How to Work Out Your Maintenance Calories
Below is a simple calculator to help you figure out what your daily calorie intake should be.
For those who just want the number and can’t be bothered with the details, feel free to dive right in! But for a more accurate result, a quick read through the Physical Activity Level (PAL) descriptions will make all the difference.
What is BMR?
So, what actually is your BMR? BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate, and it's basically the number of calories your body burns just by existing. Your body is constantly burning energy, even when you're sleeping or lying on the couch. Your BMR accounts for about 60-75% of your total daily calorie expenditure. It's the engine idling in your car; it's always running to keep the most essential systems functioning. When you calculate your BMR, you're finding out how many calories you'd burn if you did nothing but rest for 24 hours.
BMR: A Guiding Tool, Not a Perfect Number
Your BMR calculation is an extremely useful tool for understanding your body's energy needs, but it's important to know that it provides an estimate, not a precise, perfect number. The formulas used to calculate BMR are based on statistical averages from large groups of people.
Your personal BMR can be higher or lower than the calculated number due to a range of individual factors that the formula cannot account for.
Including:
Age: Your metabolism naturally slows down as you get older, which means your BMR decreases.
Gender: Men typically have a higher BMR than women because they generally have more muscle mass and less body fat.
Weight & Height: The larger and taller you are, the more energy your body needs to sustain itself.
Genetics: Your genes play a significant role in determining your BMR, which is why some people seem to have a naturally faster or slower metabolism.
Beyond the primary factors, BMR can be affected by several other elements:
Body Composition: Muscle tissue burns significantly more calories at rest than fat tissue. This is why two people of the same weight might have different BMRs if one has a higher percentage of muscle and the other has a higher percentage of body fat.
Hormones: Hormonal imbalances, such as those related to the thyroid gland, can greatly affect your metabolism. An overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) can increase your BMR, while an underactive one (hypothyroidism) can decrease it.
Environmental Temperature: Being in an extremely cold or hot environment can slightly increase your BMR as your body works to maintain a stable internal temperature.
Sickness and Fever: Your body's BMR increases when you have a fever as it works harder to fight off the illness.
Knowing your BMR is the first step in understanding your energy needs. From there, you can calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), which factors in your activity level to give you a more accurate number of calories you burn each day. So now that you understand your body's resting energy, let's add in the calories you burn from daily life and exercise, known as your Physical Activity Level (PAL).
What is Physical Activity Level (PAL)?
Physical Activity Level (PAL) is a numerical value that represents the amount of energy you expend through physical activity over an entire day. It's a key part of calculating your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), which is the total number of calories your body burns in a 24-hour period.
To put it simply, your body is always burning calories to function, even at rest. This baseline is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). PAL is the multiplier that accounts for all the activity you do on top of that, from walking to the kitchen to running a marathon.
A higher PAL value indicates a more active lifestyle, leading to a higher TDEE. For example, a person with a PAL of 1.2, who is mostly bed-bound, burns far fewer calories than a person with a PAL of 2.2, who is a high-performance athlete with a physically demanding job.
Physical Activity Level Descriptions
Here is a breakdown of the different PAL categories and the types of activities that fall under each one.
Bed Rest (1.2): This applies to individuals who are mostly confined to a bed or a chair. This level of activity is common for those who are old, infirm, or recovering from a serious injury.
Very Sedentary (1.4): This category describes a very inactive lifestyle, with activities generally restricted to sitting. Examples include office workers or precision mechanics who spend the majority of their day at a desk.
Sedentary (1.5): Similar to very sedentary, but with some occasional walking or standing throughout the day, in addition to seated work. This applies to people like laboratory workers, drivers, or students.
Light (1.6): This level of activity involves a job that requires standing or walking most of the time, with very little leisure exercise. This applies to professions like cashiers, salespersons, or teachers.
Light-Moderate (1.7): This category includes individuals with predominantly standing or walking jobs, who also engage in some strenuous leisure activities.
Moderate (1.8): This applies to individuals who are physically active with their work or leisure. This group includes people with physically demanding jobs or those who engage in regular moderate-intensity exercise for at least 45-60 minutes per day.
Heavy (2.0): This category describes individuals with physically demanding occupations, such as a construction worker or farmer, or those who are high-performance athletes.
Very Heavy (2.2): This is the highest level of activity, representing individuals who have both a very physically demanding job and a rigorous training schedule.
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)?
TDEE is the total number of calories your body burns in a day. It’s the final number you get when you combine your BMR (the energy your body uses at rest) with your PAL (the calories you burn from daily physical activity). TDEE also includes a smaller amount of energy your body uses to digest food, known as the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). TEF is simply the energy your body uses to digest, absorb, and process the food you eat. It's the smallest part of your daily energy expenditure, typically making up about 10% of your total calorie intake.
For the purpose of this calculator, the Physical Activity Level (PAL) numbers already account for the energy your body uses to digest food, which is why you don’t need to enter it separately. This gives you a quick and accurate estimate of your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
Essentially, your TDEE is the most important number for understanding your body's energy balance.
Using TDEE for Your Goals
Once you know your TDEE, you have a clear starting point for any health goal.
For Weight Maintenance: You'll want to consume a number of calories that is roughly equal to your TDEE. This creates a balance between the energy you take in and the energy you burn.
For Weight Loss: You need to consistently consume fewer calories than your TDEE. This creates a calorie deficit, forcing your body to burn stored energy (fat) for fuel.
For Weight Gain: You need to consistently consume more calories than your TDEE. This creates a calorie surplus, which your body can use to build muscle or body fat.
This calculator uses the revised Harris-Benedict Equations:
MEN BMR = 66.44 + (13.75 x W) + (5.0 x H) - (6.77 x A) cals/day
WOMEN BMR = 655.1 + (9.56 x W) + (1.85 x H) - (4.68 x A) cals/day
TDEE Calculator
Select Gender:
Your BMR is: -- calories/day
Select your Physical Activity Level (PAL):
Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is: -- calories/day
