# tdeetarget - full formula reference

> Complete scientific stack used by https://tdeetarget.com for agents that need equations, multipliers, and a worked example. Companion to /llms.txt.

## Inputs

| Field | Notes |
|-------|--------|
| Sex | Male / Female |
| Age | Years (integer) |
| Height | Metric cm, or imperial inches |
| Weight | Metric kg, or imperial lb |
| Activity | One of five multipliers below |

## 1. BMR

### Mifflin-St Jeor (1990) only

Weight in kg, height in cm, age in years.

| Sex | Formula |
|-----|---------|
| Male | BMR = 10w + 6.25h - 5a + 5 |
| Female | BMR = 10w + 6.25h - 5a - 161 |

Citation: Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990.

Display vs internal: keep full floating BMR for multiplies; round nearest integer for the resting figure (half-up). BMR is not repeated as a row in the activity table.

## 2. Activity multipliers and TDEE

TDEE_daily = BMR x m
TDEE_weekly = BMR x m x 7

Round daily and weekly displays from unrounded products.

| Level | UI label | Multiplier m |
|-------|----------|--------------|
| Sedentary | Sedentary (office job) | 1.2 |
| Light | Light Exercise (1-2 days/week) | 1.375 |
| Moderate | Moderate Exercise (3-5 days/week) | 1.55 |
| Heavy | Heavy Exercise (6-7 days/week) | 1.725 |
| Athlete | Athlete (2x per day) | 1.9 |

Check (Mifflin sample BMR 1842.5): BMR 1,843; Sedentary 2,211; Light 2,533; Moderate 2,856; Heavy 3,178; Athlete 3,501; Moderate weekly 19,991.

## 3. Goal calories

| Goal | Daily calories |
|------|----------------|
| Maintenance | TDEE |
| Cutting | TDEE - 500 |
| Bulking | TDEE + 500 |

## 4. Macronutrient splits

Notation P/F/C = % of goal calories from protein / fat / carbohydrate.

| Style | Split |
|-------|-------|
| Moderate Carb | 30 / 35 / 35 |
| Lower Carb | 40 / 40 / 20 |
| Higher Carb | 30 / 20 / 50 |

Energy densities: protein 4 kcal/g, carbohydrate 4 kcal/g, fat 9 kcal/g.

Grams: round(goal_kcal x % / (100 x kcal_per_g)) to nearest integer.

## 5. Ideal / healthy body weight (BMI band)

Single healthy range from WHO-style normal BMI band:

w_min = 18.5 x (h_m)^2
w_max = 24.9 x (h_m)^2

where h_m = h_cm / 100. Round to nearest kg (metric). Imperial: convert unrounded kg with 1 kg = 2.2046226218 lb, then round to nearest lb.

Verify (190 cm): 67-90 kg (imperial 147-198 lb).

## 6. BMI

BMI = w_kg / (h_m)^2 = w_kg / (h_cm/100)^2
Imperial: BMI = 703 x w_lb / h_in^2
Display to one decimal.

| BMI | Class |
|-----|--------|
| <= 18.5 | Underweight |
| 18.5 - 24.99 | Normal Weight |
| 25 - 29.99 | Overweight |
| >= 30 | Obese |

Ideal-weight section 5 uses the same 18.5-24.9 normal band edges.

## 7. Units

| Quantity | Metric | Imperial |
|----------|--------|----------|
| Height | cm | inches |
| Weight | kg | lb |
| Ideal weight | kg | lb |
| Calories / macros | kcal / g | kcal / g |

Conversions: w_kg = w_lb x 0.45359237; h_cm = h_in x 2.54; w_lb = w_kg x 2.2046226218.

Geo preselect (Cloudflare CF-IPCountry / request.cf.country): imperial for US, LR, MM; otherwise metric; missing or XX -> metric. UI override always available.

## 8. Worked example (oracle)

Inputs: Male, age 30, height 190 cm, weight 80 kg, activity Moderate (1.55).

| Step | Value |
|------|-------|
| Mifflin-St Jeor | 10x80 + 6.25x190 - 5x30 + 5 = 1842.5 |
| BMR display | 1,843 kcal/day |
| Maintenance daily | round(1842.5 x 1.55) = 2,856 |
| Maintenance weekly | round(1842.5 x 1.55 x 7) = 19,991 |
| Cutting | 2,356 |
| Bulking | 3,356 |
| Healthy weight range (BMI 18.5-24.9) | 67-90 kg |
| BMI | 22.2 -> Normal Weight |

Maintenance macros at 2,856 kcal:

| Style | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
|-------|---------|-----|-------|
| Moderate 30/35/35 | 214 g | 111 g | 250 g |
| Lower 40/40/20 | 286 g | 127 g | 143 g |
| Higher 30/20/50 | 214 g | 63 g | 357 g |

## 9. Citations

| Topic | Source |
|-------|--------|
| Mifflin-St Jeor | Mifflin et al., Am J Clin Nutr, 1990. Only resting-calorie equation. |
| Activity multipliers | Standard 1.2 / 1.375 / 1.55 / 1.725 / 1.9 |
| Ideal / healthy weight | WHO-style normal BMI band 18.5-24.9 |
| BMI classes | WHO-style adult categories |
| Macro energy densities | Atwater 4 / 4 / 9 kcal/g |

## Pages

- [Calculator](https://tdeetarget.com/)
- [About](https://tdeetarget.com/about/)
- [Short agent index](https://tdeetarget.com/llms.txt)