TDEE Calculator
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This TDEE calculator estimates your total daily energy expenditure, the number of calories your body burns in a typical day once your activity level is taken into account.
Enter your details in US or metric units, pick the activity level that matches an ordinary week and choose a formula. The result is an estimate of the energy you use per day. Treat it as a starting point: track your weight for two to four weeks while eating close to that number and adjust up or down if your weight drifts.
What is TDEE?
Total daily energy expenditure is the sum of all the energy your body uses in 24 hours. Researchers usually split it into four parts. The largest is basal metabolic rate, the energy needed to keep you alive at rest: breathing, pumping blood, maintaining body temperature and running the brain and other organs. For most people BMR accounts for roughly 60% to 70% of the daily total.
The thermic effect of food, the energy spent digesting, absorbing and storing what you eat, adds about 10%. Protein costs the most to process and fat the least. Exercise activity thermogenesis is the energy burned during deliberate workouts such as running, cycling or lifting. The fourth part, non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), covers everything else you do while awake: walking around the office, standing, cooking, fidgeting and household chores. NEAT varies a great deal between people and can differ by several hundred calories a day.
Knowing your TDEE is useful because weight change depends on the balance between what you eat and what you burn. Eating close to your TDEE keeps weight roughly stable, a steady deficit leads to weight loss and a surplus leads to gain. The NIH Body Weight Planner and the US Dietary Guidelines both use this energy-balance idea to set calorie targets.
How is TDEE calculated?
Measuring energy use directly requires a metabolic chamber or doubly labeled water, so calculators estimate it in two steps. First they predict BMR from body size, age and sex. This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation by default, which studies have found to be the most accurate of the common equations for healthy adults. If you know your body fat percentage, the Katch-McArdle equation bases the estimate on lean body mass instead, which can suit lean or very muscular people better.
Second, BMR is multiplied by an activity factor that bundles together food digestion, exercise and NEAT. The factors range from 1.2 for people who rarely exercise to 1.9 for those with very hard daily training or a physically demanding job. For example, a 25-year-old man who is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 165 pounds has a Mifflin-St Jeor BMR of about 1,740 Calories. With moderate exercise four to five times a week (factor 1.465) his TDEE is about 2,550 Calories a day.
Any formula can be off by 10% or more for a given person because of differences in muscle mass, genetics, hormones and how activity is reported. Most people also overestimate how active they are, so if you are unsure between two levels, start with the lower one.
TDEE = BMR × activity multiplier
- BMR
- Mifflin-St Jeor: 10W + 6.25H − 5A + 5 (men) or − 161 (women); W kg, H cm, A years
- Katch-McArdle
- BMR = 370 + 21.6 × lean body mass (kg)
- Multiplier
- 1.2 (sedentary) up to 1.9 (extra active)
Frequently asked questions
What does TDEE stand for?
Total daily energy expenditure: all the calories your body burns in a day, including resting metabolism, digesting food, exercise and everyday movement.
Is TDEE the same as BMR?
No. BMR is only the energy you would use at complete rest. TDEE adds digestion and all physical activity, so it is always higher, typically 1.2 to 1.9 times BMR.
How do I use TDEE to lose weight?
Eat below your TDEE. A deficit of about 500 Calories a day leads to roughly a pound (0.45 kg) of loss per week for many people, though the rate slows as you get lighter.
How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
It is an estimate that is usually within about 10% for most adults. Use it as a starting point and adjust based on how your weight actually changes over a few weeks.
Which activity level should I choose?
Pick the level that matches a typical week, not your best week. If you sit most of the day and exercise a few times a week, light or moderate is usually right.
What is the TDEE formula for men and women?
TDEE = BMR × activity multiplier. With Mifflin-St Jeor, BMR is 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age + 5 for men, or − 161 instead of + 5 for women. A 25-year-old man who is 5 feet 10 inches and 165 pounds has a BMR of about 1,740 Calories; at the moderate multiplier of 1.465 his TDEE is about 2,550 Calories a day.
Which TDEE formula is best?
For most healthy adults, Mifflin-St Jeor is the most accurate of the common BMR equations and is the default here. If you are lean or very muscular and know your body fat percentage, Katch-McArdle, which works from lean body mass, may fit you better. Either way, the activity multiplier usually adds more uncertainty than the choice of formula.
Results are estimates for educational purposes and are not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or other qualified health professional about your situation.
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