TDEE Calculator

Use our free TDEE calculator to find your Total Daily Energy Expenditure in seconds. Enter your age, height, weight, and activity level to get your BMR, your daily maintenance calories, and a calorie target for losing weight or building muscle.

Calculate Your TDEE

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What Is TDEE?

TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure: the total number of calories your body burns in a full day. It is the single most important number for weight management. Eat consistently above your TDEE and you gain weight. Eat below it and you lose weight. Eat at it and your weight stays stable.

Your TDEE has four parts. The largest is your basal metabolic rate (BMR), the energy you burn at complete rest, which is usually 60 to 70 percent of the total. The rest comes from the thermic effect of food (digestion), planned exercise, and NEAT: non-exercise activity like walking, standing, and fidgeting.

How This Calculator Works

This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the formula researchers consider the most accurate for estimating BMR in healthy adults. We calculate your BMR first, then multiply it by an activity factor to get your TDEE. Want just your BMR? Try our dedicated BMR calculator.

  • Men: BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (years) + 5
  • Women: BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (years) – 161

Then: TDEE = BMR x activity multiplier. If you choose the step-count option instead, we add about 0.04 kcal per daily step to your BMR. This is a rough estimate, but it personalizes the result when you know your real step count.

TDEE Calculation Example

Take a 30-year-old man who is 180 cm tall, weighs 80 kg, and trains 3 to 5 days per week. First his BMR: 10 x 80 + 6.25 x 180 – 5 x 30 + 5 = 800 + 1125 – 150 + 5 = 1780 kcal. His activity multiplier for moderate training is 1.55, so his TDEE = 1780 x 1.55 = 2759 kcal per day. His maintenance intake is about 2760 calories. For steady fat loss he would aim for roughly 2260 calories per day.

BMR vs TDEE: What Is the Difference?

BMR is what you burn lying still for 24 hours: breathing, circulation, and cell repair. TDEE adds every calorie burned through movement, exercise, and digestion on top of that baseline.

Confusing the two is a common diet mistake. If your BMR is 1700 and your TDEE is 2600, eating 1700 calories is a large deficit, not maintenance. Always base your calorie target on TDEE, not BMR.

Activity Level Multipliers

Pick the level that best matches a typical week:

  • Sedentary (desk job, little exercise): 1.2
  • Lightly active (light exercise 1 to 3 days per week): 1.375
  • Moderately active (moderate exercise 3 to 5 days per week): 1.55
  • Very active (hard exercise 6 to 7 days per week): 1.725
  • Extra active (physical job plus daily training): 1.9

When in doubt, choose the lower level. Most people overestimate how active they are, and an inflated TDEE leads to disappointing results.

Using Your TDEE for Weight Loss

For steady fat loss, subtract 300 to 500 kcal from your TDEE. That pace loses roughly 0.5 kg per week and is sustainable for most people. Larger deficits work faster but increase hunger and the risk of muscle loss.

For muscle gain, add 200 to 300 kcal above your TDEE and keep protein high. Pair your target with a plan you can follow: our guide to the best Chipotle orders for weight loss shows how real meals fit a calorie budget, and the BMI calculator tells you where your current weight stands.

Limitations of TDEE Estimates

An equation estimates; it does not measure. Your real TDEE shifts with muscle mass, hormones, sleep, and daily movement, and no formula captures all of that. Treat this result as a starting point: eat at your target for two to three weeks, watch the scale trend, then adjust up or down by 100 to 200 kcal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good TDEE for weight loss?

There is no single good TDEE for weight loss because TDEE is personal. The rule is simple: eat 300 to 500 kcal below your own TDEE. Calculate your TDEE above, subtract 500, and that is your daily weight-loss target.

How accurate is the Mifflin-St Jeor equation?

It is the most validated BMR formula available and lands within about 10 percent of measured values for most adults. It is less accurate for very muscular or very obese individuals, where body composition matters more than weight alone.

What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?

BMR is the calories you burn at complete rest. TDEE is BMR plus all activity, exercise, and digestion. BMR is the baseline; TDEE is the full daily total you should base your diet on.

Should I add my workouts on top of my activity level?

No. Your activity level already includes your workouts, so adding them again double counts the calories. Choose the activity level that reflects your training, or use the step-count option for a personalized estimate.

How do daily steps affect TDEE?

Walking burns roughly 0.04 kcal per step for an average adult, so 10,000 steps adds about 400 kcal to your BMR. That is why two people with the same stats can have very different TDEEs.

How often should I recalculate my TDEE?

Recalculate whenever your weight changes by about 5 kg, when your activity level changes, or every few months. A lighter body burns fewer calories, so your TDEE falls as you lose weight.

Does TDEE decrease with age?

Yes, gradually. BMR falls about 1 to 2 percent per decade after early adulthood, mostly because muscle mass declines. Strength training slows this loss considerably.

Can I use TDEE to gain muscle?

Yes. Eat 200 to 300 kcal above your TDEE, train with progressive resistance, and eat enough protein (about 1.6 to 2.2 g per kg of body weight). Keep the surplus small to limit fat gain.

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