Tool · Nutrition

TDEE & macro calculator

Estimate how many calories you burn in a day (your TDEE), pick a goal, and get your starting calorie and macro targets. Fill it in and the numbers update live. These are a starting point — your coach adjusts them against real-world results after 2–3 weeks.

Your numbers

US (lb · ft/in) Metric (kg · cm)

Goal

Lose weight Maintain Gain weight

Sex

Male Female

Age Weight

Height (feet) Height (inches)

Activity level Count training and your job/daily movement. Most people overestimate — when in doubt pick one lower. Body fat % (optional) If you know it, we’ll use the lean-mass formula, which is more accurate for very lean or very muscular people.

Your results

Fill in your sex, age, weight, height, and activity level to see your numbers.

How this works

BMR (basal metabolic rate) is what you’d burn lying in bed all day. We use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation^[1], the most accurate of the common formulas for the general population. If you enter body fat %, we switch to Katch-McArdle^[2], which calculates from lean mass instead.

TDEE = BMR × an activity multiplier (1.2 to 1.9). That’s your estimated maintenance — eat that and your weight holds steady.

Goal targets are TDEE −20% for a sustainable cut and TDEE +10% for a lean gain^[3]. That is roughly ½–1 lb per week on the way down and a slower climb on the way up, the pace that keeps muscle on a cut and keeps fat off a bulk.

Macros: protein is set at ~1 g per lb of bodyweight (or 1.2 g per lb of lean mass if you gave body fat %) — the upper end of the evidence-based range, which is where you want to be when dieting^[4]. Fat is 25% of calories. Carbs fill the rest and fuel training.

Sources

Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51(2):241-247.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2305711/ The BMR equation used here. Later validation (Frankenfield 2005, ADA) found it the most reliable of the standard equations.
Katch FI, McArdle WD. Prediction of body density from simple anthropometric measurements in college-age men and women. Hum Biol. 1973;45(3):445-455.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4750412/ Origin of the lean-mass-based BMR formula (370 + 21.6 × lean kg) used when body fat % is entered.
Garthe I, Raastad T, Refsnes PE, Koivisto A, Sundgot-Borgen J. Effect of two different weight-loss rates on body composition and strength and power-related performance in elite athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2011;21(2):97-104.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21558571/ Slower (~0.7%/wk) weight loss preserved more lean mass and strength than faster loss — the basis for the ~20% deficit default rather than something harsher.
Morton RW, Murphy KT, McKellar SR, et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(6):376-384.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28698222/ 49-study meta-analysis: gains plateau around 1.6 g/kg (≈0.73 g/lb) with an upper confidence bound near 2.2 g/kg (≈1 g/lb). Dieting lifters benefit from the higher end — see also Helms 2014 (PMID 24092765).

Estimates, not a prescription. Every formula has a ±10% margin on individuals. The real test is the scale and the mirror over 2–3 weeks at these numbers — your coach adjusts from there. Not medical advice; if you have a medical condition affecting metabolism, talk to your doctor first.