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TDEE Calculator
Use this free TDEE calculator to find out how many calories you burn in a day. It estimates your basal metabolic rate with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then multiplies by an activity factor from 1.2 to 1.9 to get your total daily energy expenditure. You will see your BMR plus calorie targets for maintenance, fat loss, and muscle gain. Remember that TDEE has four parts: your resting metabolism, exercise, everyday movement, and the energy used to digest food.
How to use
- Enter your sex, age, weight, and height.
- Pick the activity level that honestly matches your week. Most people overestimate, so choose conservatively.
- Click Calculate TDEE.
- Use the maintenance, fat loss, or muscle gain target for your goal, then adjust after tracking for 2 to 3 weeks.
How the TDEE formula works
The calculation has two steps. First, the Mifflin-St Jeor equation estimates your basal metabolic rate: for men, BMR = 10 x weight in kg + 6.25 x height in cm - 5 x age + 5, and for women the same formula ends with - 161 instead of + 5.
Worked example: a 30 year old man who weighs 180 lb (81.6 kg) and is 5 ft 10 in (177.8 cm) tall. BMR = 10 x 81.6 + 6.25 x 177.8 - 5 x 30 + 5 = 816 + 1111 - 150 + 5 = about 1,783 calories. If he is moderately active, TDEE = 1,783 x 1.55 = about 2,763 calories per day. That is his maintenance level.
Turning your TDEE into a calorie target
Your TDEE is your maintenance line. Eat near it and your weight holds steady. For fat loss, a mild cut of TDEE minus 500 calories a day is the sustainable sweet spot for most people, worth about 1 pound per week. For muscle gain, start with a mild surplus of about 10 percent above TDEE and pair it with strength training.
Avoid extremes on either side. Aggressive cuts beyond 1,000 calories a day are hard to sustain and can cost lean mass, while very large surpluses tend to add more fat than muscle.
Common TDEE mistakes
The biggest mistake is picking too high an activity level, which inflates the result and stalls fat loss. The second is never recalculating: as you lose weight, your TDEE drops, so a target that worked in month one may be maintenance by month three.
The third is double counting exercise by adding workout calories on top of an already active multiplier. Pick one method and stay consistent, then let the scale trend over two to three weeks tell you whether to adjust. This is general information, not medical advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is TDEE?
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It is the total number of calories your body burns in a day, including basic body functions, digestion, and all physical activity. Knowing your TDEE helps you set a calorie target for weight loss, maintenance, or muscle gain.
What are the four components of TDEE?
TDEE has four parts. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the energy used at rest and is the largest share. Then comes exercise activity, non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) from everyday movement like walking and fidgeting, and the thermic effect of food, which is the energy used to digest meals and is highest for protein.
How does this TDEE calculator work?
It first estimates your BMR from your sex, age, weight, and height using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. Then it multiplies that BMR by an activity factor: 1.2 for sedentary, 1.375 for lightly active, 1.55 for moderately active, 1.725 for very active, and 1.9 for extra active. The result is your estimated daily calorie burn.
How accurate is this TDEE calculator?
It uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which research shows is one of the more reliable BMR formulas for most adults. Still, it is an estimate. Real calorie burn varies with body composition, genetics, and daily movement. Treat the result as a starting point and adjust based on your weight trend over two to three weeks.
How do I use TDEE to lose weight?
Eat below your TDEE. A deficit of about 10 to 20 percent, roughly 300 to 500 calories a day, is a sustainable pace and tends to remove close to 1 pound per week. Very aggressive deficits can cost muscle and slow your metabolism, so keep protein high and adjust gradually.
How do I use TDEE to gain muscle?
Eat in a small surplus of about 10 percent above your TDEE, paired with strength training and enough protein. If you stop gaining after a few weeks, raise the surplus toward 20 percent and reassess. Eating at your TDEE with resistance training also works for body recomposition.
How often should I recalculate my TDEE?
Recalculate after a noticeable change in weight, activity, or body composition. Losing weight lowers your burn, gaining muscle raises it. If progress stalls for two to three weeks, your real expenditure has likely drifted from the original estimate, and common fixes are more daily movement and tighter intake tracking.
Why do most people overestimate their activity level?
People tend to count planned workouts but forget the other 23 hours. A desk worker who trains three times a week is usually lightly active, not very active. Choosing one level lower than your instinct often gives a more realistic number, and you can always adjust upward if weight drops too fast.