Daily Calories by Body Weight Chart
Maintenance calories and a one-pound-a-week target at every 2.5 kg from 60 to 130 kg, for a lightly active 38-year-old man of 178 cm. The point of reading it as a column rather than a number: the row you belong on changes while you are dieting.
Source data and formula checked · How we check
Daily Calories by Body Weight Chart reads daily calorie target straight off current weight, for 23 values from 60 to 130. Every row is computed from the same formula the calculator uses, not measured or copied from another table, so a value between two rows can be worked out the same way. The formula is the one published by Mifflin MD et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr 1990;51:241-7.
Mifflin-St Jeor at a light activity multiplier of 1.375, goal set to lose one pound a week. Change age, height or activity and the whole column shifts.
| Current weight (kg) | Daily calorie target | Maintenance calories now | Resting metabolic rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 1,600 kcal/day | 2,100.31 kcal/day | 1,527.5 kcal/day |
| 62.5 | 1,635 kcal/day | 2,134.69 kcal/day | 1,552.5 kcal/day |
| 65 | 1,669 kcal/day | 2,169.06 kcal/day | 1,577.5 kcal/day |
| 67.5 | 1,703 kcal/day | 2,203.44 kcal/day | 1,602.5 kcal/day |
| 70 | 1,738 kcal/day | 2,237.81 kcal/day | 1,627.5 kcal/day |
| 72.5 | 1,772 kcal/day | 2,272.19 kcal/day | 1,652.5 kcal/day |
| 75 | 1,807 kcal/day | 2,306.56 kcal/day | 1,677.5 kcal/day |
| 77.5 | 1,841 kcal/day | 2,340.94 kcal/day | 1,702.5 kcal/day |
| 80 | 1,875 kcal/day | 2,375.31 kcal/day | 1,727.5 kcal/day |
| 82.5 | 1,910 kcal/day | 2,409.69 kcal/day | 1,752.5 kcal/day |
| 85 | 1,944 kcal/day | 2,444.06 kcal/day | 1,777.5 kcal/day |
| 87.5 | 1,978 kcal/day | 2,478.44 kcal/day | 1,802.5 kcal/day |
| 90 | 2,013 kcal/day | 2,512.81 kcal/day | 1,827.5 kcal/day |
| 92.5 | 2,047 kcal/day | 2,547.19 kcal/day | 1,852.5 kcal/day |
| 95 | 2,082 kcal/day | 2,581.56 kcal/day | 1,877.5 kcal/day |
| 97.5 | 2,116 kcal/day | 2,615.94 kcal/day | 1,902.5 kcal/day |
| 100 | 2,150 kcal/day | 2,650.31 kcal/day | 1,927.5 kcal/day |
| 105 | 2,219 kcal/day | 2,719.06 kcal/day | 1,977.5 kcal/day |
| 110 | 2,288 kcal/day | 2,787.81 kcal/day | 2,027.5 kcal/day |
| 115 | 2,357 kcal/day | 2,856.56 kcal/day | 2,077.5 kcal/day |
| 120 | 2,425 kcal/day | 2,925.31 kcal/day | 2,127.5 kcal/day |
| 125 | 2,494 kcal/day | 2,994.06 kcal/day | 2,177.5 kcal/day |
| 130 | 2,563 kcal/day | 3,062.81 kcal/day | 2,227.5 kcal/day |
Questions people actually ask
- How do I read the Daily Calories by Body Weight Chart?
- Find your current weight in the first column and read across. At 60 kg the daily calorie target is 1,600 kcal/day; at 130 kg it is 2,563 kcal/day. The table runs from 60 kg to 130 kg in 23 rows.
- How much does the daily calorie target change per row?
- By 34 kcal/day for every 2.5 kg of current weight, and by the same amount everywhere in the table — the relationship is a straight line, so halfway between two rows is halfway between their two answers. That is what makes reading between the rows safe here.
- What if my current weight is outside the table?
- The chart covers 60 kg to 130 kg, which is the range people actually look up. Anything above or below goes into the calculator, which takes any figure and shows each step of the working rather than only the result. Open the calorie needs calculator.
- Where do these numbers come from?
- Every row is computed at build time from the formula published by Mifflin MD et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr 1990;51:241-7, by the same code behind the calculator — not transcribed from another table, which is how a rounding error in one chart ends up in twenty.
Need a different number?
The chart covers the common values. For anything between the rows, the calorie needs calculator takes any figure and shows the working.
Source: Mifflin MD et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr 1990;51:241-7, NHLBI Obesity Education Initiative — Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults, Hall KD, Chow CC. Why is the 3500 kcal per pound weight loss rule wrong? Int J Obes 2013;37:1614