TDEEplus

TDEE Calculator

Find how many calories you burn in a day, then get a calorie and macro target to lose, maintain or gain weight. Results update as you type.

3 formulas comparedMacros for every goalNo sign-up, no data stored

Your details

Sample values. Change them to yours.
Units
Sex
yrs
kg
cm
Torn between two? Pick the lower one. How to choose
Body fat and macro split
%
Don't know it? Estimate it with the body fat calculator.

Your details stay in this browser. Nothing is sent to a server.

Your maintenance calories (TDEE)
—calories / day
Fill in your details to see your numbers.
—
TDEE (maintenance)
—
BMR (at rest)
—
Expected weekly change

Daily Targets

Maintain weight
Calories—
% of calories
Protein —30%
Fat —35%
Carbohydrate —35%

Formula comparison

Same inputs, three equations. Tap one to use it.

Macros at every goal

Each target gets its own grams, so you can compare goals before you start.

GoalCaloriesProteinFatCarbs
Written by AdnanUpdated Sources listed at the end

What is TDEE?

Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is every calorie your body uses in 24 hours. Eat that many and your weight stays about the same. Eat fewer and you lose weight; eat more and you gain. That makes TDEE the starting point for any calorie target.

It is made of four parts:

  • Basal metabolic rate (BMR): the energy that keeps you alive at rest, from breathing to keeping your organs running. For most people this is the biggest share, roughly 60–70%.
  • Thermic effect of food: the energy spent digesting what you eat, around 10% of intake. Protein costs more to digest than fat or carbohydrate.
  • Exercise: planned workouts such as lifting, running or classes.
  • Everyday movement (NEAT): walking, standing, fidgeting, housework and your commute. It varies more between people than most expect, and it is the part that tends to drop when you diet.

Not sure how BMR and TDEE relate? Read TDEE vs BMR, or see how to calculate TDEE by hand.

How the calculator works

  1. Estimate BMR. Your age, sex, weight and height go into a BMR equation. Add your body fat percentage and you can use Katch-McArdle as well.
  2. Apply your activity level. BMR is multiplied by an activity factor between 1.2 and 1.9. The result is your TDEE.
  3. Set the goal. Pick lose, maintain or gain. The calculator subtracts or adds 250 or 500 calories.
  4. Split into macros. Your target calories are divided into protein, fat and carbohydrate using the split you choose. Protein and carbohydrate have 4 calories per gram, fat has 9.
Worked exampleA 30-year-old man, 80 kg and 178 cm, who exercises 3–5 days a week. Mifflin-St Jeor gives a BMR of 1,768 calories. Multiplied by 1.55, his TDEE is about 2,740. To lose weight at a moderate pace he would aim for about 2,240 a day.

Which BMR formula should you use?

The calculator runs all three and shows them side by side, so you can see how much they differ for you. The gap is often 50–150 calories.

FormulaUsesBest for
Mifflin-St Jeor (1990)Weight, height, age, sexMost adults. The default here.
Revised Harris-Benedict (1984)Weight, height, age, sexComparison. Often a little higher than Mifflin-St Jeor.
Katch-McArdleWeight and body fat %Lean or muscular people who know their body fat.

Mifflin-St Jeor

Men: BMR = 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age + 5
Women: BMR = 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age − 161

Published in 1990 from measurements of healthy adults, it is the equation most dietitians reach for first. In a 2005 systematic review it estimated resting metabolic rate within 10% of the measured value in more people than the other equations tested, and it had the narrowest range of error. The same review noted there is less data for older adults and some ethnic groups, so accuracy for those groups is less certain.

Revised Harris-Benedict

Men: BMR = 88.362 + 13.397 × weight + 4.799 × height − 5.677 × age
Women: BMR = 447.593 + 9.247 × weight + 3.098 × height − 4.330 × age

The original Harris-Benedict equation dates from 1919. Roza and Shizgal refitted it in 1984, and that revised version is what this calculator uses. It is still widely used, which makes it a useful second opinion.

Katch-McArdle

BMR = 370 + 21.6 × lean body mass (kg)
Lean body mass = weight × (1 − body fat % ÷ 100)

Muscle burns more energy at rest than fat. Formulas based only on weight and height can underestimate BMR for muscular people and overestimate it for people carrying more fat. Katch-McArdle works from lean mass, so it can be more accurate, but only as accurate as your body fat estimate. Use the Katch-McArdle calculator for a closer look, and estimate your body fat with the body fat calculator. Which TDEE formula should you use? compares all three for different people.

Choosing your activity level

The activity multiplier has more effect on your result than the choice of formula, and it is where most people go wrong. Pick by your typical week, not your best one.

LevelTypical weekMultiplier
SedentaryDesk job, little or no exercise1.2
LightExercise 1–3 days a week1.375
ModerateExercise 3–5 days a week1.55
Very activeHard exercise 6–7 days a week1.725
AthleteTraining twice a day, or a physical job plus training1.9

For the example man above, moving from Moderate to Very active adds about 310 calories a day. The maintenance calories calculator shows every level at once, and this guide has real-life examples. If you are between two levels, choose the lower one and adjust upward once you have two or three weeks of real data. A desk worker who trains hard for an hour four times a week often fits Moderate better than Very active, because the other 23 hours of the day are mostly seated.

Using your TDEE to lose, maintain or gain

Losing weight

Eat below your TDEE. A deficit of 250–500 calories a day is a common, sustainable starting point; the cutting calorie calculator sets it for you, and how big should your deficit be? explains the choice. The often-quoted rule that 3,500 calories equals a pound of fat (about 7,700 per kilogram) is a fair guide for the first few weeks, but it overstates long-term loss. As you get lighter your body burns less, so progress slows unless you adjust. Researchers at the US National Institutes of Health showed this in 2011 and built the Body Weight Planner to model it more realistically.

Maintaining

Eat at your TDEE (your maintenance calories). This is also the right place to start if you have been dieting for a while and want a break, or if you want to check the estimate before cutting or bulking.

Gaining muscle

Eat above your TDEE and train with weights. A small surplus of 250 calories a day keeps fat gain slower than a large one. The bulking calculator covers rates of gain in more detail.

Safety floorThe calculator flags any target below 1,200 calories a day for women or 1,500 for men. These are commonly cited minimums for dieting without medical supervision. Going lower makes it hard to meet your nutrient needs.

Setting your macros

Calories decide whether your weight goes up or down. Macros affect how much of that change is muscle or fat, how full you feel, and how well you train.

  • Protein matters most (see how much protein you need). The International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends 1.4–2.0 g per kg of body weight a day for most people who exercise. During a diet, intakes toward the top of that range, or higher for lean, trained people, help preserve muscle. The calculator shows your protein in grams per kg under the macro label, so you can check it.
  • Fat supports hormones and helps absorb fat-soluble vitamins. Most splits here keep it at 20–40% of calories.
  • Carbohydrate fills the rest and fuels hard training. If you train often or at high intensity, the Higher carb split may suit you.

To set protein in grams per kg and get a per-meal split, use the macro calculator. Macro splits explained shows each preset in grams. For reference, the US National Academies' acceptable ranges for adults are 10–35% of calories from protein, 20–35% from fat and 45–65% from carbohydrate. The Lower carb split here sits below that carbohydrate range. That is a personal choice rather than a requirement.

How accurate is a TDEE calculator?

Every TDEE calculator, including this one, gives an estimate. Two people with identical stats can differ by a few hundred calories a day because of muscle mass, genetics, sleep, and how much they move outside workouts. The equations are a good first guess. Your scale is the final judge.

  1. Eat your target consistently for 2–3 weeks and log your intake honestly.
  2. Weigh yourself each morning under the same conditions and compare weekly averages, not single days.
  3. If the average is moving faster or slower than you want, adjust by 100–200 calories and repeat.

Our guide to finding your real maintenance calories shows how to turn those numbers into your true TDEE, and 7 mistakes people make with TDEE calculators covers what to avoid.

Frequently asked questions

What is TDEE?
TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is the number of calories your body uses in a full day. It adds up the energy you burn at rest, the energy used to digest food, and everything you burn moving around and exercising. Eating at your TDEE keeps your weight roughly stable.
How is TDEE different from BMR?
BMR (basal metabolic rate) is only the energy you would burn lying still all day. TDEE is BMR plus everything else you do. For most people BMR makes up roughly 60–70% of TDEE. This calculator works out BMR first, then multiplies it by your activity level to get TDEE.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
A common starting point is 250–500 calories below your TDEE. That is the range shown under the Lose slowly and Lose goals above. A larger deficit is not automatically better: it is harder to keep up, and it makes it harder to hold on to muscle. Stay at or above about 1,200 calories a day for women and 1,500 for men unless a clinician is supervising you.
Which formula is most accurate?
For most healthy adults, Mifflin-St Jeor. A 2005 systematic review found it estimated resting metabolic rate within 10% of the measured value in more people than the other equations tested. If you know your body fat percentage with reasonable accuracy, Katch-McArdle can be a better fit, especially if you are very lean or muscular.
How accurate is this TDEE calculator?
Treat the result as a starting estimate. Equations can be off by 10% or more for an individual, and activity level is the biggest source of error. The reliable way to find your true number is to eat a consistent amount for 2–3 weeks, track your average weight, and adjust. Our maintenance calories guide walks through it.
Should I eat back the calories I burn exercising?
Not if you already counted that exercise in your activity level. The activity multiplier includes your workouts, so adding a fitness tracker's calorie burn on top counts the same exercise twice. If you chose Sedentary and then do an unusually long session, eating back part of it is reasonable.
How often should I recalculate my TDEE?
Recalculate after every 4–5 kg (about 10 lb) of weight change, or whenever your activity changes for more than a few weeks. A smaller body burns fewer calories, so the deficit that worked at the start gets smaller over time.
Why am I not losing weight at my calorie target?
The usual reasons are underestimated food intake (cooking oils, drinks and weekend meals are easy to miss), an activity level set too high, and normal water swings that hide fat loss for a week or two. Compare weekly averages rather than single weigh-ins, check your tracking, then lower calories by 100–150 if nothing has changed after 2–3 weeks.
Is this calculator suitable for teenagers or during pregnancy?
No. The equations were built for adults, and calorie needs during pregnancy, breastfeeding and growth are different. The calculator only accepts ages 18 to 100. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18, or managing a medical condition, ask a doctor or registered dietitian.
Do men and women have different TDEE?
Usually yes, mainly because men on average carry more lean mass. Mifflin-St Jeor and Harris-Benedict use sex as a stand-in for body composition. Katch-McArdle skips that step and uses your lean mass directly, so it gives the same result for anyone with the same weight and body fat. See TDEE for women for what else differs.

More calculators

Macro calculatorProtein in g/kg, plus a per-meal split. Body fat calculatorUS Navy method with a tape measure. Maintenance caloriesYour maintenance at every activity level. Cutting caloriesA deficit with a safety check. Bulking calculatorA surplus for building muscle. Katch-McArdleBMR and TDEE from lean body mass.

Popular guides

Calculate TDEE by handEvery step, with a worked example. Which formula to useMifflin vs Harris vs Katch. 7 TDEE mistakesAnd how to fix each one.

Sources

  1. Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, Scott BJ, Daugherty SA, Koh YO. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51(2):241–247. PubMed 2305711
  2. Roza AM, Shizgal HM. The Harris Benedict equation reevaluated: resting energy requirements and the body cell mass. Am J Clin Nutr. 1984;40(1):168–182. PubMed 6741850
  3. Frankenfield D, Roth-Yousey L, Compher C. Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults: a systematic review. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005;105(5):775–789. PubMed 15883556
  4. Hall KD, Sacks G, Chandramohan D, et al. Quantification of the effect of energy imbalance on bodyweight. Lancet. 2011;378(9793):826–837. PubMed 21872751
  5. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Body Weight Planner. niddk.nih.gov
  6. Jäger R, Kerksick CM, Campbell BI, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:20. PubMed 28642676
  7. Helms ER, Aragon AA, Fitschen PJ. Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: nutrition and supplementation. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2014;11:20. PubMed 24864135
  8. Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2005 (Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges).

This page is general information, not medical advice. See our medical disclaimer and editorial policy.