How to calculate your calories (Free Calorie Calculator)
Answer: Use Mifflin–St Jeor to estimate your BMR, then multiply by an activity factor to get TDEE, which covers NEAT, EAT, and TEF.
Calorie needs start with your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and are adjusted for everyday movement (NEAT), exercise (EAT), and the thermic effect of food (TEF). A practical estimate uses the Mifflin–St Jeor equation multiplied by an activity factor to get your daily maintenance calories (TDEE).
FAQs
- What is BMR? Energy used at rest; we estimate it using Mifflin–St Jeor.
- What is TDEE? Your daily maintenance calories: BMR × activity factor (includes NEAT, EAT, TEF).
- Which activity level should I pick? Start with Lightly or Moderately active; adjust with your weekly weight trend.
- Is TEF included? Yes—implicitly within the activity factor (~10% on average).
- How accurate is this? It’s an estimate; fine‑tune based on 2–4 weeks of real‑world results.
- How big should a deficit be? Commonly ~500 kcal/day to start; go smaller for a slower, sustainable approach.
Calorie Calculator
How to track calories with CalorieCat
- Open CalorieCat. Install from the App Store and launch the app.
- Add a meal via photo or text. Tap Add Meal. Snap a photo or describe your meal.
- Confirm foods and portions. Edit any item or add a label photo for precision.
- Save and review your energy balance. See calories in vs. out including BMR, daily activity, exercise, and TEF.
Summary
Use AI photo recognition or text to log meals, confirm portions, and track your complete energy balance (BMR, activity, exercise, and TEF).
Why this calculator is practical and accurate
We use Mifflin–St Jeor for BMR, then apply an activity factor that implicitly covers everyday movement (NEAT), intentional exercise (EAT), and the thermic effect of food (TEF). This balances simplicity with real‑world accuracy, and you can fine‑tune using your weekly weight trends in CalorieCat.