Calorie needs at age 29, male
Use the form to estimate your maintenance calories. For the sums, read the worked example for a man aged 29 at 5 ft 10 in and 178 lb.
How it works
Daily calories equal resting calories times an activity factor. Resting calories come from Mifflin-St Jeor: 10 times kilograms plus 6.25 times centimeters minus 5 times age, with 5 added for males or 161 taken off for females. The factor runs from 1.2 to 1.9. Here the man aged 29 has a height of 177.8 cm and a weight of 80.74 kg, at the lightly active level.
Worked example
Take a man aged 29 who is 5 ft 10 in tall and weighs 178 lb. In metric that is 177.8 cm and 80.74 kg. Multiply weight by 10: 10 × 80.74 = 807.4. Multiply height by 6.25: 6.25 × 177.8 = 1111.25. Subtract 5 × 29 = 145. Add 5. That gives 1778.65, which rounds to 1779 calories at rest. Multiply 1778.65 by 1.375 for the lightly active level to get 2445.6, which rounds to 2446 calories a day.
Maintenance calories at every activity level for the same man aged 29 at 5 ft 10 in and 178 lb, with the lightly active level set in the form above.
- Sedentary (little or no exercise)
- 2134 calories a day
- Lightly active (light exercise 1 to 3 days a week)
- 2446 calories a day
- Moderately active (moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week)
- 2757 calories a day
- Very active (hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week)
- 3068 calories a day
- Extra active (very hard exercise and a physical job)
- 3379 calories a day
Common questions
How big a surplus helps build muscle?
A modest surplus of about 250 calories a day is a common starting point. Larger surpluses tend to add more fat without adding muscle faster. A 250 calorie surplus here means 2696 calories a day for this 29-year-old man at the lightly active level.
Why does age 29 change the result?
The formula takes 5 calories off for every year of age, which reflects that resting burn tends to fall over time. At 29 that is 145 calories. Without the age term this 29-year-old man would burn 1924 calories at rest, or 2645 a day at the lightly active level.
How accurate is a calorie estimate?
It is a starting estimate. Track your weight over two or three weeks and adjust the target up or down based on what actually happens. For this 29-year-old man, a 5 percent error on 2446 calories is 122 calories a day.
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is what your body burns at rest. TDEE adds the calories you use moving and exercising. It is always higher. For this man aged 29 at 178 lb, BMR is 1779 calories and TDEE at the lightly active level is 2446.
Which activity level should I pick?
Pick the one that matches a typical week, not your best week. If you sit most of the day and train a few times, lightly or moderately active is usually closer than very active. Across the five levels this 29-year-old man ranges from 2134 to 3379 calories a day, and the lightly active level gives 2446.