Calorie & TDEE calculator
This calorie calculator estimates your basal metabolic rate (BMR) with the Mifflin-St Jeor formula, multiplies it by an activity factor to get total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), and adjusts for a calorie deficit or surplus.
How to calculate daily calories
1. Enter sex, age, height, and current weight in the units shown.
2. Select your typical activity level (sedentary through very active).
3. Choose a goal: maintain, lose fat (deficit), or gain weight (surplus).
4. Read TDEE, adjusted daily calories, and suggested macros — tweak deficit size if needed.
Calorie target examples
Fat loss for a 35-year-old woman
165 cm, 72 kg, lightly active. Mifflin-St Jeor BMR ≈ 1,430 kcal; TDEE ≈ 1,965 kcal. A 500 kcal/day deficit targets ~1,465 kcal for roughly 0.5 kg loss per week — verify hunger and energy before going lower.
Maintenance for a 28-year-old man
180 cm, 78 kg, moderately active. BMR ≈ 1,780 kcal; TDEE ≈ 2,760 kcal. Eating near 2,750 kcal/day with balanced macros supports stable weight and training recovery.
Lean bulk surplus
Same man adds a 300 kcal surplus → ~3,060 kcal/day. At ~2.0 g protein per kg (~156 g protein), remaining calories split between carbs and fats fuel workouts without excessive fat gain.
When to use this tool
• When you start a cut or bulk and need a TDEE baseline from standard formulas.
• When you want macro gram targets alongside a daily calorie number.
• When you compare how activity level changes maintenance calories.
From BMR to TDEE to your target
BMR is energy at complete rest — organs, temperature, basic cell function. Real life adds walking, work, training, and digestion (thermic effect of food). Activity multipliers bundle those into one factor, which is imperfect but useful. TDEE is your maintenance estimate. Weight change follows energy balance over time: sustained deficit → loss; surplus → gain. Single-day swings from water, salt, and glycogen are normal; judge the process in weeks.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Mifflin-St Jeor equation?
It estimates BMR from weight, height, age, and sex. For men: 10×weight(kg) + 6.25×height(cm) − 5×age + 5. For women: same with −161 instead of +5. It is widely used in clinical and fitness settings.
What is TDEE?
Total daily energy expenditure = BMR × activity multiplier. It approximates all calories burned in a day, including movement and exercise.
How big should a deficit or surplus be?
Common deficits are 300–500 kcal/day (~0.25–0.5 kg/week). Surpluses of 250–400 kcal support muscle gain with less fat. Aggressive deficits are harder to sustain.
How are macros calculated?
Protein is often set around 1.6–2.2 g per kg body weight for active people; remaining calories divide between carbs and fats according to your selected split.
Why does my result differ from my fitness tracker?
Wearables use movement sensors and heart rate; formulas use population averages. Track scale weight for 2–3 weeks and adjust calories based on real trends.