Daily Calorie Calculator
Enter your age, height, weight and activity level to get your BMR and TDEE from the Mifflin-St Jeor formula.
Calorie Calculator
Mifflin-St Jeor formula
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Your Goal
This tool is for information only and does not replace a doctor or dietitian. Talk to one before making health decisions.
Calorie Balance by Goal
Losing weight, maintaining it and building muscle each need a different calorie balance. Your daily calorie need is the baseline for working out how large a deficit or surplus to aim for. This tool calculates that baseline, your personal TDEE.
What Is TDEE and Why Does It Matter?
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total number of calories your body burns in a day. Eat below it and you lose weight; eat above it and you gain. The calculation starts with the Mifflin-St Jeor formula to find BMR (basal metabolic rate), then applies an activity multiplier.
How Activity Level Changes the Result
Two people with the same height, weight and age can have TDEE values 500–1,000 kcal apart from activity alone. Choosing a higher activity level than you really have inflates the TDEE and makes weight loss harder.
Formula: Mifflin-St Jeor
For males: BMR = 10 × weight + 6.25 × height − 5 × age + 5; for females the constant is −161 instead of +5. BMR is then multiplied by an activity factor to get TDEE.
Example Scenarios (TDEE)
| Profile | Activity | TDEE (kcal) |
|---|---|---|
| Male · 30y · 75kg · 175cm | Sedentary (×1.20) | 2,039 |
| Male · 30y · 75kg · 175cm | Moderate (×1.55) | 2,633 |
| Female · 25y · 60kg · 165cm | Light (×1.375) | 1,850 |
| Female · 25y · 60kg · 165cm | Active (×1.725) | 2,320 |
Macronutrient Distribution
Once you have a calorie target, the next step is macronutrients. The general guidance is 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kg of body weight, with the remaining calories split between carbohydrates and fat. While losing weight, high protein prevents muscle loss; while gaining, carbohydrates support performance.
How to Interpret the Results
The tool shows four values: BMR (resting metabolism), TDEE (total daily need), a weight-loss target (TDEE − 500 kcal) and a weight-gain target (TDEE + 500 kcal). The weight-loss target never goes below 1,200 kcal, the threshold below which long-term restriction can slow metabolism.