CALCULATOR
TDEE Calculator
Total daily energy expenditure from your stats, with calorie and macro targets for cutting, maintaining or bulking. Metric and imperial.
Daily targets
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Estimate based on the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. Adjust over 2-3 weeks based on real-world results. General guidance, not medical advice.
What TDEE is and why it is the number that matters
Total daily energy expenditure is the total number of calories your body uses in a day: everything from keeping your heart beating to walking to the shop to a hard training session. It is the single most useful number in nutrition, because every calorie target is defined relative to it. Eat below your TDEE and you lose weight; eat above it and you gain.
TDEE is built in two steps. First your basal metabolic rate is estimated, the energy you would use lying still all day. Then that figure is multiplied by an activity factor between 1.2 and 1.9 depending on how much you move and train. This calculator uses Mifflin-St Jeor by default, and switches automatically to Katch-McArdle if you enter a body fat percentage, because that equation works from lean mass and is more accurate for lean or trained people.
Every TDEE figure is an estimate with roughly a ten percent error band. That sounds imprecise, and it is, but it is still the correct starting point: you take the estimate, eat at it for two to three weeks, and let your actual weight trend tell you what your real maintenance is.
The two-step TDEE calculation
Men: BMR = 10W + 6.25H - 5A + 5
Women: BMR = 10W + 6.25H - 5A - 161
Katch-McArdle (used when you enter body fat)
BMR = 370 + 21.6 x lean body mass
Example: 75 kg, 175 cm, 33 yr male, light activity
BMR = 1,684 -> TDEE = 1,684 x 1.375 = 2,316 kcal
Activity factors explained honestly
| Level | Factor | Who this really is |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | 1.2 | Desk job, no training, under 5,000 steps |
| Light | 1.375 | Desk job plus 1-3 sessions per week |
| Moderate | 1.55 | 3-5 sessions, or an active job |
| Active | 1.725 | 6-7 hard sessions per week |
| Very active | 1.9 | Physical job plus daily training |
Most people overestimate here. Three gym sessions a week alongside a desk job is light to moderate, not active. If your weight is not moving as the calculator predicts, an inflated activity factor is the most common reason.
TDEE by goal, worked example
| Goal | Adjustment | Calories | Weekly change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fat loss | -20% | 1,853 kcal | About -0.45 kg |
| Maintenance | 0% | 2,316 kcal | Stable |
| Lean gain | +10% | 2,548 kcal | About +0.2 kg |
What the estimate cannot see
- Non-exercise activity varies enormously. Fidgeting, posture and spontaneous movement can differ by several hundred calories a day between similar people.
- Adaptive thermogenesis. Extended dieting lowers energy expenditure somewhat beyond what weight loss alone explains.
- The thermic effect of food. Protein costs roughly 20 to 30 percent of its calories to digest, against 5 to 10 percent for carbohydrate and 0 to 3 percent for fat.
- Measurement error in your own intake. Under-reporting of food is well documented and often larger than the calculator error.
How to find your real TDEE in three weeks
- Eat at the calculated maintenance figure for 14 to 21 days without changing training.
- Weigh daily under identical conditions and use the weekly average, not single readings.
- Stable average weight means the estimate is your true maintenance.
- Gaining roughly 0.25 kg per week means your real TDEE is about 275 kcal lower than the estimate.
- Losing at the same rate means it is about 275 kcal higher. Adjust and repeat.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good TDEE?
How accurate are TDEE calculators?
Should I recalculate my TDEE as I lose weight?
Does TDEE include exercise?
Sources
- Mifflin MD et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1990.
- Katch VL, McArdle WD. Nutrition, Weight Control and Exercise.
- Frankenfield D et al. Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2005.
- Hall KD et al. Energy balance and its components. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2012.
- National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements. Nutrient fact sheets. ods.od.nih.gov
- NHS. Nutrition and health guidance. nhs.uk
- US Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030. dietaryguidelines.gov
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General information, not medical advice. Consult a qualified professional before changing your diet, especially with a medical condition.