TDEE Calculator
This free TDEE calculator works out your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, the calories you burn in a full day, from breathing to walking to working out. Enter your details to find your maintenance calories, plus simple targets for losing or gaining weight.
What is TDEE?
Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total number of calories your body burns in a typical 24 hours. It is the most useful single number in nutrition, because it tells you roughly how much you can eat to stay the same weight, and therefore how to adjust if you want to lose or gain.
TDEE is made up of four parts: your BMR (calories burned at rest), the energy used to digest food, the calories burned during planned exercise, and all the incidental movement you do throughout the day, such as fidgeting, walking to the kitchen, and doing chores. Add those together and you get your TDEE.
You do not need to understand every part. Just enter your details above, pick the activity level that best matches your week, and the calculator handles the rest.
What your TDEE result means
Your main result is your maintenance calories: eat around this number and, on average, your weight should stay stable. The three cards underneath translate that into simple goals:
- Lose weight: eat below your TDEE. We show a 500-calorie daily deficit, which is a common, sustainable pace of roughly half a kilogram (one pound) per week.
- Maintain: eat around your TDEE to keep your current weight.
- Gain weight: eat above your TDEE. We add 300 calories for a slow, controlled increase that favours muscle over fat.
Remember, these are starting points. Your real intake may need small tweaks after you see how your body responds over two to three weeks.
How TDEE is calculated
TDEE is worked out in two steps. First we estimate your BMR using the accurate Mifflin-St Jeor equation. Then we multiply that BMR by an activity factor that reflects how active you are:
TDEE = BMR × activity factor
Activity multipliers
| Activity level | Factor |
|---|---|
| Sedentary (little or no exercise) | 1.2 |
| Lightly active (1–3 days/week) | 1.375 |
| Moderately active (3–5 days/week) | 1.55 |
| Very active (6–7 days/week) | 1.725 |
| Extra active (hard daily exercise or physical job) | 1.9 |
Choosing the right level honestly is the most important part. Most people overestimate how active they are, which inflates their TDEE.
Example calculation
Say a 30-year-old woman weighs 65 kg, is 165 cm tall, and exercises three days a week (moderately active).
- Her BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor) is about 1,357 calories.
- Her activity factor is 1.55.
- TDEE = 1,357 × 1.55 = about 2,100 calories/day to maintain.
To lose weight gently she might aim for about 1,600 calories, and to gain slowly, about 2,400. Small, consistent changes work far better than dramatic ones.
How to use your TDEE: a beginner action plan
- Note your maintenance number. This is your anchor.
- Choose a goal and target. Use the cards above, or our calorie calculator for more goal options.
- Track loosely for two weeks. Weigh yourself a couple of times a week and watch the trend, not daily wobbles.
- Adjust by 100–200 calories if the scale is not moving the way you want after two to three weeks.
- Move more, too. Pair your nutrition with simple exercise. Start with our beginner home-workout guide and weight-loss plan.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Overestimating your activity. This is the single biggest error. If in doubt, pick the level below the one you were tempted to choose.
- Double-counting exercise. Your activity factor already includes your workouts, so do not also "eat back" the calories your fitness tracker says you burned.
- Expecting the number to be exact. TDEE estimates are usually within about 10 percent. Use real-world results to fine-tune.
- Cutting far too aggressively. A modest deficit is more sustainable and protects your energy and muscle.
Helpful tips
- Recalculate after your weight changes by a few kilograms, since your TDEE drops as you lose weight.
- Prioritise protein and whole foods; the same calories can feel very different depending on what they come from.
- Sleep and stress affect appetite and activity, so they quietly influence your real TDEE too.
- Be honest about "non-exercise" movement: a desk job with no walking is genuinely sedentary, even if you feel busy.
Frequently asked questions
What is a TDEE calculator?
A TDEE calculator estimates the total calories you burn in a day by combining your resting metabolism (BMR) with an activity factor. It gives you your maintenance calories and a starting point for weight loss or gain.
How is TDEE calculated?
We first estimate your BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then multiply it by an activity factor between 1.2 (sedentary) and 1.9 (extra active) to reflect your daily movement and exercise.
What activity level should I choose?
Pick the level that honestly matches a typical week, counting only real, structured activity. Most people overestimate, so if you are between two levels, choose the lower one for a more realistic result.
How do I use TDEE to lose weight?
Eat below your TDEE. A daily deficit of around 500 calories tends to produce a sustainable loss of roughly half a kilogram (one pound) per week. Avoid very large deficits, which are hard to maintain.
How do I use TDEE to gain weight?
Eat above your TDEE. A surplus of around 250–500 calories a day supports gradual, controlled weight gain, which favours muscle when paired with strength training.
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is what you burn at rest. TDEE is what you burn across your whole day, including movement and exercise. TDEE equals your BMR multiplied by an activity factor, and it is the number you use for calorie goals.
What are net calories in a TDEE calculator?
"Net calories" usually means calories eaten minus calories burned through exercise. Because your TDEE already includes your typical exercise, you generally should not subtract workout calories again, or you risk under-eating.
Is a TDEE calculator accurate?
It is a good estimate, usually within about 10 percent of your real expenditure. The biggest source of error is choosing too high an activity level. Treat the result as a smart starting point and adjust from real results.
How many calories should I eat to maintain my weight?
Around your TDEE. Eat close to that number, monitor your weight over a couple of weeks, and nudge intake up or down by 100–200 calories if you are drifting.
Do women need a different TDEE calculator?
No. The same calculator works for everyone because sex is already one of the inputs. The formula automatically adjusts for the average differences between men and women.
References
Based on the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, et al., The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1990) with standard physical-activity multipliers. For general activity guidance, see the CDC.
What should I do next?
You know your daily burn. Here is how to put that number to work.
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