About TDEEGuide: Free, Transparent Calculators

Our Mission

Many calorie and macro tools hand you a number without showing how it was worked out. TDEEGuide publishes the formulas it uses, explains their limits, and keeps every tool free, with no account and no paywall.

Calculations run in your browser, and the health figures you enter are not sent to our servers. See our privacy policy for details.

Methods and Sources

The calculators use published equations and standard reference values:

• Mifflin-St Jeor (1990): our default for resting energy. A 2005 systematic review for the American Dietetic Association found it more likely than other equations tested to estimate resting metabolic rate within 10% of measured values.
• Katch-McArdle: estimates resting energy from lean body mass. It needs a body fat estimate, so it is only as good as that input.
• Harris-Benedict (revised 1984): included for comparison. It tends to read higher than measured values for many adults.
• US Navy circumference method (Hodgdon & Beckett, 1984): estimates body fat from tape measurements. It is convenient but less precise than a DEXA scan, and individual results can be off by several percentage points.
• Activity levels and MET values: standard activity multipliers and the Compendium of Physical Activities (Ainsworth et al., 2011).
• BMI categories: the standard adult cut-offs of 18.5, 25 and 30 used by the World Health Organization and the CDC, with the CDC’s obesity classes 1, 2 and 3 at 30, 35 and 40.
• Thermic effect of food: protein roughly 20–30%, carbohydrate 5–10% and fat 0–3% of the calories eaten.

The shared opening man is 28, 75 kg, and 178 cm. The homepage rounds Mifflin-St Jeor from 1,727.5 to 1,728, then prints 2,678 kcal at ×1.55 and 2,376 kcal at ×1.375. The macro calculator multiplies 1,727.5 directly, so lightly active there is 2,375 kcal and moderate is still 2,678. Revised Harris-Benedict on that person is 1,788 kcal. The body-fat form, neck 38 cm and waist 84 cm, prints 15.7%. The water form, 75 kg and 45 minutes in a moderate climate, prints 3.1 L from 3,150 ml. Running at 6 mph for 45 minutes prints 551 kcal gross.

How We Write and Update

Each guide lists its sources at the bottom. We review formulas and guidance when new recommendations are published, and we correct mistakes when readers report them.

We are not medical professionals, and nothing on this site is medical advice. Results are estimates that can be off for any one person. Please read our medical disclaimer.

Corrections and Feedback

Found a mistake, or have a suggestion for a calculator or guide? We would like to hear from you.