TDEE Calculator
How many calories you burn per day.
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Your TDEE — total daily energy expenditure — is the number of calories you burn in a day once your activity is counted. It's the calorie figure to maintain your weight, and the starting point for any weight-loss or muscle-gain plan.
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TDEE — The Quick Answer
TDEE = BMR × activity multiplier. First estimate your basal metabolic rate with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then multiply by 1.2 (sedentary) up to 1.9 (very active).
Shortcut
BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor) → × activity factor = TDEE
Activity multipliers
| Activity level | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Sedentary (little exercise) | 1.2 |
| Light (1–3 days/week) | 1.375 |
| Moderate (3–5 days/week) | 1.55 |
| Very active (6–7 days/week) | 1.725 |
| Extra active (hard training + job) | 1.9 |
Eat at your TDEE to maintain weight, about 500 kcal below it to lose roughly 0.5 kg (1 lb) per week, or about 300 kcal above it to gain slowly and minimise fat.
How It Works
The Formula
BMR, then activity
Formula
Men: BMR = 10w + 6.25h − 5a + 5 Women: BMR = 10w + 6.25h − 5a − 161 TDEE = BMR × activity factor
Variables
Weight, height, age
Weight in kg, height in cm, and age in years. Converted automatically if you enter pounds or inches.
Basal metabolic rate
The calories your body needs at complete rest to run its basic functions.
Total daily energy expenditure
BMR scaled up by how active you are — the calories you actually burn in a day.
Note: The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is considered among the most accurate for the general population, but it's still an estimate. Tracking your weight over 2–3 weeks tells you how close it is for you.
Worked Example: TDEE for a Moderately Active Adult
A 30-year-old, 70 kg, 175 cm man training 3–5 days a week
Estimate BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor)
≈ 1,649 kcal/day at rest
Pick an activity factor
Moderate (3–5 days/week) = × 1.55
Multiply BMR by the factor
1,649 × 1.55 ≈ 2,556 kcal/day (maintenance)
Adjust for a goal
−500 to lose ~0.5 kg/week; +300 to gain slowly
Reference Guide
| Activity level | Factor | TDEE (BMR 1,649) |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | × 1.2 | 1,979 kcal |
| Light (1–3 days/week) | × 1.375 | 2,267 kcal |
| Moderate (3–5 days/week) | × 1.55 | 2,556 kcal |
| Very active (6–7 days/week) | × 1.725 | 2,844 kcal |
| Extra active (hard job + training) | × 1.9 | 3,133 kcal |
How to Turn TDEE Into a Calorie Goal
Maintain, lose, or gain — all anchored to one number
Your TDEE is the calories you burn in a day. Eating at it keeps your weight stable — the baseline every goal is measured against. Start here and adjust from your real-world results.
Best for: Holding your current weight
A deficit of around 500 kcal/day tends to produce roughly 0.5 kg (1 lb) of loss per week. Larger deficits are harder to sustain and can cost muscle, so moderate and steady usually wins. Pair with adequate protein and resistance training to protect lean mass.
Best for: Sustainable fat loss
A modest surplus of a few hundred calories favours muscle over fat; a large surplus just adds fat faster. TDEE estimates are also only accurate to about 10%, so track your weight for 2–3 weeks and adjust rather than trusting the number exactly. Not medical or dietary advice.
Best for: Lean weight or muscle gain
What Is TDEE?
TDEE — total daily energy expenditure — is the total number of calories you burn in a day, and it's the honest answer to 'how much should I eat?'. It's made of four parts: your basal metabolic rate (the biggest, 60–70%), the energy to digest food, deliberate exercise, and all your incidental daily movement (NEAT), which varies enormously between people. This calculator estimates BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and multiplies it by an activity factor to get TDEE. Eat at your TDEE to maintain weight, below it to lose, or above it to gain — it's the single number that anchors any sensible nutrition plan.
Key Features
💡 Pro Tips
- →Most people overestimate how active they are — if in doubt, pick the activity level one step below your gut feeling.
- →Treat the number as a starting hypothesis: track your weight for 2–3 weeks and adjust up or down from what actually happens.
- →Boosting your daily movement (NEAT) — walking, standing, taking the stairs — often changes TDEE more than a gym session.
- →Re-run it after a significant weight change, since TDEE falls as you lose weight.
Common Mistakes
Confusing TDEE with BMR
BMR is calories at complete rest; TDEE adds activity and digestion and is always higher. Eating at BMR while being active creates an unintentionally large deficit.
Over-selecting activity level
Choosing 'very active' when you train a few times a week inflates your target and stalls fat loss. The activity multiplier is the biggest source of error in TDEE estimates.
Treating the estimate as exact
TDEE formulas are within about 10% for most people but ignore individual differences in muscle and NEAT. Use your weight trend over a few weeks to calibrate.
Research & Citations
Sources and standards referenced for the factual claims on this page
- [1]
Mifflin, M. D., St Jeor, S. T., et al. (1990). A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 51(2).
The BMR equation underlying this TDEE estimate.
View source - [2]
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2023). Energy requirements and the components of daily energy expenditure. eatright.org.
Guidance on total daily energy expenditure and activity factors.
View source
This calculator is a reference tool, not a substitute for professional advice. Verify important health, financial, legal, or safety decisions with a suitably qualified professional.
Last updated: October 7, 2026
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is TDEE?
TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure — the total calories you burn per day, including your basal metabolic rate, digestion, and all your activity. Eating at your TDEE maintains your weight.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
A common approach is TDEE minus about 500 kcal per day, which tends to produce roughly 0.5 kg (1 lb) of weight loss per week. Larger deficits are harder to sustain and can cost muscle.
What's the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is the calories you'd burn at complete rest — just staying alive. TDEE is your BMR plus all the energy you use moving, exercising, and digesting. TDEE is always higher than BMR and is the number that matters for weight management.
How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
It's a good starting estimate, usually within about 10% for most people. Real needs depend on muscle mass, genetics, and how accurately you estimate your activity. Use it as a baseline and adjust based on your actual results.