Your maintenance calories = the number of calories your body needs daily to stay at the same weight.
This is based on your BMR (calories your body burns at rest) + your daily activity.
BMR = calories your body needs just to survive (breathing, digestion, organ function).
TDEE = BMR × activity level.
Maintenance Calories = your TDEE for your current lifestyle.
Weight Loss Calories = TDEE − 300–500 calories.
Muscle Gain Calories = TDEE + 200–300 calories.
This calculator gives you:
Your exact BMR
Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)
Your daily calorie target for weight loss or muscle gain
Enter your age, gender, height, and weight
Choose your activity level
Click Calculate
Get your BMR, TDEE, and recommended calorie intake
Case 1 — Female, 72 kg, 162 cm, light activity
BMR: ~1,430 calories
TDEE: ~1,715 calories
Weight loss calories: 1,250–1,400
Muscle gain calories: 1,900–2,000
Case 2 — Male, 82 kg, 175 cm, moderate activity
BMR: ~1,780 calories
TDEE: ~2,450 calories
Weight loss calories: 1,900–2,100
Muscle gain calories: 2,650–2,800
Muscle tissue is metabolically active, which means it burns calories even when you’re not moving. The more muscle you have, the higher your BMR and overall TDEE. This is why two people of the same weight can have completely different calorie needs — the one with more lean muscle burns significantly more energy throughout the day. To increase muscle mass, include 120 min strength training per week and eat a high-protein balanced diet.
Chronic stress increases cortisol, a hormone that slows metabolism, increases water retention, and makes your body store more fat—especially around the belly. High cortisol also disrupts hunger and satiety signals, making you feel hungrier even when your calorie needs haven’t changed. Over time, unmanaged stress reduces daily energy expenditure.
Poor sleep directly reduces BMR and increases cravings for high-calorie foods. When you sleep less than 6 hours, your body produces less leptin (the fullness hormone) and more ghrelin (the hunger hormone). This hormonal imbalance slows metabolism and makes fat loss harder, even if your calorie intake stays the same. The best way to balance these hormones is to start with 14-16hrs of intermittent fasting.
Your thyroid controls the speed of your metabolism. If it’s underactive (hypothyroidism), your BMR drops, calorie burn slows down, and weight loss becomes harder. If it’s overactive (hyperthyroidism), the opposite happens. Even mild thyroid imbalances can influence your daily maintenance calories.
During perimenopause and menopause, estrogen levels drop, which affects where fat is stored and reduces muscle mass. Lower estrogen also slows metabolic rate and increases insulin resistance. All of this lowers TDEE, meaning women often need fewer calories than before unless they actively maintain muscle through strength training and protein intake.
Your total calorie burn is heavily influenced by NEAT — non-exercise activity thermogenesis. This includes walking, climbing stairs, standing, cooking, or even fidgeting. People who walk 8,000–10,000 steps a day can burn 300–600 calories more than someone who sits most of the day, even if they both do the same workout.
Your body isn’t just “weight” — it’s a mix of muscle, fat, water, bone, and organs. Muscle burns more energy, fat burns less. Higher fat percentage usually means a lower metabolic rate compared to someone with the same body weight but more muscle. Two people weighing 70 kg can have very different BMR depending on their body composition.
Protein has the highest thermic effect of food — your body burns 20–30% of protein calories just to digest it. This boosts your total daily calorie burn. You must try to aim at your daily requirement of calorie and macros – protein, carbs and fat. Eating enough protein also preserves muscle mass, indirectly increasing your BMR and long-term TDEE.
Case 1 — Female, 72 kg, 162 cm, light activity
BMR: ~1,430 calories
TDEE: ~1,715 calories
Weight loss calories: 1,250–1,400
Muscle gain calories: 1,900–2,000
Case 2 — Male, 82 kg, 175 cm, moderate activity
BMR: ~1,780 calories
TDEE: ~2,450 calories
Weight loss calories: 1,900–2,100
Muscle gain calories: 2,650–2,800
Calorie calculator helps you calculate your daily calorie requirement, also known as TDEE is ‘Total Daily Energy Expenditure’ that is the energy you spend every day including your physical activity. That means TDEE is the measure of calories you need for your body functions and other activities.
BMR is the ‘Basal Metabolic Rate’. This tells you the number of calories you would be burning per day in the rested state. That means BMR is the calories you need if you do no activity throughout the day.
If you are trying to lose weight or fat, your calorie intake should be 200-300cals less than TDEE. This will create a calorie deficit and if you are in a caloric deficit, you will lose weight.
For example, if your TDEE is 2500calories, and you are trying to lose weight, then you should look at consuming 2200-2300 calories per day. This is a safe calorie deficit zone. If you create a more sudden and bigger calorie deficit, the body will start losing its metabolism. Staying in a big calorie for the long term affects your metabolism poorly and you will end up gaining more weight than you ever lost.
The crucial thing to remember is to never drop your calories below BMR. This may result in poor bodily functions.
For gains, your calorie intake should be 200-300cals higher than TDEE. How much higher you should go, also depends on your activity levels. Similar to the calorie deficit, a calorie surplus should also not be drastic and sudden. A gradual increase from TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) or the maintenance calorie, is great for gradually gaining lean mass.
Weight training, combined with optimum nutrition helps in muscle growth. While increasing the calorie intake, ensure to increase all the macros, protein, carbs, and fat, in proportion.
If you are trying to maintain your weight, it’s advised to consume calories about equal to the TDEE. The calorie requirement is dependent on your activity levels. Based on variations in your activity levels, you will have to adjust your calorie intake as well.
You need not consume an equal amount of calories every day. Calorie cycling is a great way to make you learn balance. Calorie cycling means to keep varying your calorie intake through the week, in such a way that your overall weekly consumption aligns with your calorie requirements.
For example, if your TDEE is 2500 Calories, your daily consumption over a week could look like 2200, 2100, 3300, 2200, 3000, 2200, or 2500 calories.
Yes. Strength training, higher step count, and increasing protein intake help increase daily calorie burn.