TDEE Calculator
Calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure - the calories you burn in a day
How to Use This TDEE Calculator
- Enter your age, gender, height, and weight
- Select your activity level from sedentary to extra active
- Click 'Calculate TDEE' to see your daily calorie expenditure
- Use the calorie targets table to adjust for your goal (lose, maintain, or gain)
Example: A 30-year-old male, 5'10", 180 lbs, moderately active (gym 4x/week): TDEE is ~2,650 calories/day. To lose 1 lb/week, eat ~2,150 calories. To gain 0.5 lb/week, eat ~2,900 calories.
Tip: TDEE is an estimate - use it as a starting point, then track your weight for 2-3 weeks. If you're not seeing expected changes, adjust by 100-200 calories rather than making drastic changes.
Why Use a TDEE Calculator?
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total calories you burn daily, including everything from breathing to exercise. It's the foundation of any nutrition plan because you can't manage what you don't measure.
- Calculate how many calories you actually burn each day
- Set accurate calorie targets for fat loss or muscle gain
- Understand why your weight has plateaued despite 'eating right'
- Determine if you're eating too little (metabolic adaptation) or too much
- Plan caloric surplus for lean bulking without excessive fat gain
- Compare energy needs across different activity levels
Understanding Your Results
Results display your BMR, TDEE, and calorie targets for different goals from extreme fat loss to bulking.
| Result | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) | Calories burned at complete rest - just to keep you alive | Eating below BMR long-term can slow metabolism and cause muscle loss |
| TDEE (maintenance calories) | Total daily burn including all activity | Eating at TDEE maintains current weight over time |
| TDEE minus 500 (fat loss) | ~1 lb/week fat loss rate | Sustainable deficit for most people; preserves muscle with adequate protein |
| TDEE plus 250-500 (muscle gain) | Caloric surplus for building muscle | Smaller surplus (250) minimizes fat gain; larger surplus (500) faster gains but more fat |
Meaning: Calories burned at complete rest - just to keep you alive
Action: Eating below BMR long-term can slow metabolism and cause muscle loss
Meaning: Total daily burn including all activity
Action: Eating at TDEE maintains current weight over time
Meaning: ~1 lb/week fat loss rate
Action: Sustainable deficit for most people; preserves muscle with adequate protein
Meaning: Caloric surplus for building muscle
Action: Smaller surplus (250) minimizes fat gain; larger surplus (500) faster gains but more fat
Note: TDEE calculations can be off by 10-15% depending on individual factors like genetics, body composition, and NEAT (fidgeting, posture, etc.). Treat the number as a starting point, not gospel.
About TDEE Calculator
Formula
TDEE = BMR × Activity Multiplier This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation for BMR (most accurate for modern populations). Activity multipliers range from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (extremely active). The multiplier accounts for both exercise and daily movement.
Current Standards: Mifflin-St Jeor equation (1990) is within 10% accuracy for 82% of people. Activity multipliers are based on the Harris-Benedict activity factors, refined over decades of research. For precise measurement, indirect calorimetry or doubly labeled water studies are required, but these are impractical for everyday use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why am I not losing weight at my calculated deficit?
Several possibilities: You're eating more than you think (studies show people underreport by 30-50% on average - weigh and log everything for a week). Your TDEE is lower than calculated (especially if you've been dieting long-term). You're retaining water (new exercise, high sodium, stress, menstrual cycle). Or you ARE losing fat but gaining muscle/water, so scale weight stays flat. Measure waist circumference and take progress photos, not just scale weight.
How do I know my activity level?
Be honest - most people overestimate. Sedentary: desk job, no exercise, minimal walking. Lightly active: desk job plus 1-3 gym sessions or 7,000+ steps daily. Moderately active: active job OR desk job plus 4-5 intense workouts. Very active: physical job plus regular exercise OR training 6-7 days with high intensity. If unsure, start with a lower estimate - it's easier to add calories than to undo a month of overeating.
Should I eat back exercise calories?
Partially, at most. Fitness trackers and machines dramatically overestimate calorie burn (often by 30-50%). If your tracker says you burned 600 calories, you probably burned 350-400. If you're using TDEE (which already includes exercise), don't add more calories for workouts - they're already accounted for. Only eat back exercise calories if calculating from BMR and adding activity separately, and even then, eat back only 50-75%.
My TDEE seems too high/low. What should I do?
Test it empirically. Eat at your calculated TDEE for 2-3 weeks while weighing daily (use weekly averages to smooth fluctuations). If your weight trends up, your true TDEE is lower. If it trends down, TDEE is higher. Adjust by 100-200 calories and retest. After a few iterations, you'll know your actual TDEE regardless of what calculators predict.
Does metabolism slow down when dieting?
Yes, through adaptive thermogenesis. When you eat less, your body reduces energy expenditure to preserve resources. BMR drops slightly (5-15%), and NEAT can drop dramatically - you unconsciously fidget less, stand less, move slower. This is why weight loss stalls. Strategies to minimize adaptation: diet breaks (eating at maintenance for 1-2 weeks every 6-12 weeks of dieting), not dropping calories too aggressively, resistance training to preserve muscle, and high protein intake.