TDEE Calculator | Calculate Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure

Q: How Accurate Is a TDEE Calculator?

TDEE calculators using the Mifflin-St Jeor formula are accurate within 10 percent for most healthy adults. A 2005 study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found Mifflin-St Jeor predicted resting metabolic rate within 10 percent of measured values for 82 percent of participants. Accuracy is higher for adults with average body composition and lower for very muscular or obese individuals. Entering body fat percentage activates the Katch-McArdle formula, which reduces error for lean athletes to approximately 5 percent.

Q: How Is TDEE Different from BMR?

BMR is the calories your body burns at complete rest with no food, movement, or digestion. TDEE is BMR multiplied by an activity factor that accounts for all daily energy expenditure including walking, exercise, and digestion. For a sedentary adult, TDEE runs approximately 20 percent above BMR. For a very active adult, TDEE runs 60 to 90 percent above BMR. Always use TDEE, not BMR, as the basis for any calorie target.

Q: How Many Calories Below TDEE to Lose Weight?

Eating 300 to 500 calories below your TDEE each day produces fat loss of 0.5 to 1 pound per week. A 500-calorie daily deficit creates a 3,500-calorie weekly deficit, which is equal to approximately 0.45 kilograms of stored fat. Larger deficits risk muscle loss and adaptive thermogenesis, where the body lowers its TDEE in response to prolonged restriction.

Q: Should I Eat Back Exercise Calories?

No. The TDEE calculator already includes exercise calories in the activity multiplier you selected. Eating back exercise calories would negate the deficit required for fat loss. The only exception is for athletes completing more than 90 minutes of high-intensity training daily, who may need to track acute exercise calories separately from their base TDEE.

Q: How Often Should I Recalculate My TDEE?

Recalculate your TDEE every 4 to 6 weeks during an active fat loss or muscle gain phase. Body weight loss of 2 to 3 kilograms reduces TDEE by approximately 50 to 100 calories. Ignoring this adjustment is the single most common reason fat loss stalls at the 6 to 8 week mark of a diet.

Use this free TDEE calculator to find out exactly how many calories you burn each day. Enter your age, sex, weight, height, and activity level to calculate your TDEE, BMR, and personalized macro targets for weight loss, maintenance, or muscle gain.

Your Stats

Biological sex

Age

yrs

Weight

lbs

Height

Activity level

Body fat % (optional)

Know your body fat? Add it to switch to the Katch-McArdle formula — the most accurate option when lean mass is known.

Your results will appear here

Enter your stats to see your TDEE and macro targets.

What Is TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)?

TDEE, or Total Daily Energy Expenditure, is the total number of calories your body burns in a 24-hour period, combining your basal metabolic rate, daily movement, exercise activity, and the thermic effect of food digestion. It is the single most important number in any nutrition plan, and the baseline every calorie target is built from.

This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition identifies as the most accurate predictive formula for resting metabolic rate in healthy adults. When body fat percentage is entered, it automatically applies the Katch-McArdle formula, which uses lean body mass for a more precise result in athletic or lean individuals.

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

60 to 70 percent of TDEE, covering calories burned at complete rest for organ function, circulation, and body temperature.

Non-Exercise Activity (NEAT)

10 to 15 percent of TDEE, covering energy used by steps, fidgeting, standing, and all movement outside structured workouts.

Exercise Activity (EAT)

5 to 10 percent of TDEE, covering calories burned during intentional training sessions such as lifting, running, or sport.

Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)

8 to 10 percent of TDEE, covering the energy cost of digesting meals. Protein costs the most at roughly 25 percent of its calories.

How Does the TDEE Calculator Calculate Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure?

The TDEE calculator runs the Mifflin-St Jeor equation on your inputs and multiplies the result by a validated activity factor to produce your personalized daily calorie burn in three steps.

BMR
Activity
Goal

Calculate Your BMR

The calculator uses your weight in kilograms, height in centimeters, age in years, and biological sex to estimate your Basal Metabolic Rate. The Mifflin-St Jeor formula for men is: BMR = (10 × kg) + (6.25 × cm) − (5 × age) + 5. For women: BMR = (10 × kg) + (6.25 × cm) − (5 × age) − 161. This is the floor of your calorie burn. Use the BMR Calculator to see this number in isolation.

What Factors Influence Your TDEE?

Several biological and behavioral variables shift TDEE up or down. Understanding them helps you interpret your result and set more accurate calorie targets.

Body Weight & Lean Muscle Mass

Each kilogram of muscle burns 6–10 kcal per day at rest, compared to roughly 2 kcal for fat tissue. This means that two people with the same body weight but different body compositions will have noticeably different TDEEs, with the leaner individual burning more at rest.

Age and Biological Sex

BMR declines approximately 1–2% per decade after age 20 as skeletal muscle mass falls without resistance training. Men typically carry 10–20% more lean mass than women at equivalent body weights, which is why the Mifflin-St Jeor formula applies a sex-specific constant of +5 for men and −161 for women.

Daily Movement Outside Exercise

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis accounts for 10–15% of TDEE and varies by up to 2,000 kcal per day between people of similar size. A desk worker at 3,000 steps has a TDEE 400–600 kcal lower than an active peer at 10,000 steps. Try the Maintenance Calculator to see exactly where your activity level places you.

Exercise Volume & Intensity

Structured workouts contribute 5–10% to TDEE for most adults. A 45-minute moderate gym session burns 250–400 kcal, while a 60-minute run burns 400–600 kcal depending on body weight. Most people significantly overestimate this component, which is why TDEE calculators base the multiplier on weekly patterns rather than single sessions.

Dietary Protein & Thermic Effect

Protein has a thermic effect of 20–30%, meaning roughly 25 kcal are burned digesting every 100 kcal of protein consumed. Eating 200 g of protein per day adds approximately 100–150 kcal to your daily TDEE through digestion costs alone, a meaningful advantage during a calorie deficit.

Sleep Quality & Stress Hormones

Sleeping fewer than 6 hours per night reduces NEAT by 5–8% the following day and amplifies ghrelin, the hunger hormone. Chronic elevated cortisol from psychological stress also suppresses thyroid function and lowers resting metabolic rate, making the same calorie deficit feel harder without any change in food intake.

How Do You Use TDEE to Reach Your Goal?

TDEE is the baseline from which all calorie strategies are calculated. Identifying the right goal and applying a consistent numerical adjustment is all it takes.

Lose Body Fat with a Calorie Deficit

Eat 300–500 kcal below TDEE daily. This rate produces 0.5–1 lb of fat loss per week while preserving muscle with 1.6–2.2 g protein per kg. Deficits over 750 kcal accelerate muscle loss. Use the Calorie Deficit Calculator for a precise target.

Maintain Your Current Weight

Match your calorie intake to your TDEE exactly. Maintenance is the reset point between cutting and bulking phases and the foundation for hormonal health and training performance. The Maintenance Calorie Calculator includes a verified 14-day tracking protocol.

Build Lean Muscle Mass

Eat 200–300 kcal above TDEE to give your body raw material for muscle repair and growth. Surpluses over 500 kcal add more fat than muscle. Use the Macro Calculator to split the surplus into the right protein, carb, and fat targets.

What Are the Best Tips for Improving Your TDEE Results?

Applying 6 evidence-based habits around your TDEE target converts a number into consistent, measurable progress.

1
Lift weights 2 to 4 times per week
to build the lean muscle mass that raises your resting metabolic rate over months and years
2
Target 7,000 to 10,000 daily steps
to defend NEAT, the most variable component of TDEE and the easiest to raise without structured exercise
3
Eat 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight
to protect muscle in a deficit and boost the thermic effect of your diet
4
Sleep 7 to 9 hours per night
to maintain NEAT, support hormonal balance, and allow full recovery from training
5
Track a 7-day rolling weight average
rather than daily weigh-ins, which can fluctuate 1 to 3 kilograms from water, sodium, and fiber intake
6
Recalculate your TDEE every 4 to 6 weeks
when body weight changes by more than 2 kilograms, since TDEE drops predictably with weight loss

Frequently Asked Questions About TDEE

Quick answers to the questions people ask most.

What Is a Good TDEE for Weight Loss?

A good TDEE-based calorie target for weight loss is 300 to 500 calories below your calculated daily energy expenditure. For most adults, this produces 0.5 to 1 pound of fat loss per week and is the rate the American College of Sports Medicine identifies as optimal for preserving lean muscle mass during a diet.

Mild deficit: 250 calories below TDEE, producing roughly 0.25 kg of fat loss per week
Moderate deficit: 500 calories below TDEE, producing roughly 0.5 kg of fat loss per week
Aggressive deficit: 750 calories below TDEE, reserved for short-term phases of 4 to 6 weeks only
Protein requirement during deficit: 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight daily

How Accurate Is a TDEE Calculator?

How Is TDEE Different from BMR?

How Many Calories Below TDEE to Lose Weight?

Should I Eat Back Exercise Calories?

How Often Should I Recalculate My TDEE?