TDEE Calculator

01 / Choose your activity

Desk job and lifting: which activity level fits?

Lifting three or four days a week does not automatically make your overall routine Moderate. Consider how much you move outside the gym and how long and demanding your sessions are.

• Sedentary: mostly sitting, with little walking or planned exercise.
• Light: a mostly seated routine with some walking and training; a reasonable first estimate for many desk workers who lift.
• Moderate: regular training alongside more movement throughout the day, such as a walking commute or active work.
• Very active / Extremely active: demanding overall activity, often combining substantial training with a physically active day.

These are broad starting categories. If two levels seem plausible, compare their estimates and use your intake and weight trend to refine your choice. Training is already included in your activity selection, so adding workout calories on top can count the same activity twice.

02 / Understand the estimate

Same workouts. Different daily calorie needs.

Consider a 30-year-old man who weighs 80 kg (176 lb), is 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) tall, and lifts three times a week. FitCalc uses Mifflin–St Jeor to estimate his resting needs at 1,780 calories a day. His total daily needs also depend on what happens outside the gym.

That is roughly a 310-calorie difference, even with the same lifting schedule. These are illustrative starting points, not categories determined by workout frequency or walking alone. Pick the description closest to your full week, then compare the estimate with your average intake and weight trend over the next 2–4 weeks.

Read the TDEE methodology.

03 / Check your progress

Check your maintenance over the next few weeks

Use roughly 2–4 weeks as an initial review window, with more time if the trend is unclear.

1. Keep your usual activity reasonably consistent and record food and drink intake, including weekends.
2. Weigh under similar conditions, using the same scale and time of day. If you weigh several times a week, compare weekly averages rather than isolated readings.
3. Compare the weight trend with your average intake. A broadly stable trend suggests that intake is near your current maintenance. A sustained rise or fall suggests it is above or below maintenance, respectively.
4. Check logging consistency and activity changes first. If needed, make a small adjustment and review the trend again, alongside energy, hunger, training, and recovery.

Early changes in water and stored carbohydrate can move the scale before they reveal a useful trend. Avoid making a large calorie change after one weigh-in. Maintenance can change as your weight and routine change.

Want to turn your starting estimate into calorie and macro targets? Build your FitCalc Plan.