How to Use the BMR & TDEE Calculator

Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the calories your body burns at complete rest, and your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) adds your daily activity on top. Together they tell you how much to eat to lose, maintain, or gain weight. NutriCounter's calculator does the math with the trusted Mifflin-St Jeor equation — here is how to use it.

Step 1: Enter your stats

Open the BMR & TDEE Calculator and fill in four things: your age, gender, height, and weight. Use metric units (cm and kg) — the tool also accepts imperial. Be honest here: the formula is only as good as the numbers you give it.

Step 2: Pick your activity level

Choose the option that best matches a typical week, not your most active one:

• Sedentary — desk job, little exercise
• Lightly active — light exercise 1–3 days/week
• Moderately active — moderate exercise 3–5 days/week
• Very active — hard exercise 6–7 days/week
• Extremely active — physical job plus training

When in doubt, pick one level lower — most people overestimate their activity.

Step 3: Read your results

The tool shows your BMR (what you burn just existing) and your TDEE (your real daily burn). Below that you will see calorie targets for your goal: a moderate deficit for fat loss, maintenance, or a small surplus for muscle gain.

Step 4: Put the number to work

Your TDEE is a starting point, not a verdict. Log your food in the Meal Log for 2–3 weeks and watch your weight trend: if it is not moving as expected, adjust your target by 100–200 kcal. Small, patient adjustments beat dramatic cuts every time. Our Nutrition Tracker guide shows how to monitor it all in one dashboard.