TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure: the number of calories your body uses in a day, including exercise. It is the starting point for any weight goal. Eat about your TDEE to stay the same, less to lose weight, more to gain.
How it is calculated
The calculator first finds your basal metabolic rate (BMR) with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then multiplies it by an activity factor.
- Men: BMR = 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age + 5
- Women: BMR = 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age − 161
| Activity | Factor |
|---|---|
| Sedentary | 1.2 |
| Lightly active | 1.375 |
| Moderately active | 1.55 |
| Very active | 1.725 |
| Extra active | 1.9 |
Example
A 30-year-old man, 178 cm and 75 kg, who trains 1–3 times a week: BMR = 10 × 75 + 6.25 × 178 − 5 × 30 + 5 = 1,718 kcal. TDEE = 1,718 × 1.375 ≈ 2,362 kcal a day.
Why Mifflin-St Jeor
Studies comparing common equations found Mifflin-St Jeor the most accurate for healthy adults, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics names it the most accurate equation for people with overweight or obesity when resting metabolic rate cannot be measured. Real needs still vary by about 10% from person to person, so treat the result as a starting point and adjust after two or three weeks of tracking.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
Within roughly 10% for most healthy adults. Muscle mass, genetics and daily movement outside exercise all shift the real number. Track your weight for two to three weeks and adjust calories by 100–200 if it moves the wrong way.
Should I eat my TDEE to lose weight?
No. Eating at your TDEE keeps your weight stable. A deficit of about 500 kcal a day leads to roughly 0.5 kg (1 lb) of loss per week. Larger deficits are harder to keep up and cost more muscle.
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is what your body burns at complete rest, just to stay alive. TDEE adds everything else: moving, digesting food and exercise. TDEE is always higher than BMR.
Which activity level should I pick?
Most people overestimate. If you have a desk job and train three times a week, "lightly active" is usually right. Pick "moderately active" only if you also walk a lot or do physical work.
Does TDEE change as I lose weight?
Yes. A lighter body burns fewer calories, so recalculate every 5 kg or so, or whenever weight loss stalls for more than two weeks.
Read more
- TDEE vs BMR: which number to eat aroundBMR is what you burn lying still; TDEE is what you burn living your day, and it is your maintenance number. Tables for four people at every activity level, what a BMR of 1,500 works out to, and whether eating below BMR is really off limits.
- Healthy BMI by age: does the number change as you get older?For adults, the healthy BMI range is 18.5 to 24.9 at every age, for women and men alike. What changes is how to read it. Research on people over 65 finds no extra risk in the overweight range, children are measured on growth charts, and people of Asian background face higher risk at a lower BMI. A worked example at 5 ft 4 in (163 cm).
- Is 100 grams of protein a day enough?It depends on two things, and one of them is not up for debate. A table of what 100 g works out to at every body weight, where it runs short, and whether 200 g is too much — with the studies the targets come from.
- How long it takes to lose 20 pounds on a 500-calorie deficitTwenty weeks, if the arithmetic held — and it does not quite. Here is the table for every deficit from 250 to 1,000 kcal, why the last few pounds take longer than the first, and what 500 calories below maintenance actually means on a plate.
Sources
- Mifflin MD et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr, 1990
- Frankenfield D et al. Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate. J Am Diet Assoc, 2005
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Evidence Analysis Library: Adult Weight Management, determination of resting metabolic rate
By Calcelate Team. Formula from the sources above.
- 2026-09-13 · Formula and texts checked