Roza AM, Shizgal HM. The Harris Benedict equation reevaluated: resting energy requirements and the body cell mass. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1984;40(1):168–182.
- [3]Cunningham JJ. A reanalysis of the factors influencing basal metabolic rate in normal adults. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1980;33(11):2372–2374.
- [4]Frankenfield D, Roth-Yousey L, Compher C. Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2005;105(5):775–789.
Show all references
- [5]FAO/WHO/UNU. Human Energy Requirements: Report of a Joint Expert Consultation. FAO Food and Nutrition Technical Report Series 1.
- [6]Hall KD, Sacks G, Chandramohan D, et al. Quantification of the effect of energy imbalance on bodyweight. The Lancet. 2011;378(9793):826–837.
- [7]Jensen MD, Ryan DH, Apovian CM, et al. 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS Guideline for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults.
- [8]National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Body Weight Planner.
- [9]National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy. 2023.