How your food targets are calculated
In short
Mitta starts with the Mifflin-St Jeor formula for your resting burn, multiplies it by your daily activity and training days, and adds or takes off a fixed amount for your goal. Protein is 2.0 g per kg of body weight (2.2 when you are losing fat), fat 0.9 g per kg, and carbs fill the rest. With Pro, the target is then corrected with your own intake and weight trend.
Cody de LeeuwLast checked 29 October 2026 · 6 min read
Step 1: your resting burn
The Mifflin-St Jeor formula estimates how much energy you use at rest from your weight, height, age and sex:1
- Men: 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age + 5
- Women: 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age − 161
A review of common formulas found it the most reliable, predicting resting burn within 10% for more people than the others.2
Step 2: your activity
Your resting burn is multiplied by a factor for how active your day is, plus a little for every training day up to six:
| Your day | Factor | Plus per training day |
|---|---|---|
| Sitting | 1.25 | 0.035 |
| Light | 1.35 | 0.035 |
| Active | 1.45 | 0.035 |
| Very active | 1.6 | 0.035 |
The result is your estimated maintenance: what you can eat without gaining or losing weight.
Step 3: your goal
| Goal | Change per day |
|---|---|
| Build muscle | +250 kcal |
| Get stronger | +150 kcal |
| Lose fat | −450 kcal |
| Stay fit | 0 |
If you choose a pace (slow, normal or fast), the change is worked out from that pace instead: losing 0.25%, 0.5% or 0.75% of your body weight per week, or gaining half of that. The target never goes below 1,500 kcal for men or 1,200 kcal for women.
Step 4: protein, fat and carbs
- Protein: 2.0 g per kg of body weight, or 2.2 g when your goal is losing fat.
- Fat: 0.9 g per kg.
- Carbohydrates: whatever is left of your calories.
At 80 kg with a target of 2,800 kcal: 160 g protein (640 kcal), 72 g fat (648 kcal) and 378 g carbs (1,512 kcal).
Step 5: correcting it with your own data
A formula is an estimate. With Pro, Mitta checks it against what really happens: once you have logged at least 10 full days and weighed yourself 5 times over about three weeks, it works out your real maintenance from what you ate and how your weight moved. The weekly check can then propose a new daily target. A new target moves at most 200 kcal at a time and comes at most once every 14 days.
Moderate evidence
The Mifflin-St Jeor formula is the most reliable of the common formulas, but it can still miss by more than 10% for a single person. That is why Mitta treats it as a starting point. How we rate evidence
How Mitta does it
Every target shows its sum.
Tap Why? on any food target in Mitta and you see the formula, your numbers and the result, step by step.
- Your own numbersYou can overrule any target. Mitta keeps showing its own suggestion next to yours.
- Safe limitsA floor of 1,500 or 1,200 kcal, steps of at most 200 kcal and no faster loss than 1% of your body weight a week.
Targets you can check.
Mitta sets your calories and macros and shows the sum behind them. Free to start, in the web app for invited testers.
Questions about
How your food targets are calculated
Which formula does Mitta use for calories?
Mifflin-St Jeor for your resting burn, times an activity factor of 1.25 to 1.6 plus 0.035 per training day, then a fixed change for your goal.
Why is my protein target so high?
Mitta uses 2.0 g per kg of body weight, or 2.2 g when you are losing fat. That is at the top of the range research supports for building and keeping muscle. You can lower it yourself.
Can I set my own targets?
Yes. Your own targets are yours. Mitta shows its suggestion next to them, with a Why? that explains it.
How often does my target change?
Your first target stays until you change it. With Pro, the weekly check can propose a new one, at most once every 14 days and by at most 200 kcal.
Sources
- Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, Scott BJ, Daugherty SA, Koh YO. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1990; 51(2): 241–247. doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/51.2.241
- Frankenfield D, Roth-Yousey L, Compher C. Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults: a systematic review. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2005; 105(5): 775–789. doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2005.02.005
Written by Cody de Leeuw. First published 29 October 2026, last checked 29 October 2026. This article is general information, not medical advice. Spotted a mistake? Tell me