Introduction
This free nutrition calculator does three jobs in one tool. It finds your daily calorie and nutrient needs, tracks the food you eat, and builds nutrition facts for your own recipes.
Start in the Nutrition Needs tab. Type your weight, height, age, sex, and how active you are. The tool uses the Mifflin St Jeor equation to find your resting metabolic rate (RMR), then multiplies it by your activity level to get your total daily energy needs (TDEE). You also get your BMI, ideal body weight, protein and carb and fat ranges, fiber, water, and daily targets for 14 vitamins and 10 minerals. Every step is shown so you can see the math.
The Food Log tab lets you search foods, fast food chains, or a barcode. Add them to your log and see your calories, protein, carbs, and fat add up. Set goals and watch progress bars fill in. The log also checks how close you are to your vitamin and mineral targets.
The Recipe Builder tab turns a list of ingredients into a real Nutrition Facts label. Add foods, set how many servings you make, and get the numbers per serving and per 100 grams. You can paste a recipe as text or make your own custom ingredient.
Food data comes from USDA FoodData Central. Intake targets come from the Dietary Reference Intakes and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This tool gives general info and is not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or dietitian before making big diet changes.
How to use our Nutrition Calculator
Enter your body details and you get your daily calorie needs plus protein, carb, fat, fiber, fluid and vitamin targets. Log the foods you eat or build a recipe and you get full nutrition facts for anything you add. Here is what each field does.
Current Weight: Type how much you weigh now and pick lb or kg. Switching the unit converts the number for you.
Usual Weight: Type the weight you have held for most of the last 6 months. This shows your weight change.
Height: Enter your height and choose ft/in, cm, m or in.
Age: Enter your age in years. Age changes your vitamin and mineral targets.
Biological Sex: Pick male or female. This changes your calorie and nutrient needs.
Pregnant: If you picked female, choose yes or no. Yes adds extra calories, protein and nutrients.
Activity Level (PAL): Pick how much you move each day, from sedentary to extremely active.
Calculation Weight Basis: Choose which weight to base your needs on: current, desirable, adjusted or usual.
Show energy in: Pick kcal or kJ for all calorie results.
Show body weights in: Pick lb or kg for the weight results.
Show fluids in: Pick mL, L, fl oz or cups for your daily water needs.
Calorie Target: In the macro calorimeter, type the calories you want to eat each day.
Protein %, Carbohydrate % and Fat %: Type your own macro split. The three must add up to 100%.
Protein target (g per kg): Type grams of protein per kg of body weight to see your total protein in grams.
Food Search: In the Food Log tab, type a food, a chain meal, or a UPC number. You can add an amount too, like "banana 150g".
Barcode button: Tap it to scan a product barcode with your camera, if your browser allows it.
Quick Add: Type a food name and press Find to jump straight to it.
Diet Mode Filter: Turn on keto, low-carb, high-protein, vegan, vegetarian or paleo to flag foods that do not fit.
Amount and Meal: Set how much you ate, pick g, oz, lb, kg or servings, choose breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack, then press Add to Log.
Calorie, Protein, Carb and Fat Goals: Type your daily goals and press Add or Edit Goal to see progress bars.
Recipe Name and Servings: In the Recipe Builder tab, name your dish and say how many servings it makes.
Final (cooked) Weight: Enter the weight of the finished dish. This makes the per-serving numbers more exact.
Serving Weight and Name: Set how much one serving weighs and what to call it, like "bowl" or "slice".
Ingredient Search: Look up each ingredient, set the amount, and press Add Ingredient.
Custom Ingredient: Type a name and the calories, protein, carbs, fat, fiber and sodium per 100 g, then add it to your recipe.
Import Recipe Text: Paste a recipe with one ingredient per line, press Parse Recipe, check the matches, then add them.
Nutrition: What It Means for Your Body
Nutrition is the study of what food does inside your body. Every food you eat gives you energy (calories) and nutrients. Your body uses them to breathe, move, heal, think, and grow. Once you know your daily numbers, you can plan meals instead of guessing.
Calories and Energy Needs
Calories measure energy. Your body burns some calories even when you sit still. That amount is called your resting metabolic rate (RMR). When you add walking, work, and exercise, you get your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). Eat about as many calories as you burn and your weight stays steady. Eat fewer and you tend to lose weight. Eat more and you tend to gain.
The Three Macronutrients
- Protein (4 calories per gram): builds and repairs muscle, skin, and blood.2 Found in chicken, fish, eggs, beans, tofu, and yogurt.
- Carbohydrates (4 calories per gram): your body's main fuel.2 Found in rice, oats, bread, fruit, beans, and potatoes. Fiber is a carb your body can't digest, and it keeps your gut healthy and helps you feel full.
- Fat (9 calories per gram): stores energy, protects organs, and helps you soak up some vitamins.2 Found in oils, nuts, seeds, avocado, and fatty fish. Keep saturated fat under about 10% of your calories.3
Vitamins and Minerals
These are called micronutrients because you need only small amounts. Still, they matter a lot. Iron carries oxygen in your blood. Calcium and vitamin D build bone. Vitamin C helps healing. Potassium helps your heart and muscles. Eating many different whole foods is the easiest way to cover them all. Daily targets come from the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) and change with your age, sex, and pregnancy status.4
Body Weight Numbers
Health workers often compare a few weights. BMI uses height and weight to sort people into ranges. Desirable body weight (DBW), sometimes called ideal body weight, is a height-based estimate. Usual body weight is what you normally weigh. Comparing them shows if you have lost or gained weight fast, which can be a warning sign. These numbers are screening tools, not full health checks. They do not measure muscle, bone, or body fat.
Water
Water has no calories, but you need it every day. This calculator estimates fluid needs at 30 to 35 mL per kilogram of body weight. The Dietary Reference Intake for water is 2.7 to 3.7 liters a day for adults, counting both food and drinks.5 You need more in hot weather, during hard exercise, or when you are sick.
Food Labels and Serving Sizes
A Nutrition Facts label lists numbers for one serving, not the whole package. The % Daily Value column is based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so it may not match your own needs.6 Weighing food in grams is the most accurate way to track it. Cups and spoons are quick but less exact, since foods have different densities.
Simple Habits That Work
- Fill half your plate with vegetables and fruit.
- Pick whole grains over refined ones for more fiber.
- Get protein at each meal to stay full and hold onto muscle.
- Watch added sugar and sodium, which climb fast in packaged foods.
- Check your numbers again when your weight, age, or activity changes.
These targets are general guides for healthy people. If you are pregnant, sick, an athlete in heavy training, or managing a condition like kidney disease or diabetes, talk with a doctor or registered dietitian before making big changes.