Estimate your maintenance calories.
Estimate your daily maintenance calories for weight loss, weight gain, or weight maintenance. The calculation stays in your browser; Haps does not receive or save your answers.
Haps at a glance
- Result
- Estimated maintenance calories per day
- Method
- Mifflin-St Jeor equation plus a fixed activity multiplier
- Supported age
- Adults aged 19 to 78
- Privacy
- Inputs and result stay in this browser tab
- What it does not do
- Prescribe a deficit, surplus, or rate of weight change
- Haps status
- Free initial release in preparation for iPhone and Android
What your TDEE estimate means
Maintenance calories are the estimated daily intake at which body weight would stay broadly stable if the estimate and activity assumption matched real life. It is a starting point, not a measured fact about your body.
Your daily energy use can change with movement, training, body composition, health, sleep, and other factors that a short calculator cannot observe. Treat the result as an estimate to review, not a promise or instruction.
How this calculator works
The calculator first estimates resting energy expenditure with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. It then multiplies that number by the activity level you select and rounds the result to the nearest 10 kcal.
Activity labels are broad assumptions. Two people who choose the same label can still move very differently, so the result should not be presented as laboratory measurement or personalised medical advice.
Why your goal does not change maintenance
Choosing lose, gain, or maintain changes how Haps frames the next step. It does not change the maintenance calculation, because maintenance describes estimated energy use rather than the outcome you want.
This tool deliberately stops before calculating a deficit or surplus. Haps can record a calorie target you confirm, calories logged, calories remaining, and calories over target, but it does not promise a weight outcome.
When not to rely on this estimate
This version supports adults aged 19 to 78, matching the participant ages in the published equation study, and does not support pregnancy or breastfeeding. It is also not a substitute for assessment by a qualified professional when health, medication, recovery, or a history of disordered eating makes calorie planning a concern.
If the result looks implausible, check the units and inputs first. For personalised health or nutrition decisions, use an appropriately qualified professional rather than a calculator or calorie ledger.
What to do with your maintenance estimate
- Review the estimate and the activity assumption used.
- Choose whether you want to lose, gain, or maintain weight.
- Confirm the daily target you want Haps to keep visible while you log.
TDEE calculator questions
These questions reflect current Google question results and recurring concerns in calorie-tracking communities. The answers describe this calculator’s limits rather than prescribing an intake.
What is the most accurate TDEE calculator?
No short calculator is universally the most accurate. This one uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and disclosed activity multipliers to provide a starting estimate; actual energy use can differ.
How do I calculate my actual TDEE?
A formula provides an estimate, not an actual measurement. Longer-term intake and weight records may help someone review whether an estimate matches what happens in practice, but both records contain uncertainty and Haps does not interpret them as medical or nutrition advice.
How many calories under my TDEE should I eat to lose weight?
This calculator does not prescribe a deficit or rate of weight change. A TDEE estimate is only context for a target you choose; personalised decisions may need an appropriately qualified professional.
Should I choose sedentary or lightly active?
Choose the closest description of your typical overall week, including everyday movement as well as planned exercise. The gap between categories can materially change the result, so treat either choice as an assumption to review.
Why do TDEE calculators give different answers?
Calculators can use different resting-energy equations, activity categories, multipliers, rounding rules, or body-composition inputs. Even calculators using the same equation may differ because activity is difficult to place in a broad category.
Does TDEE include exercise and daily steps?
TDEE is intended to include activity across the day, but this calculator does not count individual workouts or steps. It applies one broad multiplier based on the activity description you select.
Is a smartwatch more accurate than a TDEE calculator?
A watch and a formula estimate energy in different ways, and neither is guaranteed to measure an individual’s daily energy use accurately. Treat both as estimates rather than interchangeable facts.
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR estimates energy used at rest. TDEE starts with resting energy and adds an activity assumption to estimate energy used across an average day.
Method and sources
The equation is published research; the activity multipliers are disclosed calculator assumptions. Haps rounds the final estimate to the nearest 10 kcal.