TDEE Calculator - Calculate Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure
Calculate your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) to find your maintenance calories. Includes BMR, weight loss, and weight gain calorie targets. Essential for effective diet planning.
Reviewed by the Calcura editorial team · Last reviewed
- Question
- How do I calculate my TDEE?
- Answer
- TDEE = BMR × activity_factor. Using Mifflin-St Jeor: BMR = 10 × weight_kg + 6.25 × height_cm − 5 × age + s, where s = +5 for male, −161 for female. Multiply by 1.2 (sedentary), 1.375 (light), 1.55 (moderate), 1.725 (active), or 1.9 (very active). A 30-year-old man, 80 kg, 180 cm, moderately active has BMR 1,780 and TDEE 2,759 kcal. That's maintenance; subtract 500/day for ~1 lb/week loss.
▸Show formula & caveatsHide formula & caveats
- Formula
Mifflin-St Jeor: BMR = 10w + 6.25h − 5a + s; TDEE = BMR × activity_factor- Caveats
- Equation accuracy is ±10%; some people run meaningfully higher or lower than predicted.
- NEAT (non-exercise activity) can swing 400–800 kcal/day — fidgeters burn significantly more.
- Track weight for 2–3 weeks at the predicted maintenance figure, then adjust ±100 kcal as needed.
What This Calculator Does
This calculator estimates Total Daily Energy Expenditure — the number of calories your body burns in a day — by computing resting metabolic rate (BMR) with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and then multiplying by an activity factor. Mifflin-St Jeor is the equation used in most clinical nutrition references because it tracks measured resting energy expenditure better than older formulas. The output is a starting estimate: a maintenance calorie target, plus rough deficit and surplus targets for loss or gain. Treat it as a 2–3 week hypothesis to test against the scale, not a precise measurement.
When To Use This Calculator
Starting a New Nutrition Plan
You want to lose body fat but you've been eating 'healthy' without tracking and nothing is changing. You calculate your TDEE at 2,350 calories. That means eating 1,850 calories (a 500 deficit) should produce about 0.5 kg (1 lb) of fat loss per week. Now you have a real number instead of guessing.
Breaking Through a Weight Loss Plateau
You lost 7 kg (15 lbs) over 3 months but progress stopped 3 weeks ago. Recalculate your TDEE — at your new, lower weight, your TDEE has dropped from 2,400 to 2,200. Your previous 1,900-calorie target was a 500-calorie deficit but is now only a 300-calorie deficit. Adjust to 1,700 calories or increase activity to restart progress.
Building Muscle Without Excess Fat Gain
You're strength training 4 days a week and want to build muscle. Your TDEE is 2,600 calories. A lean bulk requires a small surplus: 2,900-3,100 calories with at least 1.6g protein per kg of bodyweight. Too large a surplus just adds fat, and TDEE gives you the baseline to calculate the right amount.
Adjusting for a Change in Activity Level
You switched from a desk job to a physically active role, or you started a new training program. Recalculating your TDEE with the updated activity level might show an increase of 300-600 calories per day. If you don't eat more, you'll lose weight unintentionally and feel drained.
How It Works
The calculator first determines your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which factors in your weight, height, age, and sex. BMR represents the calories your body needs at complete rest — just to keep your heart beating, lungs breathing, and cells functioning. It accounts for roughly 60-75% of your total daily burn. Then it multiplies your BMR by an activity factor that accounts for everything else: intentional exercise, walking, fidgeting, standing, and the thermic effect of food (the energy your body uses to digest meals, typically 8-15% of calories consumed). The result is your TDEE — an estimate of total daily energy expenditure. It's important to treat this as a starting point and adjust based on real-world results over 2-3 weeks.
Formula
Men: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age) + 5
Women: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age) − 161
TDEE = BMR × Activity MultiplierReal-World Example
Scenario
Alex is 28 years old, weighs 82 kg (181 lbs), is 178 cm (5'10") tall, and exercises moderately (lifting weights 3x/week plus walking daily). Alex wants to know maintenance calories and a target for gradual fat loss.
Calculation
BMR = (10 × 82) + (6.25 × 178) − (5 × 28) + 5 BMR = 820 + 1,112.5 − 140 + 5 = 1,797.5 calories Activity multiplier (moderate): 1.55 TDEE = 1,797.5 × 1.55 = 2,786 calories Fat loss target (500 cal deficit): 2,286 calories Lean bulk target (300 cal surplus): 3,086 calories
Result
Alex's maintenance is approximately 2,786 calories per day. For gradual fat loss at about 0.5 kg (1 lb) per week, Alex should eat around 2,286 calories. To build muscle with minimal fat gain, around 3,086 calories. Alex tracks for 2 weeks, loses 0.4 kg the first week and 0.6 kg the second — confirming the TDEE estimate is accurate. If weight hadn't changed, reducing by another 100-200 calories would be the next step.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Mistake: Overestimating your activity level
Solution: Three 45-minute gym sessions per week is 'Light' to 'Moderate,' not 'Active.' The 'Active' and 'Very Active' levels are for people who exercise intensely almost every day or have physically demanding jobs. When in doubt, choose one level lower and adjust up if you're losing weight too quickly.
Mistake: Not recalculating as your body changes
Solution: TDEE decreases as you lose weight because a smaller body needs fewer calories. Recalculate every 5-10 kg (10-20 lbs) of weight change, or monthly during an active diet phase. A 10 kg loss can reduce TDEE by 150-200 calories per day.
Mistake: Treating TDEE as an exact number
Solution: TDEE is an educated estimate, not a lab measurement. Your actual needs vary day to day based on sleep, stress, temperature, and movement patterns. Use it as a starting point, track your weight trend over 2-3 weeks, and adjust by 100-200 calories if reality doesn't match the prediction.
Mistake: Creating an extreme calorie deficit for faster results
Solution: Eating 1,000+ calories below TDEE leads to muscle loss, metabolic adaptation, and burnout. A moderate deficit of 300-500 calories is more sustainable and preserves lean mass. For most people, never drop below 1,200 calories (women) or 1,500 calories (men) without professional guidance.
Related Fitness Calculators
Calorie Calculator
Similar to TDEE but focused on daily calorie goals with more goal-specific guidance. Use TDEE for the raw number; use Calorie Calculator for a meal-planning framework.
Macro Calculator
Takes your TDEE and splits it into protein, carbs, and fats based on your goals. Use this as your next step after calculating TDEE.
BMI Calculator
Quick body composition indicator based on height and weight. Useful alongside TDEE for understanding your starting point, though it doesn't account for muscle mass.
When This Isn't the Right Tool
Pregnancy, breastfeeding, and active recovery from illness
Use instead: Energy needs during pregnancy, lactation, or recovery are driven by clinical factors this calculator doesn't model. Work with a clinician or registered dietitian for an individualized plan.
Children and teenagers
Use instead: Youth energy needs depend on growth and puberty in ways the Mifflin-St Jeor equation isn't designed for. Pediatric equations (Schofield or the WHO/FAO/UNU set) and clinical guidance apply instead.
Elite athletes and very high training volumes
Use instead: The standard 1.2–1.9 activity multipliers understate needs for athletes training 15+ hours per week or during heavy training blocks. Use direct energy-availability tracking or a sport-dietitian's protocol.
Metabolic conditions (hypo/hyperthyroid, PCOS, recent rapid weight loss)
Use instead: Conditions that alter resting metabolism or long-term caloric restriction that has suppressed metabolism can make a predicted TDEE meaningfully inaccurate. A medical or clinical-nutrition assessment is more reliable.
How to Verify This Calculation
Cross-check the BMR number in any clinical BMR calculator using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation — the two outputs should match to the calorie. Most accurately, compare against real-world results: track intake for 2–3 weeks at a stable weight. If you're eating roughly the TDEE estimate and weight is stable within ±0.5 kg, the estimate is a fair maintenance target. If weight drifts consistently, adjust by 100–200 calories per day rather than re-running the formula.
Sources
- Mifflin MD, et al. — A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure — The original 1990 paper introducing the Mifflin-St Jeor equation used throughout this calculator.
- National Institutes of Health — Office of Dietary Supplements — Reference resource for energy and nutrient intake in healthy adults.
- USDA — Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) — Official U.S. reference intakes for energy, macros, and micronutrients by life stage.
Reviewed by the Calcura editorial team · Last reviewed