TDEE Calculator
Find exactly how many calories you burn per day.
TDEE Calculator
Total Daily Energy Expenditure — how many calories your body burns per day.
Use the Body Fat % calculator to find this, or enter manually.
Total Daily Energy Expenditure
Uses Mifflin-St Jeor (1990), the most accurate BMR equation for most people.
About this calculator
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total number of calories your body burns in 24 hours, accounting for basal metabolic rate (BMR), the thermic effect of food, non-exercise activity, and deliberate exercise. It is calculated by multiplying your BMR — typically via the Mifflin-St Jeor equation — by an activity multiplier ranging from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (twice-daily training). TDEE is the most important number in nutrition planning: eating at TDEE maintains weight, below it creates a deficit for fat loss, and above it supports muscle gain. Most people underestimate their TDEE by 20–30%.
How to interpret your results
Your TDEE output is your maintenance calorie level. To lose fat, subtract 300–500 kcal from this number; to gain muscle, add 200–350 kcal. If you are not seeing the expected weight change after two weeks of consistent eating, your true TDEE likely differs from the estimate. Weigh yourself daily first thing in the morning and take a 7-day average — a stable average over two weeks at a given intake means that intake equals your actual TDEE. Adjust by 100–200 kcal per day from there. Highly active people (construction workers, competitive athletes) often find their true TDEE is 15–25% higher than calculated; sedentary desk workers sometimes find it is lower.
The science and formula
TDEE is calculated as BMR × activity multiplier. The Mifflin-St Jeor BMR equation (1990): Men: (10 × weight kg) + (6.25 × height cm) − (5 × age) + 5. Women: (10 × weight kg) + (6.25 × height cm) − (5 × age) − 161. This is then multiplied by an activity factor: sedentary (1.2), lightly active (1.375), moderately active (1.55), very active (1.725), or extra active (1.9). The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is preferred over the older Harris-Benedict (1919) because it was developed from a more diverse and contemporary population and shows lower systematic error in modern validation studies.
Important limitations
Activity multipliers are the largest source of TDEE estimation error. The categories are broad and subjective — two people who both select "moderately active" can have daily step counts ranging from 6,000 to 14,000. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) — fidgeting, standing, incidental movement — varies by up to 700 kcal/day between individuals at the same body weight and has a strong genetic component. TDEE also decreases during prolonged calorie restriction due to adaptive thermogenesis (the body reducing metabolic rate beyond what weight loss alone predicts). This adaptation can reduce TDEE by 5–15% during aggressive diets.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the calories your body burns at complete rest just to stay alive — breathing, circulation, and organ function. TDEE multiplies BMR by an activity factor to account for movement throughout the day. TDEE is always higher than BMR and is the number to use for calorie planning.
How accurate are TDEE calculators?
TDEE formulas are population averages and can be off by 10–20% for individuals. Use the calculated value as a starting point, then adjust up or down based on real-world weight change over 2–3 weeks. If weight is stable at the calculated TDEE, it is accurate for you.
How many calories below TDEE should I eat to lose fat?
A deficit of 300–500 calories per day produces roughly 0.3–0.5 kg of fat loss per week. Deficits above 750–1000 calories per day risk muscle loss and metabolic adaptation. The sustainable sweet spot for most people is a 15–25% deficit from TDEE.
Does TDEE change when I lose weight?
Yes. As body weight decreases, TDEE decreases — a lighter body burns fewer calories at rest and during activity. This is why fat loss slows over time and why recalculating TDEE every 5–10 kg of weight change is important to maintain the intended calorie deficit.
Should I eat my workout calories back?
This depends on which activity level you selected. If you already accounted for exercise in your activity multiplier (e.g., selected "moderately active" because you train 3–4×/week), do not eat back exercise calories. If you selected "sedentary" and track exercise separately, eating back a portion (50–75%) accounts for the additional burn without over-compensating.
Why is my TDEE different from what my fitness tracker shows?
Fitness trackers significantly overestimate calorie burn — studies show average errors of 27–93% depending on device and activity type. The formula-based TDEE tends to be more accurate for most people than smartwatch estimates, particularly for strength training sessions where heart rate-based calorie algorithms are least reliable.
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