TDEE Calculator
Find out exactly how many calories your body burns each day.
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Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the number of calories your body burns in a full day, from breathing and digesting food to walking, training and fidgeting. It is the single most useful number for managing your weight: eat at your TDEE and your weight holds steady, eat below it and you lose fat, eat above it and you gain. This calculator estimates your maintenance calories from your sex, age, height, weight and activity level, then shows targets for losing fat and building muscle.
How your TDEE is calculated
We start with your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) — the calories you burn at complete rest — using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the most accurate predictive formula for most people. Your BMR is then multiplied by an activity factor that reflects how much you move, from 1.2 for a desk job with no exercise up to 1.9 for hard daily training plus a physical job.
For example, a 30-year-old man who weighs 80 kg at 178 cm has a BMR of about 1,780 calories. If he trains three to five days a week (the “moderately active” factor of 1.55), his TDEE works out to roughly 2,760 calories a day. A woman with the same stats would land lower, because the formula accounts for differences in average body composition.
How many calories should you eat?
To lose weight, eat below your TDEE. A deficit of about 500 calories a day is sustainable for most people and produces roughly half a kilogram of fat loss per week. To build muscle, eat slightly above your TDEE — a surplus of 250 to 400 calories supports growth without excess fat gain. To maintain, eat at your TDEE.
Treat the number as a starting point, not a verdict. Real energy expenditure varies by about 10% between people with identical stats, so track your weight for two to three weeks and adjust your intake by 100 to 200 calories if the scale is not moving the way the math predicts.
Why your TDEE changes over time
As you lose or gain weight, your calorie needs shift with your body mass, which is why a deficit that worked at the start can stall later. Recalculate your TDEE after every three to five kilograms of change, and remember that more muscle raises your maintenance calories while crash dieting lowers them.
How to use
- 01
Enter your stats
Add your sex, age, height and weight in metric or imperial units.
- 02
Pick your activity level
Choose how active you are on a typical week, from sedentary to extra active.
- 03
Read your TDEE
The panel shows your maintenance calories plus targets for losing fat and building muscle.
Frequently Asked Questions
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total number of calories you burn in 24 hours, including your basal metabolism, digestion and physical activity.
It uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the most accurate predictive formula for most people. Real expenditure can vary ±10%, so adjust based on 2–3 weeks of weight tracking.
No. To lose fat, eat below your TDEE — a 500 kcal daily deficit gives roughly 0.5 kg of fat loss per week.
Recalculate after every 3–5 kg of weight change, since your calorie needs shift as your body weight changes.
Reference data
| Activity Level | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Sedentary | 1.2 |
| Lightly active | 1.375 |
| Moderately active | 1.55 |
| Very active | 1.725 |
| Extra active | 1.9 |
What Is TDEE and Why It Matters
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Last reviewed June 2026 · Methodology & sources