Calorie (TDEE) Calculator – Maintenance & Goal Calories

Estimate your daily energy needs (TDEE) from BMR, activity level, and goal. Private by design — runs entirely in your browser.

Inputs

Units:
Advanced options
Choose the equation used to estimate BMR.
If selected, we’ll show grams/day for each macro at your target calories.
Results will appear here.

About This Calculator

Curious about how many calories you need each day? This calculator estimates your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), which is a practical snapshot of the energy you burn across a full day of living, moving, and training. It helps you understand your daily calorie needs so you can plan for weight loss, maintenance, or muscle gain with more confidence.

Here is the simple idea behind it: your body burns calories even at rest to keep you alive and functioning. That base number is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). On top of that, you burn extra energy through daily activity, exercise, and even digestion. The calculator uses a proven BMR formula and then applies an activity multiplier to estimate your full-day calorie burn. If you choose a goal, it suggests a reasonable calorie target that moves you gently in the right direction instead of extreme cuts or surpluses.

How to Use This Calculator

  1. Enter your age, sex, height, and weight. These inputs help estimate your metabolic rate.
  2. Select your activity level. Think about your typical week, not a single busy day.
  3. Choose a goal: weight loss, maintenance calories, or muscle gain.
  4. Review your results and use the suggested calorie target as a starting point.

Real-world example: if you work at a desk but walk daily and do a few workouts per week, “Lightly Active” is often a better fit than “Sedentary.” If your results say your maintenance calories are around 2,200 kcal, a weight loss target might land near 1,800–1,900 kcal, while a lean gain target might be closer to 2,400–2,600 kcal. These are starting estimates, and it is normal to adjust based on progress, hunger, and energy.

Formulas Used

The calculator supports two common equations. They are widely used in nutrition and fitness apps because they balance accuracy with simplicity.

  • Mifflin–St Jeor (default)
    BMR (men) = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age + 5
    BMR (women) = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age − 161
  • Harris–Benedict (revised)
    BMR (men) = 13.397 × weight(kg) + 4.799 × height(cm) − 5.677 × age + 88.362
    BMR (women) = 9.247 × weight(kg) + 3.098 × height(cm) − 4.330 × age + 447.593

Activity Multipliers

  • Sedentary: BMR × 1.2
  • Lightly Active: BMR × 1.375
  • Moderately Active: BMR × 1.55
  • Very Active: BMR × 1.725
  • Extra Active: BMR × 1.9

Calorie Goals

  • Weight Loss: consume ~300–500 fewer kcal/day than your TDEE.
  • Maintenance: eat near your TDEE.
  • Muscle Gain: add ~200–500 kcal/day, with attention to protein.

This tool is for educational purposes and general planning — not medical advice.

Tip: Use “Add Example” to see a filled example and the macro presets.

5 Fun Facts about Calories & TDEE

Most burn is “background”

For many desk workers, 60–75% of daily calories are just keeping the lights on (BMR), not workouts.

Hidden burn

Adaptive metabolism

Long dieting can lower daily burn by a few hundred calories—your body quietly trims “nonessential” movement (NEAT).

NEAT drop

Protein is “expensive”

Digesting protein costs ~20–30% of its calories (thermic effect). Carbs cost ~5–10%, fats ~0–3%.

Thermic effect

Steps are modest

Adding 2,000 steps is roughly 70–100 kcal for most adults—tiny changes compound over weeks.

Small moves

Sleep shifts appetite

Short nights can spike hunger hormones; people often eat 200–500 kcal more after a poor sleep.

Rest factor

Explore more tools