TDEE Calculator
Estimate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure — the calories you burn each day.
What is TDEE?
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total number of calories your body burns in a day, including your basal metabolic rate (the energy used just to keep you alive) plus calories burned through digestion, daily movement, and exercise. Knowing your TDEE is the foundation for setting any calorie goal, whether you want to maintain, lose, or gain weight.
How is TDEE calculated?
This calculator estimates your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, one of the most accurate formulas available, then multiplies it by an activity multiplier based on how much you move and exercise during a typical week. The result is your TDEE — the number of calories you'd need to eat daily to keep your weight stable.
Using your TDEE to reach a goal
Eating at your TDEE maintains your current weight. Eating below it creates a deficit for weight loss, while eating above it creates a surplus for weight gain. A difference of about 500 calories per day typically corresponds to roughly 0.5 kg of weight change per week. This is an estimate for informational purposes only and not medical advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between TDEE and BMR?
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the number of calories your body burns at complete rest just to keep vital functions running. TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) takes that BMR and adds calories burned through daily movement, exercise, and digestion — so TDEE is always higher than BMR and reflects your true daily calorie burn.
How does activity level affect my TDEE?
Activity level is applied as a multiplier on top of your BMR, so moving from sedentary to very active can raise your estimated TDEE by several hundred calories per day. Being honest about your actual weekly exercise and daily movement, rather than overestimating it, gives a more accurate result.
How do I eat at maintenance calories?
Eating roughly the same number of calories as your estimated TDEE keeps your weight stable over time. Since TDEE is an estimate, it helps to track your weight over 2-3 weeks and adjust your intake slightly up or down if your weight is trending in a direction you don't want.
Should I use TDEE for bulking or cutting?
Both. Your TDEE is the baseline maintenance number — for a lean bulk, eat a few hundred calories above it; for a cut, eat a few hundred calories below it. The calculator above already shows suggested calorie levels for losing or gaining roughly 0.5 kg per week based on your TDEE.
Does my TDEE change as I lose or gain weight?
Yes. TDEE is based on your current body weight and activity level, so as your weight changes, your BMR and therefore your TDEE changes too. It's a good idea to recalculate your TDEE every few weeks or after losing/gaining a noticeable amount of weight.
What is the most accurate TDEE formula?
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which this calculator uses, is generally considered one of the most accurate BMR formulas for the general population, outperforming older formulas like Harris-Benedict in most studies. Still, all formulas are estimates — actual metabolism varies by individual factors like genetics and muscle mass.
Why does my TDEE seem too low or too high?
TDEE estimates are based on averages and can be off for people with unusually high or low muscle mass, certain medical conditions, or activity levels that don't match the standard categories. If your real-world results consistently differ from the estimate, trust your own weight trend data over time and adjust from there.