Maintenance calories for a 250 lb man

A 30-year-old man weighing 250 lb at 5′10″ burns about 3,150 calories a day lifting four days a week with 7,500 to 10,000 daily steps, and about 2,520 with a desk job and little activity. To lose about 1.25 lb a week, eat around 2,525 a day.

Updated

About you

Body fat is optional.

Sex
years
lb
Height
ft
in
Training sessions a week

Your phone's weekly average is the honest number. Steps move your TDEE more than gym days do.

%

Adds Katch-McArdle and Cunningham, which work from lean mass instead of total weight.

Your TDEE

3,150kcal/day
BMR at rest (Mifflin-St Jeor)
2,100 kcal
Activity factor
×1.50

Calorie targets

Macros for cut

Protein
249 g
Carbs
224 g
Fat
70 g

Your BMR by formula

Without a body fat %, only Mifflin-St Jeor can run. With one, the lean mass formulas join in and Katch-McArdle sets your TDEE.

Mifflin-St Jeor2,100 kcal
Katch-McArdleNeeds body fat %
CunninghamNeeds body fat %

Your TDEE at each activity level

The classic multipliers most calculators use, applied to your BMR. Use it to sanity check the steps and sessions estimate above.

Activity levelMultiplierTDEE
SedentaryDesk job, little exercise×1.22,520 kcal
Lightly activeExercise 1 to 3 days a week×1.3752,890 kcal
Moderately activeExercise 3 to 5 days a week×1.553,255 kcal
Very activeHard exercise 6 to 7 days a week×1.7253,625 kcal
Extremely activePhysical job plus hard training×1.93,990 kcal

The calculator above starts at 250 lb. Change your age, height, steps and training days for your own number.

TDEE by height and activity at 250 lb

Worked out with Mifflin-St Jeor for a 30-year-old man. Find your height, then read across to how active you are.

TDEE by height and activity at 250 lb
HeightSedentaryLightly activeModerately activeVery activeExtremely active
5′4″2,4052,7553,1103,4603,810
5′6″2,4452,8003,1553,5153,870
5′8″2,4802,8453,2053,5703,930
5′10″2,5202,8903,2553,6253,990
6′0″2,5602,9303,3053,6804,050
6′2″2,5952,9753,3553,7304,110
6′4″2,6353,0203,4053,7854,170

Calories to cut, maintain or bulk at 250 lb

Targets for a 30-year-old man at 5′10″ who lifts four days a week and walks 7,500 to 10,000 steps a day, with the pace set as a share of bodyweight.

Calories to cut, maintain or bulk at 250 lb
GoalCalories a dayWeekly change
Fast cut2,215−1.88 lb
Cut2,525−1.25 lb
Slow cut2,840−0.63 lb
Maintain3,150None
Lean bulk3,460+0.63 lb

TDEE by age at 250 lb

The formula takes 5 calories a day off resting energy for every year of age, so the same body burns a little less each decade. Worked out at 5′10″.

TDEE by age at 250 lb
AgeBMRSedentaryModerately active
20 years2,1502,5803,335
30 years2,1002,5203,255
40 years2,0502,4603,180
50 years2,0002,4003,100
60 years1,9502,3403,025

How much protein at 250 lb

Most of the research on lifters lands between 1.6 and 2.2 g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight a day. At 250 lb that is 181 to 249 g a day, with the top of the range most useful during a cut.

Other bodyweights

TDEE Calculator

Frequently asked questions

How many calories should a 250 lb man eat to lose weight?

Start from maintenance and take off enough to lose about 0.5% of bodyweight a week. For a 30-year-old man at 5′10″ who lifts four days a week, maintenance is about 3,150 calories, so a cut sits near 2,525 a day. Weigh in daily, compare weekly averages, and adjust by 100 to 150 calories if the trend is off after two to three weeks.

How many calories should a 250 lb man eat to build muscle?

A lean bulk gains about 0.25% of bodyweight a week, which at 250 lb is a surplus of about 310 calories a day. That puts a man at 5′10″ who lifts four days a week near 3,460 calories a day, with 181 to 249 g of protein.

How many calories does a 250 lb man burn at rest?

At rest, a 30-year-old man at 5′10″ and 250 lb burns about 2,100 calories a day: that is the BMR. With a desk job and little exercise, the total for the day is about 2,520 calories.