Calorie Calculator

Use this free calorie calculator to find your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) — the number of calories your body burns each day. Enter your age, sex, height, weight, and activity level to get your maintenance calories, plus your calorie targets for weight loss or weight gain.

How to use this Calorie Calculator

1. Enter your age in years.
2. Select your biological sex — this affects the BMR formula used in the calculation.
3. Enter your weight in pounds and your height in inches.
4. Select your activity level — be honest here as overestimating activity is the most common mistake. Sedentary means a desk job with little or no intentional exercise. Moderately active means structured exercise 3 to 5 days per week.
5. Click Calculate My Calories to see your TDEE (maintenance calories), calorie targets for weight loss and gain, and a suggested macro breakdown for your maintenance intake.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What is TDEE?
A: TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure — the total number of calories your body burns in a day including your basal metabolic rate (calories burned at rest) plus calories burned through activity and digestion. Eating at your TDEE maintains your current weight. Eating below it creates a deficit for weight loss, and eating above it creates a surplus for weight gain.

Q: How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
A: A deficit of 500 calories per day below your TDEE produces approximately one pound of weight loss per week, since one pound of fat equals roughly 3,500 calories. This is a safe and sustainable rate for most people. Deficits larger than 750 to 1,000 calories per day can lead to muscle loss, nutrient deficiencies, and metabolic adaptation.

Q: What is BMR and how is it different from TDEE?
A: BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the number of calories your body burns at complete rest — just to keep your organs functioning. TDEE is BMR multiplied by an activity factor to account for movement and exercise. Your TDEE is the number that actually matters for daily calorie planning since you are not at complete rest during the day.

Q: How accurate is this calculator?
A: This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which research shows is the most accurate BMR formula for most people. However, individual metabolism can vary by 10% to 15% from predictions. Use the result as a starting point, track your weight for two to three weeks, and adjust your intake up or down by 100 to 200 calories based on actual results.

Q: What are macros and why do they matter?
A: Macros (macronutrients) are the three main categories of nutrients that provide calories: carbohydrates (4 cal/g), protein (4 cal/g), and fat (9 cal/g). The suggested macro split shown here (40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat) is a balanced general-purpose starting point. Higher protein ratios (40% or more) are commonly recommended for people trying to preserve muscle while losing weight.