TDEE Calculator

Complete TDEE Guide

What is TDEE and Why It Matters

Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total number of calories your body burns in a 24-hour period, accounting for all activities from sleeping to intense exercise. Understanding your TDEE is the single most important factor in achieving any fitness goal—whether that's losing weight, building muscle, or maintaining your current physique. Without knowing your TDEE, you're essentially guessing about your nutrition, which explains why many people struggle to see results despite consistent effort.

How TDEE is Calculated: The Science

Our calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which is the gold standard in fitness science and far more accurate than older methods like Harris-Benedict. This equation accounts for your basal metabolic rate (BMR)—the calories you burn at complete rest—and then multiplies it by an activity factor based on your exercise frequency.

For Men: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age in years) + 5
For Women: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age in years) - 161

Understanding BMR vs TDEE

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) represents the minimum calories your body needs just to survive—maintaining heart function, brain activity, cellular repair, and breathing. This typically accounts for 60-75% of your total calorie burn. TDEE includes your BMR plus all additional calories burned through daily activities, exercise, and even digestion (called thermic effect of food). The difference between these two numbers is crucial: if you underestimate your BMR, you'll overestimate how much you can eat; if you underestimate your TDEE, you'll feel constantly deprived on a diet.

Activity Level Multipliers Explained

• Sedentary (1.2x): Desk job, minimal exercise. For a 2000 BMR, TDEE = 2,400 calories
• Lightly Active (1.375x): Exercise 1-3 days per week. For a 2000 BMR, TDEE = 2,750 calories
• Moderately Active (1.55x): Exercise 3-5 days per week. For a 2000 BMR, TDEE = 3,100 calories
• Very Active (1.725x): Exercise 6-7 days per week. For a 2000 BMR, TDEE = 3,450 calories
• Extremely Active (1.9x): Professional athlete or manual labor job. For a 2000 BMR, TDEE = 3,800 calories

Note: These multipliers assume typical exercise duration. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) or strength training may require adjusting upward by 50-100 calories.

Real-World Example: Sarah's TDEE Journey

Sarah is a 32-year-old woman, 5'6" (168 cm), weighing 160 lbs (72.6 kg), with a desk job and 3 gym sessions per week. Her BMR = 1,665 calories. Using the "Moderately Active" multiplier (1.55), her TDEE = 2,580 calories. When she wasn't tracking, she estimated she ate "around 2000 calories" but was frustrated about not losing weight. Using our calculator, she realized her actual TDEE was 2,580, meaning her "2000 calorie" diet was actually only a 580 calorie deficit—about 1.2 lbs per week, which is legitimate but slower than her expectation. By eating at 2,080 calories (500 calorie deficit), she now loses a consistent 1 lb per week and has dropped 24 lbs in 6 months with much less mental struggle.

Using TDEE for Different Goals

Weight Loss (Fat Loss): Eat 300-500 calories below TDEE for sustainable loss of 0.6-1 lb per week. Going more aggressive (750+ deficit) increases muscle loss and metabolic adaptation. Example: TDEE of 2,500 → eat 2,000 calories for 500 deficit.

Maintenance: Eat at approximately your TDEE (within 100 calories) to maintain current weight while recomposing (replacing fat with muscle through exercise).

Muscle Gain (Bulking): Eat 300-500 calories above TDEE, with adequate protein (0.8-1g per lb of bodyweight), to gain roughly 0.5-1 lb per week. Slower bulk rates mean more of the weight is muscle rather than fat.

Step-by-Step How to Use This Calculator

1. Select Your Gender: Choose male or female as this affects BMR calculation
2. Enter Your Age: Metabolism slows ~2% per decade after age 30; age is critical for accuracy
3. Input Height & Weight: Use the unit system you're comfortable with (metric or imperial)
4. Choose Activity Level: Be honest—most people overestimate. Sedentary desk jobs = 1.2, even with a 1-hour gym session
5. Calculate: You'll see your BMR, activity multiplier, and daily calorie targets for loss/gain

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Overestimating Activity Level: Most common error. That one CrossFit class per week doesn't make you "Very Active." Stick with "Lightly Active" unless you're exercising 5+ days consistently.
• Ignoring Metabolic Adaptation: If you diet at a severe deficit for months, your metabolism adapts and your actual TDEE drops 10-20%. Recalculate every 4-8 weeks.
• Forgetting NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis): Walking, fidgeting, and occupational activity can add 200-500 calories. Sedentary people underestimate this; active jobs might use the next multiplier up.
• Not Accounting for Hormonal Changes: Women's TDEE fluctuates 100-200 calories across the menstrual cycle. Men's can drop 5-10% if sleep-deprived.
• Trusting TDEE Alone: This calculator gives an estimate, typically accurate within ±200 calories. Track your actual weight for 2 weeks; if you're not losing/gaining as predicted, adjust by 200-300 calories.

Advanced Tips for Better Results

• Recalculate Monthly: As you lose weight, your TDEE decreases (less body mass = fewer calories burned). A 160-lb person dropping to 140 lbs might lose 200-300 calories of daily burn.
• Use Your TDEE for Macros: Once you know your TDEE, use our Macro Calculator to divide it into protein, carbs, and fats for your specific goal.
• Monitor Energy Levels: If eating at deficit, you should feel energized during workouts. Feeling constantly exhausted = too large of a deficit.
• Factor in Seasonal Changes: Winter tends to lower TDEE by 50-150 calories due to reduced activity and more indoor time.
• Consider Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): High-protein diets increase TEF by 20-30%, meaning you burn extra calories just digesting protein. Our calculator estimates this already, but knowing it helps with meal planning.

When to Recalculate Your TDEE

• After every 10 lbs of weight change
• Every 8-12 weeks on a strict diet or bulk
• If your routine changes (new job, new exercise program)
• Every year as you age (especially after 30)
• If results stall for more than 2-3 weeks despite consistent tracking