Calorie needs at age 39, male
TDEE is the number of calories you burn in a day. This page works it out for a 39-year-old man at 5 ft 10 in and 178 lb, then shows how it changes with activity.
How it works
Your body burns calories at rest. The page estimates that with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation: 10 times weight in kilograms plus 6.25 times height in centimeters minus 5 times age, then plus 5 for males or minus 161 for females. It multiplies the result by an activity factor from 1.2 to 1.9 to get your daily total. At 178 lb the weight term for this 39-year-old man is 807.4, at the lightly active level.
Worked example
Take a man aged 39 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 × 39 = 195. Add 5. That gives 1728.65, which rounds to 1729 calories at rest. Multiply 1728.65 by 1.375 for the lightly active level to get 2376.9, which rounds to 2377 calories a day.
Maintenance calories at every activity level for the same man aged 39 at 5 ft 10 in and 178 lb, with the lightly active level set in the form above.
- Sedentary (little or no exercise)
- 2074 calories a day
- Lightly active (light exercise 1 to 3 days a week)
- 2377 calories a day
- Moderately active (moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week)
- 2679 calories a day
- Very active (hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week)
- 2982 calories a day
- Extra active (very hard exercise and a physical job)
- 3284 calories a day
Common questions
How big a calorie deficit is reasonable for weight loss?
A deficit of 500 calories a day is a common starting point and works out to roughly half a kilogram a week. Smaller deficits are slower and easier to keep up. A 500 calorie deficit here means 1877 calories a day for this 39-year-old man at the lightly active level.
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 2627 calories a day for this 39-year-old man at the lightly active level.
Why does age 39 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 39 that is 195 calories. Without the age term this 39-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 39-year-old man, a 5 percent error on 2377 calories is 119 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 39 at 178 lb, BMR is 1729 calories and TDEE at the lightly active level is 2377.