TDEE Calculator: Calculate Your Maintenance Calories (2024)

FAQs

How do I calculate my maintenance calories? ›

To do so, you need to know how many calories you need to maintain your current weight. Doing this requires a few simple calculations. First, multiply your current weight by 15 — that's roughly the number of calories per pound of body weight needed to maintain your current weight if you are moderately active.

There are several equations you can use to calculate your TDEE, but the Forbes Health TDEE Calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation because experts from the American Council on Exercise (ACE) consider it to be the most accurate.

To calculate TEE, add the number of calories burned during structured exercise to your BMR. Subtract structured exercise from TEE: Subtract the number of calories burned during structured exercise from TEE to get the NEAT. This is the number of calories burned through non-exercise activities.

A calorie deficit occurs when you burn more calories than you consume. This forces your body to tap into its energy reserves, primarily stored as fat, to meet its energy needs. Over time, this deficit leads to weight loss. Your TDEE represents the number of calories required to maintain your current weight.

Consequently, most people will lose weight following a 1,500- to 1,800-calorie diet. If you want to be even more precise about how many calories you should eat each day to lose weight, this simple calculation will give you a daily calorie goal that can help you lose a healthy 1 to 2 pounds per week.

On days that you do cardio exercise, you should consume enough calories to meet your maintenance number. Consuming maintenance calories on a cardio day ensures that you're in a slight deficit to promote fat loss, but not in a deficit so large that your body starts using muscle tissue as fuel.

If you eat approximately the same number of calories you burn each day; you'll maintain your weight. Essentially, you can think of TDEE as your maintenance calories. Therefore, to lose weight, you will need to eat less than your TDEE.

Your TDEE equals your maintenance calories. To calculate your TDEE: TDEE = 1.2 × BMR if you have a sedentary lifestyle (little to no exercise and work a desk job) TDEE = 1.375 × BMR if you have a lightly active lifestyle (light exercise 1-3 days per week)

Calories needed to maintain weight

A woman needs about 2000 kcal per day to remain weight stable and a man 2500kcal. However, if you have a desk based job, drive to work and don't get a lot of exercise, a typical woman will need about 1700kcal per day.

For more information, visit our medical review board. The idea of walking 10,000 steps a day, around 5 miles on average, is a popular fitness goal. Most people burn around 300 to 400 calories by walking 10,000 steps. Experts recommend gradually increasing steps, aiming for an extra 1,000 steps per day each week.

How many calories do I burn a day doing nothing? ›

Over the course of a day, your body's natural calorie burn without any activity can range from 1,300 to more than 2,000, depending on your age and sex.

Essentially, body fat is nothing but stored energy. To break it down, each pound of fat contains 3,500 calories, meaning you must have a 7,000-calorie deficit to shed 2 pounds of fat per week.

TDEE includes all forms of activity. That activity can be exercise in the form of workouts at the gym, yoga, pilates, or running. That activity can also be walking, cleaning, or playing with your kids in the park.

In general, a female should limit their caloric intake to 1,500 or less in order to lose 1lb per week. The average male should eat 2,000 calories a day to lose this amount.

Start by increasing your intake by 5 to 10% and stick to this amount for two to three weeks. Then continue to increase your intake and repeat the process until you reach your maintenance amount.

Calculate Your Macros

Since each gram of carbohydrate and protein contains 4 calories, and each gram of fat contains 9 calories, you can calculate your macro needs as follows: Carbohydrates: Daily calories * 0.40 / 4 = grams of carbs per day. Proteins: Daily calories * 0.30 / 4 = grams of proteins per day.

On average, women need about 1,600 to 2,400 calories each day, and men need 2,000 to 3,000 calories a day -- based on age and activity level. If you figure out that you need 2,000 calories per day, then you need to keep your calorie intake about equal with that number.

Calculate Basal Metabolic Rate

Your basal metabolism rate is produced through the following basal metablic rate formula: Men: BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 x weight in kg) + (4.799 x height in cm) – (5.677 x age in years) Women: BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 x weight in kg) + (3.098 x height in cm) – (4.330 x age in years)