Health

TDEE Calculator

Find your daily calorie needs to lose, maintain, or gain weight

Biological sex

Activity level

BMR (at rest)

1,699

kcal / day

TDEE (maintenance)

2,633

kcal / day

Calorie target by goal

Suggested macros (maintenance)

150g
Protein
344g
Carbs
73g
Fat

Not medical advice. Consult a healthcare professional before acting on these results.

What Is TDEE and Why Does It Matter?

TDEE — Total Daily Energy Expenditure — is the total number of calories your body burns every day. It is the single most important number in nutrition because it represents your maintenance calorie level: eat this amount and your weight stays stable; eat less and you lose weight; eat more and you gain weight.

Unlike blanket recommendations such as "eat 2,000 calories a day," your TDEE is personalised to your height, weight, age, sex, and activity level. A sedentary 60-year-old woman and an active 25-year-old male athlete have vastly different caloric needs — a single generic number serves neither of them well.

How TDEE Is Calculated

TDEE is calculated in two steps:

  1. Calculate BMR — Basal Metabolic Rate is the calories burned at complete rest. This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (1990), the most accurate BMR formula validated for general adults by the American Dietetic Association:

    Men: BMR = 10W + 6.25H − 5A + 5
    Women: BMR = 10W + 6.25H − 5A − 161
    (W = weight in kg, H = height in cm, A = age in years)
  2. Multiply by activity factor — Your BMR is multiplied by a number between 1.2 (sedentary) and 2.0 (elite athlete) to account for physical activity.

Choosing the Right Activity Level

Honest self-assessment here is critical. Most people underestimate sedentary time and overestimate exercise intensity:

  • Sedentary (×1.2): Desk job, little intentional exercise, fewer than 5,000 steps/day.
  • Lightly active (×1.375): 1–3 days of light cardio or walking per week, ~7,000–8,000 steps/day.
  • Moderately active (×1.55): 3–5 days of moderate exercise (gym, sports, cycling). Most working adults who exercise consistently fall here.
  • Very active (×1.725): 6–7 days of hard exercise, physical labour job, or sports training.
  • Extremely active (×1.9–2.0): Professional athletes, military training, twice-daily workouts.

Calorie Goals for Weight Loss, Maintenance, and Gain

Once you know your TDEE, adjusting calorie intake is straightforward:

  • Aggressive fat loss (−1 kg/week): TDEE − 1,000 kcal/day. Only suitable short-term and above minimum safe thresholds.
  • Moderate fat loss (−0.5 kg/week): TDEE − 500 kcal/day. The most sustainable and widely recommended approach.
  • Maintain weight: Eat at TDEE.
  • Lean bulk (+ ~0.5 kg/week): TDEE + 500 kcal/day. A moderate surplus minimises fat gain during muscle building.
  • Aggressive bulk (+1 kg/week): TDEE + 1,000 kcal/day. Appropriate for underweight individuals or hard gainers.

These targets assume that most of the weight change is fat. In practice, diet composition and training significantly affect how much of the change is fat versus muscle.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is TDEE?
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It is the total number of calories your body burns in a day, combining your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) — the calories burned at complete rest — with the calories burned through physical activity and digestion. TDEE is the key number for managing body weight: eating at TDEE maintains your current weight, eating below it causes fat loss, and eating above it causes weight gain.
What is BMR and how is it different from TDEE?
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the number of calories your body needs to maintain basic life functions — breathing, circulation, temperature regulation, organ function — while completely at rest. TDEE builds on BMR by multiplying it by an activity factor (1.2 to 2.0) to account for the extra energy you burn through movement, exercise, and digestion. BMR is always lower than TDEE.
Which formula does this calculator use?
This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, published in 1990 and validated as the most accurate BMR formula for most adults. The formulas are: Men: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age) + 5. Women: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age) − 161.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
A safe and sustainable rate of weight loss is 0.25–0.5 kg (0.5–1 lb) per week. Since one kg of body fat contains approximately 7,700 kcal, a daily deficit of 500 kcal produces roughly 0.5 kg/week of fat loss. Eating below 1,200 kcal/day (women) or 1,500 kcal/day (men) is generally not recommended without medical supervision, as it risks nutrient deficiencies and muscle loss.
What are macros and how are the recommendations calculated?
Macros are the three main nutrients that provide energy: protein (4 kcal/g), carbohydrates (4 kcal/g), and fat (9 kcal/g). This calculator recommends a high-protein diet at 2g of protein per kg of body weight, 25% of calories from fat, and the remainder from carbohydrates. This ratio supports muscle retention during fat loss and is within the ranges recommended by major sports nutrition bodies.
Are TDEE calculations accurate?
TDEE calculators give a reliable estimate but not a perfect measurement. Individual metabolic rate varies by 10–15% above or below predictions due to genetic differences, hormonal variation, body composition, and adaptation to diet. Activity multipliers are also approximations. The best approach: start at your calculated TDEE, track your weight for 2–3 weeks, and adjust calories up or down by 100–200 kcal until you see the expected trend.

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