Calorie Calculator
🇳🇿 New Zealand version
New Zealand follows the joint Food Standards Code, so food labels give energy in kilojoules and kilocalories are optional. This calculator therefore shows kJ first, with kcal in brackets, and estimates resting energy, a daily target and macronutrient grams from age, gender, height and weight.
Use Calorie Calculator online
Advanced Nutrition & Calorie Tracker
Comprehensive nutrition tracking, meal planning, and progress monitoring
Personal Information
Your Results
Macro Breakdown
Hydration Goal
Energy is shown as kilojoules with kcal alongside, as food labels here give it. 1 kcal = 4.184 kJ. Same as Australia under the joint Food Standards Code: energy in kJ, with kcal optional.
Understanding Your Results
New Zealand rules and figures
- Under the joint Food Standards Code, FSANZ Standard 1.2.8 applies in New Zealand as in Australia: energy goes on the label in kJ, with kcal optional.
- This page shows energy as kJ with kcal in brackets, so the example target reads 9,452 kJ (2,259 kcal).
- Weight starts in kilograms and height in centimetres on the New Zealand page, with 70 kg and 170 cm as the sample profile.
- The 500 kcal goal change is 2,092 kJ, so losing or gaining adjusts the daily figure by that much in kJ.
Sources: FSANZ: Standard 1.2.8 Nutrition information requirements (checked 2026-11-08)
How the calorie calculator works
Resting energy is worked out from the equation you select, multiplied by an activity factor to give daily energy, and moved up or down by 500 kcal if you choose a gain or loss goal. Results are shown as kJ by multiplying kcal by 4.184.
BMR = 10 × 85 + 6.25 × 180 − 5 × 40 + 5 = 1,780 kcal (7,448 kJ); × 1.55 = 2,759 kcal (11,544 kJ); − 500 = 2,259 kcal (9,452 kJ)
- Every energy figure reads as kJ followed by kcal in brackets, which mirrors the unit order of a New Zealand label.
- A gain or loss goal always changes the target by 500 kcal, equal to 2,092 kJ, whatever the person weighs.
- The page begins with kilograms and centimetres. Pounds, stones, feet and inches are on the unit lists and your pick is remembered.
- Macronutrients take fixed shares of the target: protein 25%, fat 30% and carbohydrate 45%.
- Fibre is 0.5 g per kilogram and the water goal is 35 mL per kilogram of body weight.
How to use the calorie calculator
- Fill in who you are. Type your age and gender. Height in centimetres and weight in kilograms are the starting units on the New Zealand page.
- Choose an activity level. The scale runs from Sedentary at 1.2 to Extremely active at 1.9. Moderately active at 1.55 suits three to five exercise days a week.
- Pick your goal. Use Maintain weight for the plain daily figure, or lose or gain to move it by 500 kcal, or 2,092 kJ.
- Compare the equations. Mifflin-St Jeor is first. Switch to Harris-Benedict or to Katch-McArdle, which needs a body fat percentage.
- Set your own macro grams. Settings lets you type protein or fat grams in place of the default shares.
Example: A 40-year-old man, 85 kg, 180 cm, losing weight
Mifflin-St Jeor with Moderately active puts his BMR at 7,448 kJ (1,780 kcal) and his TDEE at 11,544 kJ (2,759 kcal). Lose weight brings the target to 9,452 kJ (2,259 kcal), made up of 141 g protein, 254 g carbohydrate and 75 g fat. Expect 43 g of fibre and a 2,975 mL water goal.
When to use the calorie calculator
- Comparing equations for the same person. Switch the BMR formula and watch the maintenance figure move by about 65 kcal between Mifflin and Harris-Benedict.
- Turning a goal into gram targets. Read protein, carbohydrate and fat grams for the goal calories instead of working out the percentages by hand.
- Using a body-fat reading. Enter a body fat percentage under Katch-McArdle if you have a measurement and want the lean-mass-based estimate.
- Logging meals against the target. On the Meal Tracker tab, add foods from a built-in list of ten and compare the day's calories with the goal.
What the calorie calculator does not do
- The loss and gain goals always shift energy by exactly 500 kcal (2,092 kJ), whatever your size, and the 1 lb (0.5 kg) a week label is a rule of thumb rather than a prediction.
- The Meal Tracker uses a built-in list of ten foods only, such as chicken breast, brown rice and avocado half; there is no food database search beyond that.
- A meal you remove moves to a Recently deleted list under Today's Meals, where it can be restored.
- The Insights text on the Progress tab, such as the on-track message, is fixed wording rather than derived from your data.
- Foods and logged meals are held in kcal and converted to kJ for display, so a kJ total can differ by a unit from a label that rounds before converting.
When something else is a better fit
- When you want to set protein, carb and fat ratios by percentage or diet style, use the Macro Calculator.
- When you want calories burned by a specific workout, use the Exercise Calories Calculator.
- When you need a calorie plan for a medical condition, use a registered dietitian, who works from your tests and history rather than a general equation.
Questions about the calorie calculator
Does New Zealand use kilojoules or Calories?
Labels give kJ, and kcal may be added. This page shows kJ first and puts kcal in brackets so that either can be matched to a pack or an app.
What is 9,452 kJ in kcal?
About 2,259 kcal, found by dividing by 4.184. That is the example man's weight-loss target after 500 kcal comes off a 2,759 kcal day.
Can I switch to pounds or stones?
Yes. The unit list above the weight box offers kg, lb and st, and the box you choose stays selected. Values are changed to kilograms before the equation runs.
Is this the same as advice from my GP?
No. It is a general estimate, and it cannot see your tests or history. Check with your GP or a registered dietitian if you have a condition, take medicine, or are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Where does 2,092 kJ come from?
It is 500 kcal times 4.184. The tool applies it as the daily difference for a loss or gain goal, whichever unit you read the target in.