Maintenance calories

TDEE calculator: the calories that keep your weight stable

Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is what your body burns in a day, so it’s what you eat to keep your weight. Enter your age, height, weight and activity, in kilograms, stones or pounds and in centimetres or feet and inches, and you get it as a range. Choose another goal to see the range for losing weight or building muscle.

Try it for 7 days

Then €9.99/month on Solo, or €12.99/month on Family · No commitment

The calculator

You are

Age

years

Height

cm

Weight

kg

Your day

Exercise, per week

Your goal

Example: a 35-year-old woman, 165 cm (5 ft 5 in), 70 kg (11 st), mostly sitting, exercising once or twice a week.

To keep your weight (your TDEE)

1,962 to 2,168 kcal

a day

How it is calculated: the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (weight, height, age, sex), multiplied by your activity level. It is the calculation Sophia uses for her meal plans.
An estimate, not a measurement: your weight over several weeks will tell you whether it fits you.

If counting calories starts to make you anxious, talk to a doctor. Eating disorder support: Beat eating disorders helpline (England), 0808 801 0677 (beateatingdisorders.org.uk) · NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association) helpline (nationaleatingdisorders.org).

What usually gets in the way

“TDEE, BMR, maintenance: I mix them up”

BMR is what your body uses at rest. TDEE adds your day and your exercise. Your maintenance calories are your TDEE: what keeps your weight stable.

“Every calorie calculator gives me a different number”

Here the method is written out, and it’s the one Sophia uses for her meal plans: the Mifflin-St Jeor equation times an activity factor.

“Why a range and not one number?”

An equation predicts an average body, and your needs move from day to day. A range is honest; your weight over a few weeks shows where you sit in it.

How Sophia does it

Your body
Your age, height, weight and sex give your resting energy needs.
Your day and your exercise
Mostly sitting, up and about, or a physical job, plus how often you exercise in a week: that sets your activity factor.
Your maintenance range
Resting needs times activity: the calories that keep your weight stable, shown as a range.
Another goal, if you want
Lose 0.25 or 0.5 kg a week, or build muscle: the calculator shows that range too, within fixed limits.

A real plan, generated by Sophia

Five days at maintenance, about 2,000 kcal a day

Generated on 28 October 2026 for a fictional household. Nothing has been touched up: these are the dishes and quantities exactly as Sophia wrote them.

Rachel
Keep a stable weight
35 years old · woman · 165 cm · 70 kg

What this plan is based on

Rachel: Profile35 years old, woman, 165 cm, 70 kgGoalKeep a stable weightActivitymostly sitting, exercise once or twice a weekAppetiteaverage appetite

The plan’s settings

5 days of meals
2 cooking sessions
1 shopping trip
shopping budget: 50
90 min of cooking per session at most
equipment: oven, hob, microwave, freezer

From these details, Sophia works out each person’s needs; every portion in the plan follows from them.

Summary

Shopping and cooking, day by day

Your week at a glance
	Mon2	Tue3	Wed4	Thu5	Fri6	Sat7
Groceries	yes
Cooking	1h27			1h29
Rachel (kcal)	—	2,054	2,055	2,093	2,057	2,032

Plan

Pick a day to see your meals

Tuesday

On the menu

Breakfast

Lunch

On the side: apple

Dinner

On the side: cheddar

The guide

What is TDEE?

TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure: all the energy your body uses in a day. It has two parts. The first is what you burn at rest, your basal metabolic rate (BMR): breathing, keeping warm, keeping your organs working. The second is what your activity adds on top, from walking to work to a gym session.

Your TDEE is also your maintenance calories. Eat about that much and your weight stays roughly where it is; eat less and you lose weight; eat more and you gain.

How to calculate your TDEE

First, your resting needs. The Mifflin-St Jeor equation estimates them from your weight, height, age and sex (formulas in the table below).

Then the result is multiplied by an activity factor. In this calculator, it starts at 1.45 if you are mostly sitting, 1.65 if you are up and about and 1.85 for a physical job, and rises with the number of exercise sessions in your week. Resting needs times activity factor: that’s your TDEE.

Resting needs by the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (weight in kg, height in cm, age in years)
	Formula
Woman	10 × weight + 6.25 × height − 5 × age − 161
Man	10 × weight + 6.25 × height − 5 × age + 5
Other	10 × weight + 6.25 × height − 5 × age − 78 (the average of the two)

A worked example

A 35-year-old woman, 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) and 70 kg (11 st, or 154 lb), mostly sitting, with no exercise:

Resting needs: 10 × 70 + 6.25 × 165 − 5 × 35 − 161 ≈ 1,395 kcal.
Activity: mostly sitting, no exercise, factor 1.45.
TDEE: 1,395 × 1.45 ≈ 2,020 kcal a day.

The calculator shows this as a range: 1,922 to 2,124 kcal a day. To lose 0.5 kg a week, it gives the same woman 1,372 to 1,574 kcal a day, about 550 kcal below her TDEE.

The calculator above opens on the same woman exercising once or twice a week: her TDEE range rises to 1,962 to 2,168 kcal a day.

Why a TDEE is an estimate, and why a range

The Mifflin-St Jeor equation was built from measurements on groups of people: it predicts the average for your size, age and sex. Two people with the same figures can burn noticeably different amounts. Activity is the least certain part: “mostly sitting” can hide very different amounts of walking.

That’s why the result is a range, not one number, and why the real judge is your weight over several weeks: if it stays stable while you eat within the range, you’re at maintenance.

7 days to try Sophia

Then €9.99/month on Solo, or €12.99/month on Family from two people at the table

Meal plans, shopping list, cooking schedule and personal tracking included.

No commitment.

Try it for 7 days

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between TDEE and BMR?

BMR (basal metabolic rate) is what your body burns at complete rest. TDEE is BMR plus everything your activity adds: what you burn over a whole day. This calculator gives your TDEE as a range; it doesn’t display your BMR, but you can work it out with the formula on this page.

How many calories should I eat?

To keep your weight, eat within your maintenance range. To lose weight, a little less: about 275 kcal a day for 0.25 kg a week, 550 kcal for 0.5 kg, never more than 880 kcal below maintenance and never under 1,200 kcal (woman), 1,350 kcal (other) or 1,500 kcal (man). To build muscle, a little more: at most 0.5 kg a week, and never more than 1% of your body weight.

Is a TDEE calculator accurate?

It gives a sound starting point, not a measurement: the equation predicts an average, and your activity is hard to describe in a few clicks. Eat within the range for a few weeks and let your weight tell you whether to adjust.

Which activity level should I choose?

Describe a usual day: “Mostly sitting” (desk work, studying), “Up and about” (shop, classroom, care work) or “Physical job” (building site, warehouse). Then count your exercise sessions in a typical week, not your best one.

Can I enter my weight in stones or pounds?

Yes. The calculator takes kilograms, stones or pounds, and centimetres or feet and inches. Inside the Sophia app, weights are in kilograms and portions in grams.

Can I use it if I’m under 18 or pregnant?

The calculator is for adults: under 18, needs depend on growth, and it gives no result. During pregnancy or breastfeeding, it offers no deficit: the range stays at maintenance, and your doctor or midwife is the right person to talk to. If you have a medical condition, or if food or weight worries you, talk to a professional.