Medically Reviewed by Poonam Sachdev on January 23, 2024
Written by Kathleen M. Zelman, RD, LD, MPH , Jody BravermanWhether you're trying to lose weight , gain weight, or stick to your current weight, it's important to know how many calories you need to eat each day.
Daily calorie intake is different for each person. It depends on a few things, like your age, sex, and activity level. In general, people assigned male at birth need more calories because their bodies are larger. And people who are more active need more calories than less active people. In your senior years, you need fewer calories due to changes in your metabolism.
This chart shows estimated calorie needs. It should only be used as a reference point because everybody's metabolism is different, even when they are the same size, sex, and age.
| Sex (at birth) | Age (years) | Sedentary | Moderately Active | Active |
| Child | 2-3 | 1,000 | 1,000-1,400 | 1,000-1,400 |
| Female | 4-8 |
You can figure out your activity level using this as a guide:
Your daily calorie needs are based on the amount of calories you take in and the number of calories you burn each day. You can get a better estimate of your calories in because each food has an estimated calorie count. It's harder to estimate your calories burned. It's not just the calories you burn through exercise and daily activities of living, but also how many calories your body burns powering your bodily functions, such as digestion and metabolism.
To get a more exact estimate, you would need to have testing done in a lab to figure out your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is how many calories your body burns at rest. Then you could add the calories you burn each day through your activities to get a better picture.
But most people don't have access to lab testing. So you can use these guidelines as a basis for planning your diet:
How many calories should I eat per day to maintain weight?
To maintain your current weight, you need to balance the amount of calories you eat and drink with the number of calories your body uses each day. On average, women need about 1,600 to 2,400 calories each day, and men need 2,000 to 3,000 calories a day -- based on age and activity level. If you figure out that you need 2,000 calories per day, then you need to keep your calorie intake about equal with that number.
How many calories should I eat per day to lose weight?
When you take in more calories than you burn, your body stores the extra energy it doesn't need as fat. To lose weight, you have to create a calorie deficit . That means you need to take in fewer calories than you burn each day. This way, your body will dip into your fat stores to meet your energy needs, and you'll lose weight.
How many calories should I eat per day to gain weight?
If your goal is to put on pounds, you need to reverse this and eat more calories than your body burns each day.
In reality, weight gain and loss is more complicated than these explanations. Since calorie burning varies so much, the best way to figure out how many calories you need is by watching your results. If you're trying to maintain your weight but you're gaining weight, then you need to lower your calorie intake or increase your calorie burn by being more active.
It's also important to note that your metabolism can be affected by your genetics, health conditions you have, medications you take, and more. If you're having trouble meeting your goals, it helps to see a doctor or dietitian to figure out what is getting in the way of your success.
Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories you burn each day doing nothing at all. This is the number of calories your body needs to support your body's basic functions, such as breathing, digestion, circulation, and regulating your body temperature. Your BMR makes up about 60% of your daily calorie burn.
BMR is different for each person, depending on things like age, sex, weight, and height. On average:
These are just estimates. It's important to note that how much muscle mass you have strongly affects your BMR. Your body uses much more energy to maintain and build muscle than it does fat. So the more muscle you have, the higher your BMR will be.
How do you calculate calories burned?
There are a few ways to calculate calories burned:
Wear a fitness tracker. This wearable device will give you an estimate of the calories you burn all day long.
Wear a heart rate monitor. Heart rate monitors are usually more accurate than fitness trackers to calculate calorie burn. But they're not as comfortable to wear all day.
Use a calorie calculator. To measure calories burned during a specific activity, you can use an online tool that takes into account your age, sex, weight, and height, as well as the type of activity you did and how long you did it.
Use an equation. You can use the MET (metabolic equivalent of task) value to measure calorie burn from a specific activity. MET values are measured on a scale, with 1 being the least effort and calories burned. You'll need a MET value chart to find your MET value for your activity. You'll also need to know your weight in kilograms, which you can figure out by dividing your weight in pounds by 2.2.
Then, you'll put your information into this equation, which will give you the number of calories you burn per minute: 0.0175 x MET value x weight (in kilograms).
For example, if you weigh 60 kilograms (about 132 pounds) and you do low-impact aerobics with a MET value of 5, you'll burn about 5.25 calories per minute. If your class is 45 minutes long, you will have burned just over 236 calories.
Calorie counting is a method of tracking your calories by keeping a record of all the foods and drinks you take in each day. More and more experts no longer recommend calorie counting for a few reasons:
It's time-consuming. Keeping track of every calorie you consume takes a lot of time and effort. After a while, it can start to feel like a burden.
It's not always accurate. The calorie counts on food labels and in databases can be wrong. You often guess at your portion sizes, which can also cause errors in tracking.
You might become obsessed and stressed. Focusing too much numbers can lead to an unhealthy obsession with food and calories, which can cause you stress and anxiety. It could even lead to an eating disorder.
It doesn't take food quality into account. It's possible to stay within your calorie budget eating low-quality foods lacking nutrition.
It's not a picture of your overall health. You might spend so much time counting calories that you forget about other important parts of staying healthy and losing weight -- exercise, sleep, lowering stress, and mental health.
There are still some benefits to keeping track of what you eat:
It keeps you aware and accountable. Recording everything you eat and drink, as well as your portion sizes, can make you more mindful.
Nutrition insight. You'll have a log of your daily diet that you can review and see where to make healthy changes.
It helps your doctor or dietitian. If you're getting help with weight loss from a professional, keeping a food log can give them more information so they can give you better guidance.
It may be better to track what you eat in a day and roughly how much, rather than try to count every single calorie. You can make quick notes about your meals, write down how you felt about the quality -- and how you felt after eating. You can also snap some photos to share with your doctor or dietitian.
Your daily calorie needs are based on several things, including your sex, age, and activity level. You can get an idea of how many calories you should eat using charts and calculators, but it's hard to figure out an exact amount. In general, if you want to maintain your weight, you should balance the calories you eat with the calories you burn; to lose weight, you should eat fewer calories than you burn; and to gain weight you should eat more calories than you burn. The best way to figure out your calorie needs is to speak with your doctor or a dietitian.
What is a calorie in food?
A calorie is a unit of energy. It measures the amount of energy that food gives to your body. All foods have calories, but some have more than others. Carbohydrates and protein have 4 calories per gram, and fats have 9 calories per gram.
Which foods are high in calories?
Because fat has 9 calories per gram, fatty foods have the highest calorie counts. This includes fried foods, fast foods, and snack foods. Nut butters, cheese, and fatty meats are also high in fat. Foods that are high in sugar, such as candy and baked goods, are also high in calories.
Are all calories created equally?
No. Some foods offer more nutrition compared to the amount of calories they provide. These nutrient-dense foods include fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fish, lean meats , nuts, seeds, and beans. Processed foods like snack foods, baked goods, desserts, candy, and fast foods tend to be low in nutrients and high in calories.
