TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure: the total number of calories your body burns in a day, from breathing and digestion to workouts and daily movement. It is the single most important number for changing your weight. Eat below your TDEE and you lose fat; eat above it and you gain.
This calculator estimates your basal metabolic rate with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, multiplies it by your activity level, and shows your TDEE plus calorie targets for cutting, maintaining, and lean bulking. Pair your TDEE with a macro and calorie calculator to turn those calories into daily protein, carb, and fat targets. Pick metric or imperial units above.
TDEE Calculator
Find your total daily energy expenditure and calorie targets for cutting, maintaining or gaining.
How the math works
Step 1 – BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor, 1990): Men: 10 x weight(kg) + 6.25 x height(cm) – 5 x age + 5. Women: same, but – 161 instead of + 5.
Step 2 – TDEE: BMR multiplied by your activity factor: 1.2 sedentary, 1.375 lightly active, 1.55 moderately active, 1.725 very active, 1.9 extremely active.
Step 3 – Goals: a 500 kcal daily deficit for fat loss, maintenance calories to stay the same, or a 300 kcal surplus for lean muscle gain.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is TDEE?
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure: all the calories your body burns in 24 hours. It has four parts: your basal metabolic rate (BMR, the energy used at rest), the thermic effect of food (calories used digesting), exercise, and NEAT (non-exercise movement like walking and fidgeting).
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is what you would burn lying in bed all day doing nothing. TDEE is BMR plus everything else: daily movement, exercise, and digestion. TDEE is always higher than BMR, and it is the number you actually eat against.
How do I use my TDEE to lose weight?
Eat roughly 500 calories below your TDEE each day. That creates a weekly deficit of about 3,500 calories, which equals around 0.5 kg (1 lb) of fat loss per week, a safe and sustainable rate.
My weight is not dropping even though I am in a deficit. Why?
The most common causes are underestimating food intake, overestimating activity, or water retention masking fat loss. Track everything honestly for 2 to 3 weeks. If nothing moves, drop another 100 to 200 calories and reassess.