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Calorie calculator: your daily calories from resting metabolic rate and activity

By Setonomy · published October 25, 2026

How many calories you need each day depends mostly on two things: what your body burns at rest and how active you are. The German Nutrition Society (DGE) therefore multiplies resting energy expenditure by the PAL value, a measure of physical activity^[1]. This calculator does the same and suggests a daily target if you want to lose or gain weight.

Calculate your daily calories

Enter your sex, age, weight and height, then choose how active you are at work and in your free time. The calculator is for adults 18 and older, not for pregnancy or breastfeeding: for those, the DGE gives its own additions^[1].

Resting metabolic rate –

Total daily calories –

Resting metabolic rate by equation, in kcal
Equation	RMR	With PAL
Mifflin-St Jeor	–	–
Cunningham (with body fat)	–	–

How the calculator works

First, it estimates your resting metabolic rate (RMR): what your body burns at rest. It uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation: 10 × weight in kg + 6.25 × height in cm − 5 × age in years, plus 5 for men or minus 161 for women^[2]; pounds and inches are converted first. In a systematic review, it predicted RMR within 10% of the measured value in more people than other common equations^[3].

Then it multiplies RMR by your PAL value, as the DGE does^[1]. For example, a 30-year-old man who weighs 176 lb and is 5 ft 11 in tall has an RMR of 1,780 kcal by this equation. With an office job (PAL 1.4) and workouts four times a week (+0.3), he needs about 1,780 × 1.7 = 3,026 kcal a day.

If you know your body fat percentage, the calculator also shows the Cunningham equation for comparison: 500 + 22 × fat-free mass in kg. Cunningham developed it for basal metabolic rate^[4], but in 90 recreational athletes it predicted measured RMR within 10% for 85% of the men and 78% of the women, while Mifflin-St Jeor did so for fewer than half^[5]. In that study, fat-free mass was measured; with an estimated body fat percentage, the equation is only as accurate as the estimate.

Activity: the PAL value

PAL (physical activity level) measures how active you are: RMR times PAL equals your total energy expenditure. The DGE sorts it into five levels by work and free time. If you exercise or do other strenuous activities 4–5 times a week for 30–60 minutes, you can add 0.3^[1]. The calculator uses the lower value of each level, just as the DGE gives its reference values for energy intake at PAL 1.4, 1.6 and 1.8^[6].

The DGE activity levels
PAL	In the calculator	Examples from work and free time
1.2–1.3	1.2	only sitting or lying, e.g. frail or bedridden people
1.4–1.5	1.4	office work, precision mechanics: only sitting, little strenuous free time
1.6–1.7	1.6	lab work, students, assembly line: sitting, at times walking and standing, little strenuous free time
1.8–1.9	1.8	sales, restaurant service, mechanics, trades: mostly walking and standing
2.0–2.4	2.0	construction, farming, forestry, mining, competitive sports: physically demanding work or very active free time

Losing and gaining weight

To lose or gain weight, you choose a rate as a percentage of your body weight per week. For athletes in a calorie deficit, losing no more than 0.5–1% of body weight per week may best preserve lean mass, which includes muscle^[7]; a review on contest prep in natural bodybuilding gives the same range^[8]. For gaining, a review for bodybuilders in the off-season suggests 0.25–0.5% per week for beginners and intermediates, with about 10–20% more calories than you need to maintain; it advises advanced lifters to aim for the lower end, or less if they gain a lot of fat^[9].

The calculator converts this at 7,700 kcal per kilogram, which matches the old rule of thumb of 3,500 kcal per pound of fat^[8]: 0.5% of 176 lb is about 0.9 lb a week, or roughly 440 kcal a day. Over time, this rule doesn't hold: your body adapts its energy use, weight loss slows and levels off at a new weight, and it takes about a year to get halfway there^[10]. So treat the daily target as a starting point. What counts is how your weight actually changes^[6]. It fluctuates from day to day, so look at the change over weeks^[9]. As a Setonomy rule of thumb, not a research finding: check after two to three weeks whether the target fits.

In a meta-analysis, an energy deficit of about 500 kcal a day kept resistance training from building lean mass. The authors advise people who lift to preserve lean mass while losing weight to avoid deficits of more than 500 kcal a day^[11]. Above that, the calculator shows a note.

Never below your RMR

The calculator won't suggest a target below your resting metabolic rate. If the rate you chose would go lower, it stops at your RMR and tells you so. This is a Setonomy rule, not a research finding. The reason: very low targets lead to more weight loss in the short term, but bring no long-term advantage over more moderate ones and may cost more lean mass. That's how the ISSN describes diets under 800 kcal and from 800 to 1,200 kcal a day; enough protein and resistance training may reduce the risk^[7]. The calculator has no fixed floor in calories: for a 60-year-old woman who weighs 110 lb and is 5 ft 1 in tall, for example, the Mifflin-St Jeor equation gives an RMR of 1,006 kcal.

How accurate is this?

Each of these equations is an estimate, and even Mifflin-St Jeor can be noticeably off for an individual^[3]. In a study of athletes, all five equations tested underestimated measured RMR^[12].

Your PAL value is an estimate too. That's why the result is a starting point, and only your weight will show whether it fits^[6].

Your weight in Setonomy

Setonomy doesn't count calories. But you can log your weight there or bring it in from Apple Health: the trend weight smooths out day-to-day swings and shows where you're heading, along with the change in 30 days. It's free. More in the help on body weight.

Body weight in Setonomy: the current weight with the trend weight and the change in 30 days at the top, weigh-ins as dots and the trend as a line below — Dots are weigh-ins, the line is the trend.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between BMR and RMR?

Both describe what your body burns at rest. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is measured under strict conditions: in the morning after about 8 hours of sleep, about 12 hours after your last meal, at a neutral room temperature. Resting metabolic rate (RMR) is measured under looser conditions and is about 10% higher^[1]. The calculator estimates RMR.

What PAL value should I choose?

That depends on your job and free time. If you sit at a desk and otherwise move little, you're at about 1.4; working out 4–5 times a week adds 0.3^[1]. The table above lists all levels.

How many calories should I cut to lose weight?

For 0.5% of your body weight per week, the calculator uses 7,700 kcal per kilogram (about 3,500 kcal per pound): at 176 lb, that's roughly 440 kcal a day. It's a starting point: as your body adapts its energy use, weight loss slows over time^[10].

Why won't the calculator suggest a target below my RMR?

It's a Setonomy rule, not a research finding. Very low targets bring no long-term advantage over more moderate ones and may cost more lean mass, although enough protein and resistance training may reduce that risk^[7].

Can teens use it, or people who are pregnant or breastfeeding?

No, it's for adults 18 and older. For pregnancy and breastfeeding, the DGE gives its own additions^[1].

Can I use kilograms and centimeters?

Yes, choose “kg · cm” next to your weight. The math is the same; the weekly rate is then shown in kilograms.