Free Tool
How many calories does your body actually need? This calculator takes your personal stats and activity level into account to estimate your daily energy needs — a useful starting point whether your goal is fat loss, muscle gain, or simply maintaining where you are.
BMR is the energy your body burns at complete rest, just to keep you alive — breathing, circulation, cell repair. We calculate it using the widely-used Mifflin-St Jeor formula:
Men
(10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age) + 5
Women
(10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age) − 161
Your BMR only accounts for rest — TDEE adds in your actual daily movement and exercise:
| Sedentarydesk job, little exercise | BMR × 1.2 |
| Light activityexercise 1-3 days/week | BMR × 1.375 |
| Moderate activityexercise 3-5 days/week | BMR × 1.55 |
| High activityexercise 6-7 days/week | BMR × 1.725 |
| Very high activityintense daily training or physical job | BMR × 1.9 |
Want to lose weight? Aim for a deficit of 500-1000 calories below your TDEE. Looking to gain? Add a surplus instead. These are starting points — track your progress and adjust as you go, and speak with a nutrition professional for a plan tailored to you.
Protein
Lower activity levels: aim for 1-1.2g per kg of bodyweight. Higher activity levels: 1.4-2.2g per kg.
Fat
At least 1g per kg of bodyweight, generally making up 20-35% of your total daily calories.
Carbohydrates
Typically 45-65% of total daily calories — divide the calorie amount by 4 to convert to grams.
Portion size and cooking method (especially oil and coconut milk) can shift these numbers quite a bit, but here's a general reference for common local dishes.
Estimates only — figures pending verification against a nutrition source before final publish.
| Rice & curry (1 plate, average) | ~500-600 kcal |
| Kottu (chicken, 1 plate) | ~600-700 kcal |
| Plain hopper (1) | ~120 kcal |
| Egg hopper (1) | ~170 kcal |
| String hoppers (5) | ~150 kcal |
| Dhal curry (1 cup) | ~150 kcal |
| Chicken curry (100g) | ~200 kcal |
| Fish curry (100g) | ~180 kcal |
| Coconut sambol (2 tbsp) | ~80 kcal |
| Papadam (1) | ~35 kcal |
| Roti (1) | ~150 kcal |
| Milk rice (1 cup) | ~250 kcal |
Want a fuller picture? Try our BMI Calculator for a quick weight-to-height check, our Body Fat Calculator to estimate your body composition, or our One-Rep Max Calculator to track your strength training progress.
