TDEE Calculator
Find out how many calories you burn in a day. This free TDEE calculator combines your BMR with your activity level to reveal your Total Daily Energy Expenditure - plus ready-made calorie targets for weight loss, maintenance, and muscle gain.
Your TDEE is the single most useful number for managing your weight: eat above it and you gain, eat below it and you lose, eat at it and you stay the same. Once you know it, every diet decision - how big your meals should be, whether a snack fits, how much you can eat on a workout day - flows from that one figure. This calculator does the math for you and hands you loss, maintenance, and surplus targets in a single result.
Enter your gender, age, height, weight, and activity level above to get your TDEE. Below the calculator you will find the exact formula, how to read your result, which activity level to pick, and how to turn the number into a real meal plan.
Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure
The calories you burn in a typical day. Eat around this amount to maintain your weight, less to lose, more to gain.
Mild Loss
1579
~0.25 kg/week
Recommended Loss
1463
~0.5 kg/week
Gain Muscle
2012
+10% surplus
BMR (at rest)
Your calorie burn before any activity
1330 kcal
BMI
Body Mass Index from your height and weight
22.0 (Normal)
How it works
1
Enter your details
Add your gender, age, height, weight, and pick the activity level that matches your typical week.
2
We multiply by activity
Your BMR is scaled by an activity factor to estimate everything you burn in a day.
3
Pick your goal target
Use the loss, maintenance, or surplus calorie target to plan meals and track progress.
How TDEE is calculated
TDEE is built in two steps. First we estimate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) - the calories your body burns at complete rest - with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the formula dietitians consider most accurate for the general population. Then we multiply that BMR by an activity factor that captures how much energy you spend moving around each day.
Core formula
TDEE = BMR × activity multiplier
BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor)
Men: 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm - 5 × age + 5
Women: 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm - 5 × age - 161
The activity multipliers are: 1.2 for sedentary (desk job, little exercise), 1.375 for light (1-3 workouts a week), 1.55 for moderate (3-5 sessions), 1.725 for very active (hard daily training), and 1.9 for extra active (physical job plus training). So a man with a BMR of 1,700 who trains moderately burns roughly 1,700 × 1.55 ≈ 2,635 calories a day - his maintenance level and the starting point for any loss or gain target.
Understanding your result
Your TDEE is your maintenance calorie level - the intake that keeps your weight stable. From there, your goal tells you how to adjust:
| Goal | Adjustment | Expected pace |
|---|---|---|
| Mild loss | TDEE - 300 kcal | ~0.25 kg (0.5 lb) / week |
| Recommended loss | TDEE - 500 kcal | ~0.5 kg (1 lb) / week |
| Aggressive loss | TDEE - 750+ kcal | ~0.75 kg+ / week (short term) |
| Maintain | Eat at TDEE | Weight stays stable |
| Lean gain | TDEE + 250-500 kcal | Slow muscle gain, minimal fat |
TDEE is an estimate, typically within about 10% of your true burn, so treat the number as a starting point and let the scale confirm it. Weigh yourself weekly under the same conditions for 2-3 weeks: if weight is steady, your real maintenance matches the calculator; if it is dropping faster than intended, add 100-200 calories. This tool never recommends below 1,500 kcal for men or 1,200 kcal for women, floors that protect against muscle loss and a stalled metabolism.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is TDEE?
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total calories you burn in a day, combining your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) with the energy used for activity, digestion, and movement. It is the number of calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight.
How is TDEE calculated?
TDEE = BMR x activity multiplier. We first calculate BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then multiply by your activity level: 1.2 for sedentary, 1.375 for light, 1.55 for moderate, 1.725 for very active, and 1.9 for extra active.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
A safe deficit is 300-500 calories below your TDEE, which loses about 0.25-0.5 kg (0.5-1 lb) per week. This calculator shows mild, recommended, and aggressive loss targets, and clamps to a sex-aware minimum of 1,500 kcal for men and 1,200 kcal for women.
How accurate are TDEE calculators?
TDEE calculators are estimates, usually within about 10% of the true value for most people, because the activity multipliers are population averages. Your real burn depends on muscle mass, age, sleep, and how much you fidget or stand. Treat the number as a starting point, track your weight and intake for 2-3 weeks, then adjust by 100-200 calories if you are not moving as expected.
Should I eat my TDEE to maintain weight?
Yes - your TDEE is your maintenance level, so eating roughly that many calories keeps your weight stable. In practice your burn varies day to day, so aim for the weekly average to land near your TDEE and weigh in weekly to confirm you are holding steady.
What's the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is the calories you would burn lying still all day just to stay alive - about 60-75% of your total. TDEE adds the calories you burn moving, exercising, digesting food, and staying warm on top of your BMR. Always base weight-loss targets on TDEE, never on BMR alone.
Which activity level should I pick?
Be honest rather than optimistic. Sedentary means a desk job with little exercise; light is 1-3 short workouts a week; moderate is 3-5 sessions or an active job; very active is hard daily training; extra active is physical labor plus training. Most people with office jobs land in sedentary or light even if they exercise, because sitting 8+ hours dominates the day.
Is this TDEE calculator free?
Yes - completely free with no sign-up. Your inputs are saved in your browser and encoded in the URL so you can bookmark or share your result. Nothing is sent to a server.
Related tools & guides
BMR Calculator
The resting-calorie figure your TDEE is built on - calculated with Mifflin-St Jeor.
Macro Calculator
Splits your TDEE into protein, carb, and fat grams for your goal.
Calorie Gap Calculator
See the daily deficit needed to reach your goal weight by a set date.
BMI Calculator
Check whether your current weight sits in the healthy range for your height.
Start a Low-Calorie Diet
Turn your TDEE into a sustainable deficit you can actually stick to.
Breaking a Weight-Loss Plateau
What to do when the scale stops moving despite eating at your TDEE deficit.