Your maintenance calories,
without the formula
TDEE is just the calories you burn in a day. Set your goal to “Maintain,” enter your weight and activity, and get your number instantly - no age, no height, no BMR equation.
TDEE, maintenance calories - same number
Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is everything your body burns in 24 hours: keeping you alive, moving around, exercising, and digesting food. Eat that many calories and your weight stays flat - which is why TDEE and “maintenance calories” are two names for the same thing.
Traditional TDEE calculators ask for your age, height, sex, and an activity multiplier, then run the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. It works, but it's more input than most people need. FitLog uses the bodyweight multiplier method instead - your bodyweight in pounds times about 14 for maintenance, adjusted up or down for activity.
The maintenance multiplier
From there, eat below maintenance to lose and above it to gain. Protein target: about 1g per pound of bodyweight per day.
No estimate is perfect - the real calibration is watching the scale. Eat at your maintenance number for two to three weeks: if your weight holds, you nailed it; if it drifts, adjust the multiplier by one.
Maintenance is your starting point
Once you know your maintenance, set a calorie deficit to lose weight, hit your daily protein target, and you have a complete plan. Curious how FitLog's approach compares to traditional tools? See the bodyweight calorie method.
Common questions
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure - the total number of calories your body burns in a day, including everything from basic survival to walking, exercise, and digesting food. It's the same thing as your maintenance calories: eat that amount and your weight stays the same.
Most TDEE calculators run the Mifflin-St Jeor equation using your age, height, sex, and an activity multiplier. FitLog skips the formula and uses the bodyweight multiplier method instead: your bodyweight in pounds times about 14 for maintenance, adjusted for activity. It's faster, needs less input, and lands close enough for real-world use.
Because every goal is defined relative to maintenance. To lose fat you eat below it (a deficit); to build muscle you eat above it (a surplus); to stay the same you eat at it. Knowing the number is the anchor point for everything else.
It's an estimate, like every TDEE calculator - no formula can measure your exact burn. The multiplier method is accurate enough to start with, and the real calibration comes from watching the scale over two to three weeks and adjusting. If your weight holds steady, you found your maintenance; if it moves, nudge the number.
Yes. It rises and falls with your bodyweight, activity, and muscle mass. As you lose or gain weight your maintenance shifts, so it's worth recalculating every few weeks. Because FitLog bases the estimate on your current bodyweight, updating is as simple as entering your new weight.