Calorie Calculator — TDEE & BMR
Work out how many calories you burn a day and how many you should eat to lose, maintain or gain weight. This calculator estimates your BMR (the energy your body uses at rest) with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, multiplies it by your activity level to get your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), then adjusts for your weight goal. It's the same maths Meal Matcher uses to set calorie targets inside the meal planner.
Calculate your calories
Your results
Target to lose 0.5kg a week
2,083 kcal/day
14,581 kcal across a full week.
- BMR (at rest)
- 1,699 kcal
- TDEE (maintenance)
- 2,633 kcal
- Daily adjustment
- -550 kcal
Suggested macro split
A balanced starting point: 30% protein, 25% fat, the rest carbs.
- Protein135–175g
- Carbs205–260g
- Fat50–65g
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Your calorie target at every rate
Based on a TDEE of 2,633 kcal. A deficit or surplus of 7,700 kcal over a week moves roughly 1kg of body weight.
| Weekly goal | Daily calories | Weekly calories | vs maintenance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lose 1kg/wk | 1,533 kcal | 10,731 kcal | -1,100 kcal |
| Lose 0.75kg/wk | 1,808 kcal | 12,656 kcal | -825 kcal |
| Lose 0.5kg/wk | 2,083 kcal | 14,581 kcal | -550 kcal |
| Lose 0.25kg/wk | 2,358 kcal | 16,506 kcal | -275 kcal |
| Maintain | 2,633 kcal | 18,431 kcal | 0 kcal |
| Gain 0.25kg/wk | 2,908 kcal | 20,356 kcal | +275 kcal |
| Gain 0.5kg/wk | 3,183 kcal | 22,281 kcal | +550 kcal |
| Gain 0.75kg/wk | 3,458 kcal | 24,206 kcal | +825 kcal |
| Gain 1kg/wk | 3,733 kcal | 26,131 kcal | +1,100 kcal |
Rows below 1,200 kcal a day are not recommended without medical supervision.
How this calorie calculator works
Step 1
Estimate BMR
Your basal metabolic rate is the energy you'd burn lying still all day. We use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the formula most dietitians consider the most accurate for the general population:
Men: (10 × kg) + (6.25 × cm) − (5 × age) + 5Women: (10 × kg) + (6.25 × cm) − (5 × age) − 161
Step 2
Multiply for activity
BMR × an activity multiplier gives your TDEE — everything you burn in a normal day, including walking, training, digestion and fidgeting.
- Sedentary
- ×1.2
- Lightly active
- ×1.375
- Moderately active
- ×1.55
- Very active
- ×1.725
- Athlete
- ×1.9
Step 3
Adjust for your goal
Roughly 7,700 kcal is stored in a kilo of body fat (3,500 kcal per pound). To lose 0.5kg a week you need a deficit of about 3,850 kcal across the week — around 550 kcal a day below your TDEE.
Gaining works the same way in reverse: a modest surplus of 250–500 kcal a day supports muscle gain without excess fat.
What to do with your number
A calorie target is only useful if your meals actually hit it. Hitting a number by hand means weighing, logging and guessing; the alternative is planning a week of real meals that already add up.
Plan a week at your target
Meal Matcher builds a full week of recipes around your calorie and macro targets, then turns it into one shopping list.
See how it works →Browse plans at 2,000 kcal
Example supermarket meal plans built to a fixed daily calorie budget — the closest tier to your target.
View 2,000 kcal meal plans →Hit protein without the guesswork
Protein is the macro most people miss when cutting calories. See how a high-protein plan is put together.
High protein meal planner →Cook from what you already have
Free ingredient matcher: pick what's in your kitchen and get recipes back, with calories per serving.
Try the ingredient matcher →
Got your number?
Turn your calorie target into a week of real meals.
Meal Matcher plans your week around the calories and macros you just calculated, then builds the shopping list for you.
Calorie calculator questions
TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure — the total number of calories you burn in a day. It combines your BMR (energy used at rest), the energy used to digest food, and everything you burn moving around, from deliberate exercise to walking and fidgeting. Eating at your TDEE keeps your weight roughly stable.
This calculator gives an estimate for healthy adults and is not medical advice. Individual energy needs vary with body composition, medication, pregnancy and health conditions. Speak to a GP or registered dietitian before starting a significant calorie deficit.