Your daily calorie burn (TDEE) + the exact cut, maintain, or bulk target
Height units
Weight units
Goal
This calculator answers the question most calorie tools skip: how much should I actually eat? It first estimates your BMR (the calories you burn at complete rest), multiplies it by an activity factor to get your TDEE (your total daily burn, the number to eat at to maintain weight), then converts that into a clear cut, maintain, or bulk target — with a built-in safe-calorie floor and an evidence-based macro split. Everything is calculated privately in your browser, free.
Save as link: the link encodes your height, weight, age, and goal so the calculator reopens pre-filled. It stays in your browser, but the figures are visible in the URL — don't post it publicly if you'd rather keep those private.
BMR is your resting burn — what your body costs just to keep you alive lying still all day. TDEE is BMR plus everything you do: walking, training, fidgeting, digesting food. The classic mistake is eating at BMR (way too little). You want to eat around your TDEE to maintain, a bit below it to lose fat, or a bit above it to build. The activity multiplier is the bridge between the two.
A 30-year-old female, 170 cm, 70 kg, lightly active (×1.375), goal lose at a moderate pace (−500 kcal):
weight_kg = lb / 2.2046226 height_cm = ft*30.48 + in*2.54
Mifflin-St Jeor (default):
male BMR = 10*kg + 6.25*cm - 5*age + 5
female BMR = 10*kg + 6.25*cm - 5*age - 161
Katch-McArdle (if body-fat % given):
LBM = kg * (1 - bodyfat/100) BMR = 370 + 21.6 * LBM
TDEE = BMR * activity (1.2 / 1.375 / 1.55 / 1.725 / 1.9)
target: maintain = TDEE
lose = TDEE - {250,500,750} gain = TDEE + {250,400,500}
safety floor (lose): 1500 male / 1200 female (cap, never below)
weekly change (lb) = (target - TDEE) * 7 / 3500
display: BMR/TDEE/targets round to nearest 10 kcalNo account, no coding — grab the copy-paste embed code from the "Add this calculator to your site" box below the guide. See it live: view a real embed example →
BMR is the calories you burn at complete rest just to stay alive. TDEE is your total burn including all activity — TDEE = BMR × an activity factor (1.2–1.9). Eating at BMR badly under-fuels you; eat at TDEE to maintain weight.
Below your TDEE. A moderate cut is about −500 kcal/day (≈1 lb/week). Gentle is −250, aggressive −750. The tool caps the target at a safe floor (1,500 men / 1,200 women) so you never under-eat.
Mifflin-St Jeor by default (≈5% average error). If you enter body-fat %, it switches to Katch-McArdle, which bases BMR on lean mass and is better for lean/muscular people.
Be honest and round down — most people overestimate. Sedentary = desk job; lightly active = 1–3 days/wk; moderate = 3–5; very = 6–7; extra = daily hard training or physical job.
Roughly weekly change = (target − TDEE) × 7 ÷ 3500 (≈3500 kcal per lb of fat). −500/day ≈ 1 lb/week. It's an approximation; TDEE drifts down as you lose, so recalculate every 4–6 weeks.
It's an estimate. Mifflin-St Jeor is within ~5% on average but individuals vary more. Track weight + intake for 2–3 weeks and adjust your target based on real results — the scale is the true calibration.
No. Educational estimates only — not for children, pregnancy/breastfeeding, or metabolic/thyroid/eating-disorder conditions. Don't drop below 1,200 (women) / 1,500 (men) kcal/day except under professional supervision.
These are estimates, not measurements. The Mifflin-St Jeor equation predicts measured BMR within about ±5% for the general population (versus 10–15% for the older Harris-Benedict), but individual results vary more — especially at body-composition extremes. Activity multipliers are coarse buckets that bundle exercise and non-exercise movement (NEAT); most people overestimate, so when unsure pick one bucket lower. The 3,500 kcal ≈ 1 lb rule is a useful approximation, not exact long-term — metabolism adapts as you lose weight, so re-run this every 4–6 weeks or ~10 lb. Katch-McArdle is only as good as the body-fat % you enter (consumer scales are often off by 5+ points, which feeds straight into BMR).
Disclaimer: This tool provides general educational estimates and is not medical or nutritional advice. It is not for children, pregnant or breastfeeding people, or those with metabolic, thyroid, eating-disorder, or other medical conditions. Calorie intake should not drop below 1,200/day (women) or 1,500/day (men) except under professional supervision (Harvard Health). Consult a registered dietitian or physician before making significant diet changes. Best practice: compare this estimate against real-world results after 2–3 weeks of consistent tracking and adjust — the scale is the ultimate calibration, not the formula.
Everything is calculated in your browser. We don't store or sell your data. Estimate only — not medical advice.