Calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure — see your maintenance calories, weight-loss range, and lean-gain surplus with activity multipliers from sedentary to very active.
This TDEE Calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor BMR equation as its starting point, then multiplies that result by a validated activity factor to estimate your full daily energy expenditure. The activity multipliers used — sedentary (1.2), lightly active (1.375), moderately active (1.55), active (1.725), very active (1.9) — come from the Harris-Benedict and Mifflin-St Jeor literature and are widely used across clinical dietetics. You enter your sex, age, height, weight, and activity level, and the calculator returns your estimated TDEE in kcal/day alongside a recommended intake range for weight loss, maintenance, and lean gain. This is an educational estimate — individual variation in metabolic efficiency, NEAT, and body composition means actual TDEE can vary ±15–20% from formula-based estimates. Consult a registered dietitian for a personalized energy assessment.
Select your sex, enter your age, height, and weight, then choose the activity level that most accurately represents your typical week — not your best week or your aspirational week. The result gives you three numbers: your estimated maintenance TDEE, a suggested weight-loss range (TDEE minus 500–1,000 kcal for 1–2 lb/week loss), and a lean-gain range (TDEE plus 250–500 kcal for gradual muscle building). If your goal is weight maintenance, aim for the maintenance number. For fat loss, work within the loss range. For building muscle, eat slightly above maintenance while training hard. The activity multiplier is the most consequential variable you'll enter — choosing "active" versus "sedentary" can shift your TDEE by 700–900 kcal/day, a difference larger than most people's meal.
Step 1 — BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor):
Men: BMR = (10 × kg) + (6.25 × cm) − (5 × age) + 5
Women: BMR = (10 × kg) + (6.25 × cm) − (5 × age) − 161
Step 2 — TDEE = BMR × Activity Multiplier:
| Activity Level | Multiplier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 🪑 Sedentary | 1.2 | Desk job, little to no exercise |
| 🚶 Lightly Active | 1.375 | Light exercise 1–3 days/week |
| 🏋️ Moderately Active | 1.55 | Moderate exercise 3–5 days/week |
| 💪 Active | 1.725 | Hard exercise 6–7 days/week |
| 🔥 Very Active | 1.9 | Physical job + hard daily exercise |
Example: A 30-year-old woman, 5'6" (168 cm), 150 lb (68 kg), moderately active:
BMR = (680) + (1050) − (150) − 161 = 1,419 kcal/day
TDEE = 1,419 × 1.55 = 2,199 kcal/day
A TDEE-based calorie deficit is the most evidence-aligned way to plan fat loss. The math: roughly 3,500 kcal ≈ 1 lb of fat, so a 500 kcal/day deficit yields about 1 lb/week. A 1,000 kcal/day deficit — the CDC-recommended upper limit for self-directed loss — yields about 2 lb/week. Going deeper creates diminishing returns: deficits beyond 1,000 kcal/day tend to sacrifice lean muscle mass and trigger metabolic adaptation, which reduces TDEE over time and makes the deficit smaller than planned. The NIDDK Body Weight Planner models this adaptation explicitly, showing that actual loss from a given deficit slows as body weight decreases and metabolism adjusts. Starting with a moderate deficit (500 kcal/day) and reassessing every 4 weeks based on actual results is more reliable than applying maximum restriction from day one.
Adding lean muscle requires a caloric surplus — but the size of that surplus determines whether you're gaining mostly muscle or mostly fat. Research in the field of sports nutrition generally supports a surplus of 250–500 kcal/day above TDEE for a "lean bulk" — enough to fuel protein synthesis without excessive fat accumulation. At 500 kcal/day above TDEE, a well-trained person might gain 0.5–1 lb/week, of which roughly half is lean mass under optimal training and protein conditions. ACSM guidance recommends 1.6–2.2 g/kg of protein per day for people optimizing muscle gain — the protein anchor helps ensure the surplus drives muscle rather than fat. Going far above TDEE (1,000+ kcal surplus) during a bulk primarily accelerates fat gain, not muscle gain, making a subsequent cut necessary to reveal the muscle built underneath.
Most people underestimate their TDEE because they overestimate their activity level — then wonder why their "calculated" maintenance keeps producing weight gain. A few guidelines:
🪑 Sedentary (1.2): Almost no deliberate movement beyond daily life — a remote worker who takes few steps and exercises rarely.
🚶 Lightly Active (1.375): 1–3 sessions of gentle exercise per week.
🏋️ Moderately Active (1.55): The most commonly applicable level — exercise consistently 3–5 times per week at moderate intensity.
💪 Active (1.725): People who train hard almost every day, like competitive athletes or those with physically demanding jobs.
🔥 Very Active (1.9): Hard physical job combined with dedicated exercise — a construction worker who also runs daily.
💡 Pro tip: When in doubt, pick one multiplier level lower than you initially think, calculate, and adjust based on actual weight trends over two to three weeks.
TDEE from a formula is an estimate, and estimates vary. Studies show that formula-based TDEE predictions carry an average error of about ±10–15% in free-living adults. This means a person with a calculated TDEE of 2,200 kcal/day might have an actual TDEE anywhere from 1,870 to 2,530 kcal. The sources of variation include metabolic efficiency (some people extract more calories from food than others), NEAT (highly variable between individuals), adaptive thermogenesis, gut microbiome differences, and thyroid function. The best way to find your actual TDEE is empirically: track calories carefully at a consistent intake level for two to three weeks and observe body weight trends. If weight stays flat at 2,000 kcal, that's your TDEE. If it slowly falls, add 100 kcal every two weeks until the trend stabilizes. Real-world data always beats a formula.
The four inputs (sex, age, height, weight) drive BMR, and activity level scales it up. Among all variables, activity level has the largest practical range — the difference between sedentary and very active multipliers is 700–1,100+ kcal/day for a typical adult. Body composition matters too: a muscular 200-pound person has a higher TDEE than a person with the same weight carrying more fat, because muscle burns more at rest. NEAT (incidental movement — fidgeting, standing, walking between tasks) varies enormously between individuals and is largely responsible for why two people with the same deliberate exercise routine can have very different TDEEs. Stress, sleep deprivation, and hormonal factors modulate actual energy expenditure in ways the formula can't capture.
Nina is a nurse, 5'4" (163 cm), 138 lb (62.6 kg). She's on her feet all shift but rarely does structured exercise outside work. Activity: Active (1.725). BMR = (626) + (1018.75) − (165) − 161 = 1,318.75 kcal/day. TDEE = 1,318.75 × 1.725 ≈ 2,275 kcal/day. If Nina eats at her TDEE, she maintains weight. A 500 kcal deficit (1,775 kcal/day) produces ~1 lb/week loss.
Roberto is an accountant, 5'9" (175 cm), 200 lb (90.7 kg). He goes to the gym twice a week. Activity: Lightly active (1.375). BMR = (907) + (1093.75) − (225) + 5 = 1,780.75 kcal/day. TDEE = 1,780.75 × 1.375 ≈ 2,449 kcal/day. Roberto assumed his TDEE was 2,000. Eating at what he thought was maintenance was actually a 449 kcal/day deficit — which explains both his slow weight loss and his energy dips during afternoon meetings.
Re-evaluate your activity level multiplier every time your routine changes — a new job, an injury, or a new training block can shift your TDEE significantly.
Weigh yourself daily (same conditions) and use a 7-day average to evaluate whether your current intake is matching maintenance, loss, or gain targets.
Use TDEE as a starting estimate, then adjust by 100–200 kcal every 2–3 weeks based on actual trend data — the formula gets you in the right neighborhood, real-world tracking gets you to the exact address.
Don't eat back 100% of exercise calories if you chose an activity multiplier that already accounts for your training.
For muscle gain, prioritize getting within 5% of your protein target before hitting your total TDEE calorie target — protein drives the muscle adaptation, the surplus enables it.
TDEE naturally decreases during a diet as body weight falls; recalculate every 10–15 lbs of weight change to avoid a progressively shrinking deficit.
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total calories you burn in a day. It's calculated by multiplying your BMR (resting burn via Mifflin-St Jeor) by an activity multiplier that ranges from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (very active).
BMR is your baseline calorie burn at complete rest; TDEE adds all activity on top of that. For most people, TDEE is 20–80% higher than BMR depending on how active they are.
A 500–1,000 kcal/day deficit from TDEE produces 1–2 lb/week of loss, per CDC guidance. Start with 500 kcal and adjust based on results after two to three weeks.
There's no universal "good" TDEE — it reflects your body size and activity level. A sedentary 130-pound woman might have a TDEE of 1,560 kcal; an active 190-pound man might be at 3,200+ kcal. What matters is knowing your number to plan against it.
Track your calories consistently for two to three weeks and observe your weight trend. If weight stays flat, that intake approximates your true TDEE. If it drifts up or down, your TDEE is higher or lower than the formula estimated.
Averaging works well for most people — eating 200 kcal less on weekdays and 300 kcal more on weekends still maintains a weekly balance. What matters is the weekly total, not hitting the exact number every single day.
Moderately active (exercise 3–5 days/week) uses a multiplier of 1.55. This is the most commonly applicable level for people with regular gym routines and desk jobs.
Brief disclaimer: This calculator provides educational TDEE estimates using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and standard activity multipliers. Actual energy expenditure varies ±15–20% from formula-based estimates due to individual differences in metabolism, NEAT, body composition, and hormonal factors. Results are a starting point for calorie planning, not clinical measurements. Use real-world weight tracking to validate and adjust your personal TDEE. Consult a registered dietitian for personalized energy assessment.