Compare three BMR formulas, estimate TDEE, and split goal calories into protein, carb, and fat grams — including keto — with protein-per-kg feedback.
Content last reviewed
BMR formula
Goal
Macro split
Lose weight
2,044
kcal / day
Maintain
2,556
kcal / day
Gain weight
2,939
kcal / day
Daily macronutrient targets · Balanced split · Lose
Research generally supports 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kg of bodyweight when losing fat or building muscle. Your current split gives 2.2 g/kg — a solid range for most goals.
| Formula | BMR | TDEE |
|---|---|---|
| Mifflin-St Jeor | 1,649 kcal | 2,556 kcal |
| Harris-Benedict | 1,696 kcal | 2,628 kcal |
| Katch-McArdle | needs body fat % | — |
| Goal | Daily calories | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Lose fast | 1,917 kcal | ≈0.75 kg / week |
| Lose | 2,044 kcal | ≈0.5 kg / week |
| Lose slow | 2,300 kcal | ≈0.25 kg / week |
| Maintain | 2,556 kcal | Hold weight |
| Gain slow | 2,811 kcal | Lean gain |
| Gain | 2,939 kcal | Faster gain |
Weight, height, age, and sex, plus body-fat percentage if you want the Katch-McArdle formula.
Choose a BMR formula, honest activity level, one of six goals, and a macro split including keto.
BMR, TDEE, goal calories, macro grams with protein per kg, plus formula and goal comparison tables.
Default setup: Mifflin BMR, moderate activity, −20% goal.
Input
Male · 70 kg · 175 cm · 30 years · Mifflin-St Jeor · Moderate · Goal: Lose · Balanced splitOutput
BMR ≈ 1,649 kcal · TDEE ≈ 2,556 kcal · Target ≈ 2,044 kcal · Protein ≈ 153 g (2.2 g/kg), carbs ≈ 204 g, fat ≈ 68 gCounting calories without counting macros is half the picture. This calculator delivers both: your total daily energy expenditure and a precise daily breakdown of protein, carbohydrate, and fat for the goal you choose — the tool that turns "eat less" or "bulk up" into an actual plan you can put in a food tracker.
What distinguishes it is choice and transparency. Three BMR formulas are available — Mifflin-St Jeor (the modern default), revised Harris-Benedict, and Katch-McArdle, which uses your body-fat percentage — and a comparison table shows all three side by side so you can see how much they disagree (often 100–200 kcal). Activity levels run from sedentary to athlete, goals from a −25% fast cut to a +15% gain, and macro splits include balanced, low-carb, high-protein, and keto (25% protein / 5% carbs / 70% fat). The macro panel adds a detail most calculators skip: your protein target expressed in grams per kilogram of body weight, with live feedback on whether it lands in the 1.6–2.2 g/kg range research supports for losing fat or building muscle.
Everything updates live in metric or imperial, three quick cards show lose/maintain/gain at a glance, and the plan can be copied as text or printed. As with all the calculators here, the numbers are ±10% starting points to calibrate against your real results over two to three weeks — and the prominent disclaimer applies: general estimates, not medical or nutritional advice.
Enter weight, height, age, and sex in metric or imperial units. Add your body fat % if you know it — it is optional and only required for Katch-McArdle.
Choose a BMR formula: Mifflin-St Jeor unless you have a measured body-fat figure for Katch-McArdle; Harris-Benedict is there for comparison.
Select the activity level that honestly matches your week, then a goal (three rates of loss, maintain, two rates of gain) and a macro split — Balanced, Low carb, High protein, or Keto.
Read the sidebar (BMR, TDEE, goal calories, macro donut) and the macro panel, which shows grams for each macro and your protein in g/kg with in-range feedback.
Review the formula comparison and calories for every goal tables, then Copy or Print the plan.
Follow the target for 2–3 weeks and nudge it 100–200 kcal based on your actual weight trend.
Mifflin-St Jeor, revised Harris-Benedict, and Katch-McArdle — plus a table showing all three (and their TDEEs) side by side.
Balanced 30/40/30, low carb 35/25/40, high protein 40/35/25, and keto 25/5/70.
Your protein target is shown in g/kg with live guidance against the research-supported 1.6–2.2 g/kg range.
From −25% (≈0.75 kg/week loss) to +15% (faster gain), each shown with its calorie figure in a goal table.
Lose / maintain / gain calories at a glance, plus a macro donut for the selected plan.
Export the whole plan as text or print it for the fridge door.
Set a deficit with the high-protein split and confirm the g/kg figure lands in range.
Use the +10% surplus and watch the macro grams update for the extra calories.
The keto split converts your target into the 25/5/70 protein/carb/fat gram breakdown.
Compare Mifflin, Harris-Benedict, and Katch-McArdle for your body before picking a baseline.
Print or copy a complete calorie-and-macro plan to share or track against.
The pipeline is BMR → TDEE → goal → macros. Your chosen formula estimates BMR (Katch-McArdle from lean mass, the other two from weight, height, age, and sex). Multiplying by the activity factor (1.2–1.9) gives TDEE; the goal percentage (−25% to +15%) gives your calorie target.
The split then divides those calories among the macros using 4 kcal per gram for protein and carbohydrate and 9 for fat. The g/kg figure divides your protein grams by your body weight — the number that matters for muscle retention, which is why the panel flags it against the 1.6–2.2 g/kg research range and suggests the high-protein split when a cut falls short.
The comparison table exists to calibrate expectations: the three equations typically disagree by 100–200 kcal for the same person. Seeing that spread makes the right conclusion obvious — pick one, treat it as a starting estimate, and let your two-to-three-week weight trend fine-tune it.
Mifflin-St Jeor, Harris-Benedict, or Katch-McArdle (requires body-fat %).
Five described levels from sedentary desk work to hard daily training (×1.2–×1.9).
Lose fast/lose/lose slow, maintain, gain slow/gain — percentages of TDEE with pace estimates.
Balanced, low carb, high protein, or keto.
Metric or imperial input, plain-text copy, a print button, and one-click reset.
That formula computes from lean mass, so results stay hidden until you enter a body-fat percentage (or switch to Mifflin or Harris-Benedict).
Your chosen split delivers less than 1.6 g/kg for your weight. Switch to the high-protein split, or accept the lower figure knowingly for maintenance phases.
They are supposed to — keto is 5% carbohydrate and 70% fat by design. If that was not the intent, choose a different split.
All formulas are population estimates within roughly ±10%, and Katch-McArdle inherits any error in your body-fat figure. The four splits are fixed presets — custom percentage ratios are not offered. Activity factors are broad bands that cannot see non-exercise movement differences. The g/kg guidance reflects general sports-nutrition research, not personal assessment. The tool's own disclaimer draws the line clearly: general estimates for healthy adults, not medical or nutritional advice — teenagers, pregnant or breastfeeding people, and anyone with a medical condition or disordered-eating history need professional, individualized targets.
All calculation happens in your browser; your body details and plan are never uploaded or stored. Copy writes to your clipboard, and Print uses your browser's own print dialog — nothing passes through a server.
Aim for 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kg when cutting or building — the g/kg readout tells you where you stand.
Be conservative with the activity selector; overestimating it quietly erases your deficit.
Use Katch-McArdle only with a reasonably accurate body-fat number — a guess makes it worse than Mifflin, not better.
Give a target 2–3 weeks before judging it; water weight masks fat change short-term.
Recalculate after every ~5 kg of weight change, since TDEE moves with your body.
Pick your baseline deliberately: Mifflin-St Jeor by default, Katch-McArdle if you own a credible body-fat measurement. Glance at the comparison table once — the spread between formulas is the honest error bar on everything below it.
Build the plan priorities-first. Calories set the direction, protein (checked against the g/kg readout) protects muscle, and the remaining calories go to carbs and fat according to preference — fuel-hungry training favours carbs, satiety-seekers often prefer more fat. The split presets are starting arrangements, not laws.
Then run the calibration loop: consistent intake, consistent weigh-ins, judge the weekly average at the two-to-three-week mark, adjust 100–200 kcal, repeat. And update your inputs as your body changes — yesterday's TDEE belongs to yesterday's weight.
Client-side throughout. BMR implementations: Mifflin-St Jeor (±5/−161 constants), revised Harris-Benedict 1984 coefficients, Katch-McArdle (370 + 21.6 × lean mass, body fat validated to 0–70%). TDEE uses factors 1.2–1.9; goals apply −25% to +15%. Macro grams use 4/4/9 kcal per gram across four preset splits; protein g/kg is grams ÷ body weight with threshold feedback at 1.6 and 2.4. The formula table recomputes all three equations live; missing body fat renders Katch-McArdle as "needs body fat %" rather than an error.
| Split | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Character |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balanced | 30% | 40% | 30% | General purpose |
| Low carb | 35% | 25% | 40% | Reduced carbohydrate |
| High protein | 40% | 35% | 25% | Cutting, muscle retention |
| Keto | 25% | 5% | 70% | Ketogenic pattern |
Check the g/kg readout after choosing — the same percentage split delivers very different protein per kilogram depending on your calories and weight.
Lifters and physique-focused trainees who plan in macros, not just calories; keto and low-carb eaters who want the gram breakdown done for them; coaches producing printable plans; and analytical types who want to see all three BMR formulas before trusting any of them. If you only need calories and a simple split, the Calorie Calculator is the lighter version of the same engine.
Evidence and boundaries
The page identifies the reference population and units used. Clinical interpretation, screening thresholds, and professional guidance can differ by country and population.
Evidence standard reviewed .
TDEE is your BMR multiplied by an activity factor — the calories you actually burn in a day including movement, exercise, and digestion. Every goal target is a percentage of TDEE, because eating relative to your real burn is what changes weight.
Mifflin-St Jeor for most people. Katch-McArdle can be more personalized if you know your body-fat percentage, since it works from lean mass. Harris-Benedict is included for comparison and tends to read slightly higher — the table shows all three so the spread is never a mystery.
Research generally supports 1.6–2.2 g per kilogram of body weight when losing fat or building muscle. The macro panel displays your split's protein in g/kg and flags it when it falls below that range — the high-protein split usually fixes a shortfall.
No. Calories drive weight change and protein protects muscle — prioritize those two. Carbs and fat can flex day to day as long as total calories stay roughly on target; within about 10% of each macro most days is more than enough.
A 25% protein / 5% carbohydrate / 70% fat division of your goal calories, converted to grams — the standard ketogenic pattern. At 2,000 kcal that is roughly 125 g protein, 25 g carbs, and 156 g fat.
Different formula, different activity factors, or different goal percentages — the ingredients vary between tools even when the method matches. The formula comparison table here shows how much the equation choice alone moves the result.
They are general estimates for healthy adults, as the built-in disclaimer states. Teenagers, pregnant or breastfeeding people, athletes with specialized needs, and anyone with a medical condition or history of disordered eating should get individualized targets from a doctor or registered dietitian.