Daily Calories (TDEE)
This is the energy required to maintain your current weight at your selected activity level.
Pro Tip: Most sustainable weight loss happens at a deficit of 500 calories/day (1 lb/week). Reducing intake by more than 1,000 calories/day is generally not recommended without medical supervision.
A calorie is simply a unit of energy. In nutritional terms, calories refer to the energy people get from the food and drink they consume, and the energy they use in physical activity.
Why it matters: Calories are the fundamental currency of weight management. Your body needs a specific "budget" of calories to function (breathing, pumping blood, moving). If you exceed this budget, your body stores the excess as fat. If you eat less than your budget, your body burns stored fat for energy.
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It is the total number of calories your body burns in a single day, combining your basal metabolism (staying alive) with your physical activity.
Knowing your TDEE is the starting point for any diet. If you eat exactly your TDEE, your weight stays the same.
This tool uses the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation, widely considered the most accurate standard for estimating calorie needs in clinical settings.
Men: (10 × weight) + (6.25 × height) - (5 × age) + 5
Women: (10 × weight) + (6.25 × height) - (5 × age) - 161
It is generally not recommended for men to eat fewer than 1,500 calories and women fewer than 1,200 calories without medical supervision, as it's hard to get essential nutrients.
Yes. Muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue. Building muscle raises your BMR, meaning you burn more calories just sitting still.
Be conservative. If you have a desk job but exercise 3 times a week, choose "Light" or "Moderate". "Active" and "Very Active" are typically for people with physically demanding jobs or athletes.
Generally, no. Since this calculator uses an "Activity Multiplier" to determine your TDEE, your exercise calories are already accounted for in your daily target.
As you lose weight, your body requires less energy to function. It is recommended to recalculate your TDEE after every 5-10 lbs of weight loss to ensure you stay in a deficit.