The calorie calculator that shows its work.

It uses the Katch-McArdle equation on your estimated lean body mass — the most accurate approach available without lab testing — plus MET-based cardio modeling scaled to your body weight. Expect results within roughly ±3–5%. Treat the first two to three weeks as calibration: weigh yourself consistently, and adjust your target by 100–200 kcal if the trend disagrees.

BMR (basal metabolic rate) is what your body burns at complete rest — keeping organs running, tissue repairing, and temperature stable. TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is BMR plus everything you do: training, cardio, and daily movement at work. Your calorie targets are set relative to TDEE, not BMR.

This calculator sets protein between 1.8 and 2.1 g per kilogram of body weight depending on your goal — higher while bulking to support muscle protein synthesis, and still high while cutting because protein protects lean mass in a deficit.

The cutting target sits 15% below your TDEE. That's deliberately moderate: aggressive deficits cost muscle, tank training quality, and are hard to sustain. At −15% most people lose roughly 0.25–0.75 kg per week depending on their size.

No — your training and cardio are already counted inside your TDEE here. Eating back exercise calories on top of these targets would double-count them. Fitness trackers also tend to overestimate exercise burn significantly.

Muscle is metabolically active tissue, so more lean mass means a higher resting burn — that's why the calculation is built on lean body mass rather than total weight. Muscular people also burn more after intense training through the EPOC (afterburn) effect, which the activity factor accounts for.