How to Calculate Your Daily Calories (TDEE) and Hit Your Goal

Every diet plan starts with one number: how many calories you burn in a day. Get that right and the rest is arithmetic. Here's what the jargon means and how to find your number.

BMR vs TDEE

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is what you'd burn lying in bed all day. TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is BMR multiplied by an activity factor — your real daily burn. The calorie calculator estimates both using the Mifflin–St Jeor equation, the current gold standard.

The simple goal math

Eat at your TDEE to maintain weight. To lose, eat below it; to gain, eat above. A deficit of about 500 calories a day is roughly 0.5 kg of fat loss per week — aggressive enough to see progress, gentle enough to sustain. The calculator shows these targets for you automatically.

Be honest about activity

The biggest error people make is overstating activity. A desk job with three gym sessions a week is "light to moderate", not "very active". When unsure, pick the lower level — it's easier to eat a bit more later than to wonder why the scale won't move.

Calories are only half the story

How those calories split into protein, carbs and fat matters for body composition and hunger. Once you have your number, run it through the macro calculator to get gram targets for your goal — protein especially keeps you full and protects muscle.

Track the right metrics

Weigh yourself consistently (same time, same conditions) and judge trends over weeks, not days. Pair it with the BMI calculator for a rough range and the body fat calculator for composition. And remember: these are estimates — for medical or clinical needs, talk to a professional.