TDEE Calculator,
calories that fit your life.

Complete guide

What is TDEE?

Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total number of calories your body burns in a 24-hour period, accounting for everything: breathing and organ function at rest, the energy cost of digesting food, deliberate exercise, and the unconscious movement throughout the day (fidgeting, walking to the kitchen, maintaining posture). TDEE is the single most important number in body-weight management because it is the pivot point around which all calorie strategies are built.

Eat at your TDEE and your weight stays the same. Eat below it and you lose weight. Eat above it and you gain. Everything else in nutrition, intermittent fasting, meal timing, macro ratios, is secondary to this calorie balance.

How TDEE is calculated

TDEE is computed in two steps:

The three BMR formulas explained

This calculator computes your BMR using all three major validated formulas simultaneously, so you can see the range of estimates:

• Mifflin-St Jeor (1990): The modern clinical standard. Published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association after testing 498 subjects. Most accurate against direct calorimetry for the general adult population; recommended by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Uses sex, weight, height, and age.
• Revised Harris-Benedict (1984): The 1919 original formula updated by Roza and Shizgal with a larger modern dataset. Produces estimates roughly 5% higher than Mifflin on average. Also uses sex, weight, height, and age.
• Katch-McArdle (1996): Unique in using only lean body mass (weight × (1 − body fat%)). The most accurate formula when you have a reliable body-fat measurement, because it doesn't penalise people with above-average muscle mass. Enter your body-fat percentage to unlock it.

The three formulas typically agree within 5–10%. When Katch is available, it often gives the most accurate result for athletes and active individuals. For most people, Mifflin-St Jeor is the best starting point.

TDEE and the four components of daily energy expenditure

Your TDEE is the sum of four distinct components — understanding them helps you know where to focus when adjusting your calorie balance:

• BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate): 60–70% of TDEE. The calories your body burns just to keep your organs running at complete rest: heart, brain, kidneys, liver, and lungs. BMR is largely determined by your lean body mass; more muscle = higher BMR.
• TEF (Thermic Effect of Food): 8–12% of TDEE. The energy cost of digesting, absorbing, and metabolising food. Protein has the highest TEF (20–30% of its calories), followed by carbohydrates (5–10%), then fat (0–3%). Eating more protein slightly raises TDEE through this pathway.
• EAT (Exercise Activity Thermogenesis): 15–30% for active individuals, less for sedentary. Deliberate workouts: running, lifting, cycling. This is the most easily manipulated component.
• NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) — Highly variable, 15–50%+ of TDEE in some people. All non-exercise movement: walking to meetings, fidgeting, doing chores, standing vs. sitting. NEAT is the primary reason two people with identical BMRs can have wildly different TDEEs.

TDEE for weight loss: the calorie deficit

To lose body fat, you need to consume fewer calories than your TDEE, creating a calorie deficit. The rate of fat loss depends on the size of that deficit:

A moderate deficit of 500 kcal/day produces about 0.5 kg (1 lb) of fat loss per week — widely considered the maximum sustainable rate that preserves muscle mass. Larger deficits accelerate weight loss on paper but increase muscle loss, hunger, fatigue, and the likelihood of rebounding.

Most evidence supports keeping the deficit below 1,000 kcal/day and maintaining protein intake at 1.6–2.2 g/kg of body weight to preserve lean mass while cutting. This calculator uses 2.0 g/kg for cut goals and 1.6 g/kg for maintenance and bulk.

TDEE for muscle gain: the calorie surplus

Building muscle requires being in a calorie surplus — consuming more than your TDEE. But the body can only synthesise a limited amount of muscle protein per day (roughly 0.25 kg / 0.5 lb of lean mass per week for a trained male; less for females and beginners after the first few months). Eating well above that capacity doesn't build more muscle — it builds more fat.

Research consistently supports a "lean bulk" of +250 to +500 kcal/day above TDEE. This produces approximately 0.25–0.5 kg per week of weight gain, of which a meaningful fraction is muscle (the rest is glycogen, water, and some fat). Larger surpluses accelerate fat gain without proportionally increasing muscle gain.

Understanding the activity multiplier

The activity multiplier is the most impactful lever in TDEE and the one most commonly misjudged. People consistently overestimate how active they are. A typical desk worker who hits the gym three times a week is lightly active, notmoderately active. Choosing the wrong multiplier can produce a 200–400 kcal/day error in your TDEE estimate.

How accurate is TDEE?

A formula-based TDEE is an estimate, typically within ±10–15% of true measured expenditure. Individual variation is high, driven by genetics, gut microbiome, NEAT differences, mitochondrial efficiency, and hormonal status.

The practical approach: use the calculator to establish a starting point, then track your weight for 2–3 weeks while eating at your calculated TDEE. If your weight trends up, your true TDEE is lower; if it trends down, it's higher. Adjust by 100–150 kcal and repeat. This empirical "if/then" adjustment almost always converges on the right number faster than the perfect formula.

Macronutrient allocation: protein-first

Once you know your calorie target, protein allocation comes first because it is the macro most critical to body composition:

• Protein: 1.6 g/kg for maintenance and bulk; 2.0 g/kg for cut goals (elevated to maximise muscle retention in a deficit). At 4 kcal/g, protein is the most metabolically expensive macro to overeat, has the highest satiety per calorie, and is the only macro that directly drives muscle protein synthesis.
• Fat: 25–30% of total calories (lower during bulk for more carbohydrate room; 30% for cut/maintain). Fat is essential for hormone production, fat-soluble vitamins, and cell-membrane integrity. Going below 20% of calories from fat disrupts testosterone and oestrogen synthesis.
• Carbohydrates: Remaining calories after protein and fat are allocated. Carbs are the primary fuel for high-intensity exercise and replenish muscle glycogen. They have no strict minimum (unlike protein and fat), making them the most flexible adjustment variable.

TDEE reference values by profile

Mifflin-St Jeor formula. Moderate = ×1.55 activity multiplier.

Disclaimer

TDEE estimates from formula-based calculators are educational approximations. Individual metabolic rates vary due to genetics, medical conditions, medications, and other factors. Consult a registered dietitian or physician before making significant changes to your calorie intake, especially if you have a health condition.