Calculate your total daily energy expenditure
Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total calories your body burns in 24 hours: basal metabolic rate, food digestion, and all physical activity. For most adults it lands between 1,800 and 3,200 kcal/day. Enter your details for a personal estimate.
How do you calculate your TDEE?
Use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation to estimate your Basal Metabolic Rate, then multiply by your activity level. Pick your goal to see your daily calorie target.
Enter your details and click “Calculate my TDEE” to see your personalized numbers.
What is TDEE?
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It is the total number of calories your body burns over 24 hours, including everything from breathing and digestion to walking, lifting, and sleeping.
Your TDEE is the anchor for every nutrition decision: eat below it to lose weight, eat at it to maintain, eat above it to gain.
Most adult women fall between 1,600 and 2,400 kcal/day; most adult men between 2,000 and 3,200 kcal/day. Athletes, manual laborers, and very large individuals exceed these ranges; sedentary older adults sit below them.
Approximate split of daily calorie burn.
The three components of daily calorie burn
Your TDEE is the sum of three distinct energy costs:
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) — 60 to 70%
Energy your body uses to keep you alive at complete rest: heart, brain, kidneys, liver, body temperature, cell repair. This is the largest single component calculators target.
Physical activity (NEAT + exercise) — 20 to 30%
Every calorie burned by movement, from formal workouts to fidgeting, posture changes, and walking. Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) can vary by up to 400 kcal/day between similar-sized people.
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) — about 10%
Energy spent digesting and processing meals. Protein has the highest TEF (about 25% of its calories); carbohydrates around 7%; fat only 2–3%. A high-protein diet quietly raises TDEE.
How TDEE is calculated
The math is two simple steps: estimate your BMR, then multiply by an activity factor.
Step 1: Estimate BMR using Mifflin-St Jeor
Men: BMR = (10 × weight kg) + (6.25 × height cm) − (5 × age) + 5
Women: BMR = (10 × weight kg) + (6.25 × height cm) − (5 × age) − 161
Mifflin et al., 1990, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. This equation outperforms older formulas in head-to-head validation.
Step 2: Multiply by your activity factor
TDEE = BMR × Activity Factor
- 1.2 (Sedentary): desk job, no structured exercise
- 1.375 (Light): 1–3 days/week light activity
- 1.55 (Moderate): 3–5 days/week training
- 1.725 (Heavy): 6–7 days/week hard training
- 1.9 (Athlete): two-a-day training or physical labor
Worked example
A 30-year-old man weighing 80 kg (176 lb) at 180 cm (5'11"), training four days per week:
BMR = (10 × 80) + (6.25 × 180) − (5 × 30) + 5 = 1,780 kcal/day
TDEE = 1,780 × 1.55 (moderate) = 2,759 kcal/day
To lose roughly 1 lb per week, he would eat about 2,259 kcal/day. To gain lean muscle, about 3,009 kcal/day with high protein.
Understanding your results
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)
Calories your body burns at rest. Do not eat below this number for extended periods.
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)
Your maintenance calories. Eat this number daily and your weight stays stable across two to three weeks of consistent intake.
BMI (Body Mass Index)
A height-normalized weight category from the WHO. Useful as a population screen; less useful for muscular individuals. Pair with waist-to-height ratio or body fat for a fuller picture.
Macros (protein, carbs, fat)
Daily targets in grams for your goal. Standard recommendations: 1.6–2.2 g/kg protein, 0.7 g/kg fat minimum, carbs filling the rest. Open the macro calculator.
Goal calorie ladder
Six daily calorie targets from aggressive cut (TDEE − 1,000) through bulk (TDEE + 500). Pick the row that matches your timeline.
| Goal | Calories / day | Approximate rate |
|---|---|---|
| Aggressive cut | TDEE − 1,000 | Fast, higher muscle-loss risk |
| Standard cut | TDEE − 500 | ~1 lb/wk loss |
| Maintain | TDEE | Stable weight |
| Standard bulk | TDEE + 500 | ~1 lb/wk muscle gain |
| Copy bulk | TDEE + 1,000 | Faster, more fat gain |
How to use your TDEE for your goal
If you want to lose weight
- Subtract 250–500 kcal/day from TDEE for a sustainable 0.5–1 lb/wk loss.
- Cap weekly weight loss at 1% of body weight.
- Hit protein at 1.8–2.2 g/kg to preserve muscle in a deficit.
- Recalculate TDEE every 10–15 lb of weight change.
If you want to maintain
- Eat at your calculated TDEE for two weeks. Weigh daily, fasted.
- If your seven-day weight average is stable, the estimate is accurate.
- If it drifts, adjust by 100 kcal/day and retest.
If you want to build muscle
- Add 200–500 kcal/day above TDEE. Aim for ~0.5 lb of weight gain per week.
- Faster gains tip toward fat; slower gains tip toward water and frustration.
- Hit protein at 1.6–2.2 g/kg. Distribute across four to five meals.
Common mistakes that wreck your TDEE estimate
1. Overestimating activity level
Most people pick “Moderate” by reflex. If your job is sedentary and you train three days/week, you are “Light”. That gap is about 250 kcal/day. Take the 60-second activity quiz.
2. Trusting the number forever
TDEE drops as you lose weight, during sustained dieting, and with age. Recalculate every six to eight weeks during active weight change.
3. Confusing BMR with TDEE
BMR is your minimum survival rate. TDEE is your actual daily burn. Eat against TDEE, never BMR. See the comparison.
4. Under-reporting intake
Studies show people under-report by 20–40%. If the math says you should be losing and you are not, the most likely cause is uncounted calories.
5. Ignoring water-weight noise
Daily weight swings 2–4 lb on water, sodium, and glycogen. Use a seven-day moving average, not today’s number, to judge progress.
Frequently asked questions
What is TDEE?
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total calories your body burns in 24 hours. It combines your Basal Metabolic Rate, the thermic effect of food (about 10% of intake), and every kilocalorie spent on physical activity.
How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
Within about 10% when activity is honest. Most people overestimate by one tier — the gap is roughly 250 kcal/day. Use the estimate as a starting point and adjust based on real weight change.
Which formula does this calculator use?
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is the primary validated formula. When body fat percentage is known, the Katch-McArdle equation is used; the Harris-Benedict equation is also supported.
How do I turn my TDEE into a calorie target?
Eat at your TDEE to maintain, subtract ~500 kcal/day to lose ~1 lb/week, or add ~500 kcal/day to gain ~1 lb/week with training.
Should men and women calculate TDEE differently?
Yes. The Mifflin-St Jeor equation uses sex-specific constants, and women generally have lower average TDEs than men of the same size.
Why does my TDEE change over time?
TDEE decreases as you lose weight, during sustained dieting, and with aging. Recalculate every six to eight weeks during active weight change.
Related calculators and guides
BMR Calculator
Your resting metabolic rate — calories burned at complete rest.
Macro Calculator
Daily protein, carbs, and fat targets in grams.
Calorie Deficit Calculator
Turn your TDEE into a fat-loss or muscle-gain calorie target.
Maintenance Calories
Your weight-stable daily calorie number.
TDEE for Women
Life stages: pregnancy, lactation, perimenopause, PCOS.
How Accurate Is TDEE?
The honest error distribution and how to fine-tune.
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