Introduction
This Food Calorie Calculator helps you track what you eat and see how many calories, protein, carbs, and fat are in your meals. It uses the USDA food database, which has nutrition data for thousands of foods, including items from popular restaurant chains like McDonald's, Subway, and Chick-fil-A. You can search for any food, add it to your daily log, and watch your totals update right away.
The tool also lets you set daily nutrition goals so you can see how close you are to hitting your targets. Whether you want to lose weight, build muscle, or just eat better, knowing what is in your food is the first step. Simply search for a food, pick the right match, choose how many servings you had, and add it to your log. The calculator does the math for you and shows your results in easy-to-read charts and progress bars. For a broader look at your daily energy needs, try our Calorie Calculator or TDEE Calculator.
How to Use Our Food Calorie Calculator
Enter the foods you eat to see their calories, fat, protein, carbs, fiber, and sugar. The calculator adds everything up and shows how close you are to your daily nutrition goals.
API Key: Leave this set to DEMO_KEY for quick use. If you search a lot, get a free key from api.data.gov and paste it here.
Search for a Food: Type the name of any food into the search box, like "almonds" or "peanut butter." The calculator will look it up in the USDA food database.
Restaurant Filter: Pick a restaurant chain from the dropdown to only see menu items from that restaurant. You can also explore nutrition for specific chains with our Chipotle Nutrition Calculator or Starbucks Calorie Calculator.
Popular Foods: Click any popular food button to search for it right away without typing.
Search by Restaurant Chain: Click a restaurant name button to quickly find foods from that chain.
Quantity: In the search results table, set how many servings you ate before clicking the Add button.
Today's Food Log: This table shows all the foods you have added. Click the trash icon to remove any item you no longer want.
Calories Goal: Set the total calories you want to eat each day. The default is 2,000 kcal. If you are unsure what your goal should be, our BMR Calculator can help you find your baseline metabolic rate.
Protein Goal: Set how many grams of protein you aim for each day. The default is 120 g. Use our Protein Calculator to find a personalized protein target based on your body and activity level.
Carbs Goal: Set your daily carbohydrate goal in grams. The default is 250 g. Our Carb Calculator can help you determine the right amount for your needs.
Fat Goal: Set your daily fat goal in grams. The default is 65 g. For a complete macronutrient breakdown tailored to your goals, check out our Macro Calculator.
Log Summary: After you add foods, the summary cards and charts show your total calories, macronutrient breakdown, and how much of each goal you have reached.
What Are Food Calories?
A calorie is a unit of energy your body gets from food. Everything you eat and drink gives your body calories. Your body uses these calories to breathe, move, think, and stay alive. If you eat more calories than your body uses, you gain weight. If you eat fewer, you lose weight. Our Weight Loss Calculator can help you estimate how many calories to cut for safe and steady weight loss, while our Weight Gain Calculator can guide you if your goal is to add weight.
Not all calories come from the same place. Food is made up of three main macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Each gram of protein gives you 4 calories. Each gram of carbs also gives you 4 calories. Fat is the most calorie-dense — each gram gives you 9 calories. This is why high-fat foods tend to have more calories per serving.
Protein helps build and repair muscles, skin, and organs. Good sources include chicken, fish, eggs, and beans. Carbohydrates are your body's main source of quick energy. You find them in bread, rice, fruits, and vegetables. Fat helps your body absorb vitamins and protects your organs. Healthy fats come from nuts, avocados, and olive oil.
Two other important nutrients to track are fiber and sugar. Fiber helps your digestion and keeps you feeling full longer. Most people should aim for 25 to 30 grams of fiber per day — our Fiber Calculator can help you find the right target. Sugar gives you fast energy but eating too much added sugar can lead to weight gain and health problems.
Most adults need about 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day, depending on age, sex, height, weight, and how active they are. Active people need more calories. People who sit most of the day need fewer. A doctor or dietitian can help you find the right number for your body and goals. You can also use our Calories Burned Calculator to estimate how much energy you spend through exercise, and our Body Fat Calculator or BMI Calculator to better understand your current body composition.
Tracking what you eat is one of the simplest ways to understand your diet. When you know how many calories and nutrients are in your food, you can make smarter choices. This food calorie calculator uses the USDA FoodData Central database, which has nutrition data for thousands of common foods and restaurant menu items. If you follow a specific eating plan, our Keto Calculator and Fasting Calculator offer additional guidance. And do not forget to stay hydrated — our Water Intake Calculator can tell you how much water you should be drinking each day.