TDEE calculator
Your total daily energy expenditure, the calories you burn in a day, is the anchor for every nutrition goal. Enter your details to get your TDEE and a breakdown across activity levels.
TDEE calculation example
Take a 30-year-old man who weighs 75 kg, is 175 cm tall, and chooses moderate activity. First, the BMR calculation is 10 × 75 + 6.25 × 175 − 5 × 30 + 5 = 1,699 kcal/day. Moderate activity uses a 1.55 multiplier, so the TDEE calculation is 1,698.75 × 1.55 = 2,633 kcal/day after rounding.
In practical terms, 2,633 kcal is an initial estimate of the average daily intake that would maintain this example person's weight. It is not a precise daily burn measurement: the result assumes the chosen activity category represents a typical week, while movement, training, body composition, and food logging vary. Compare a consistent two-to-three-week weight trend with the estimate before adjusting it. To turn a maintenance estimate into a weight-loss target, use the calorie deficit calculator; to distribute it across nutrients, use the macro calculator.
What TDEE means
TDEE is the total number of calories your body burns in a day. It's the sum of four things: your basal metabolic rate (BMR), energy used at rest, plus the calories burned digesting food, moving around during the day, and exercising. Eat at your TDEE and your weight holds steady; that's why it's also called your maintenance calories.
How we estimate it
We calculate BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the formula research consistently finds most accurate for the general population, then apply an activity multiplier:
| Activity level | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Sedentary (little or no exercise) | BMR × 1.2 |
| Light (1–3 days/week) | BMR × 1.375 |
| Moderate (3–5 days/week) | BMR × 1.55 |
| Active (6–7 days/week) | BMR × 1.725 |
| Very active (athlete / physical job) | BMR × 1.9 |
Activity multipliers are the fuzziest part of any TDEE estimate, so treat the result as a starting point. If the scale doesn't move the way the number predicts after two to three weeks of honest tracking, nudge your intake and re-check.
What to do with your TDEE
Want to lose weight? Eat below your TDEE, the calorie deficit calculator turns this number into a daily target. Want to build muscle? Eat slightly above it and hit your protein with the macro calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is TDEE?
Total daily energy expenditure, the total calories you burn in a day, including rest, digestion, movement, and exercise. It's the number to eat at to maintain your current weight.
How is TDEE calculated?
We estimate your BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then multiply by an activity factor between 1.2 (sedentary) and 1.9 (very active) to account for daily movement and exercise.
Is TDEE the same as maintenance calories?
Yes. Eating at your TDEE keeps your weight steady. Eat below it to lose, above it to gain. It's an estimate, adjust based on what the scale actually does over a few weeks.
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