Your result will appear here
Fill in the fields and press Calculate.
TDEE — Total Daily Energy Expenditure — is the number of calories your body burns in a full day, including everything from breathing to your workout. It’s the single most useful number in any nutrition plan: eat at your TDEE and weight holds steady, eat below it and you lose, above it and you gain.
Enter your sex, age, height, weight and activity level to get your TDEE, your BMR (the floor beneath it), and calorie targets for a gentle loss or gain.
How is it calculated?
BMR first, then activity
TDEE is built in two steps. First your BMR (basal metabolic rate) — the calories you’d burn at complete rest — is estimated with the Mifflin–St Jeor equation, the most accurate for the general population:
| Sex | BMR formula (kcal/day) |
|---|---|
| Male | 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age + 5 |
| Female | 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age − 161 |
Then BMR is multiplied by an activity factor to get TDEE:
| Activity | Factor |
|---|---|
| Sedentary (desk job, little exercise) | 1.2 |
| Lightly active (1–3 days/week) | 1.375 |
| Moderately active (3–5 days/week) | 1.55 |
| Very active (6–7 days/week) | 1.725 |
| Extra active (hard training / physical job) | 1.9 |
Turning TDEE into a goal
A pound of fat is roughly 3,500 kcal, so a 300–500 kcal daily gap moves weight at a sustainable ~0.3–0.5 kg per week. The tool shows a mild deficit (TDEE − 300) and a mild surplus (TDEE + 300) as starting points.
Why it’s an estimate
Activity factors are broad buckets and metabolisms vary. Treat the number as a starting budget: track your weight for two or three weeks and adjust by 100–200 kcal if the trend isn’t what you want. That real-world feedback beats any formula.
Worked example
Take a 30-year-old woman, 165 cm, 65 kg, moderately active. Her BMR is 10 × 65 + 6.25 × 165 − 5 × 30 − 161 = 650 + 1,031 − 150 − 161 = 1,370 kcal. Multiplying by the moderate factor of 1.55 gives a TDEE of about 2,124 kcal/day. To lose weight gently she’d aim near 1,824 kcal; to gain, near 2,424. If the scale doesn’t move after a few weeks, she nudges the target rather than the formula.
FAQ
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?+
BMR is what you burn at complete rest — just keeping the body running. TDEE is BMR plus everything else you do: moving, digesting, exercising. TDEE is always higher, and it’s the number you plan your calorie intake around.
How do I use TDEE to lose weight?+
Eat below your TDEE. A deficit of about 300–500 kcal per day typically yields a sustainable loss of roughly 0.3–0.5 kg per week. Larger deficits work faster but are harder to keep up and can cost muscle; the tool suggests a mild deficit as a safe start.
Which activity level should I pick?+
Be honest and count only real, structured activity. Most people with desk jobs who train a few times a week fall under “lightly” or “moderately active”, not “very active”. Over-estimating activity is the most common reason a plan stalls.
How accurate is the TDEE number?+
It’s a solid estimate, usually within about 10%. Formulas can’t capture individual metabolism, NEAT (fidgeting, walking) or exact exercise burn. Use it as a starting budget and adjust based on how your weight actually trends over two to three weeks.
Does TDEE change over time?+
Yes. It falls as you lose weight (a lighter body burns less) and rises as you gain or become more active. Recalculate every few kilograms or whenever your training changes so your calorie target stays accurate.