TDEE Calculator
Total Daily Energy
Calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure, the exact calories you burn per day, with personalised macro targets for weight loss, maintenance, or muscle gain.
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TDEE Calculator: Total Daily Energy Expenditure Explained
If you’ve ever followed a diet religiously and still found the scale refusing to budge, or worked out consistently but couldn’t seem to gain muscle, the answer almost always comes back to calories. Calories in vs calories out governs your body composition, and your TDEE is the foundation of that equation. This free TDEE calculator uses the clinically validated Mifflin-St Jeor equation to give you the most accurate estimate of your daily calorie needs, with personalised macro targets for your specific goal.
Quick example: A 30-year-old male, 80kg, 178cm, moderately active has a BMR of approximately 1,768 kcal and a TDEE of 2,740 kcal. For fat loss: ~2,340 kcal/day. For muscle gain: ~3,040 kcal/day. Use the calculator above for your exact numbers.
What Is TDEE?
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total number of calories your body burns in a 24-hour period, your “maintenance calories.” It has four components: BMR (~60–70%), Thermic Effect of Food (~10%), Exercise Activity (~5–15%), and NEAT, non-exercise movement like walking and fidgeting (~15–30%).
TDEE Formula: Mifflin-St Jeor Equation
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation was published in 1990 and has since been validated as the most accurate widely-used resting metabolic rate formula in systematic comparisons against measured metabolic rate, edging out the older Harris-Benedict equation from 1919.
How the TDEE Calculator Formula Works
This calculator measures two related numbers: BMR, the calories your body burns doing nothing, and TDEE, your total daily burn once activity is factored in. Both come from the same four inputs: gender, age, weight, and height.
| Step | Formula | Units |
|---|---|---|
| BMR (men) | (10 × weight kg) + (6.25 × height cm) − (5 × age) + 5 | kcal/day |
| BMR (women) | (10 × weight kg) + (6.25 × height cm) − (5 × age) − 161 | kcal/day |
| TDEE | BMR × activity multiplier (1.20 to 1.90) | kcal/day |
| Goal calories | TDEE − 400 (fat loss) or TDEE + 300 (muscle gain) | kcal/day |
Step-by-step calculation walkthrough
Step 1: Identify the inputs. Gender: female. Age: 28. Weight: 65 kg. Height: 165 cm. Activity: Lightly Active (×1.375).
Step 2: Apply the formula. BMR = (10 × 65) + (6.25 × 165) − (5 × 28) − 161. TDEE = BMR × 1.375.
Step 3: Perform the calculation. 10 × 65 = 650. 6.25 × 165 = 1,031.25. 5 × 28 = 140. BMR = 650 + 1,031.25 − 140 − 161 = 1,380.25 kcal, shown rounded as 1,380. TDEE = 1,380.25 × 1.375 = 1,898 kcal (rounded).
Step 4: Interpret the result. This person burns roughly 1,380 kcal doing nothing all day, and about 1,898 kcal once her light activity level is factored in. For fat loss, the calculator would suggest around 1,498 kcal/day (TDEE − 400); for muscle gain, around 2,198 kcal/day (TDEE + 300).
Why the constant differs by gender: the +5 (men) and −161 (women) terms in the formula account for typical differences in body composition, since men tend to carry more metabolically active lean mass at the same weight and height. This isn’t a value judgment about any individual; it’s a population-average adjustment derived from the original 1990 study’s measured data.
Assumptions and limitations: the Mifflin-St Jeor equation predicts resting metabolic rate to within about 10% for most healthy adults, but it doesn’t account for individual differences in muscle mass, hormonal status, or metabolic health conditions. The activity multiplier is self-selected and is the single biggest source of error in the TDEE estimate, since most people round their own activity level up rather than down. This formula also isn’t validated for children, pregnant or breastfeeding women, or people with significantly higher or lower muscle mass than average for their weight.
Activity Levels Explained
| Activity level | Multiplier | Who it applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | 1.20 | Desk job, minimal walking |
| Lightly Active | 1.375 | Weekend walks, light yoga 1–3×/week |
| Moderately Active | 1.55 | Gym 4×/week, active daily routine |
| Very Active | 1.725 | Daily training, competitive sport |
| Extra Active | 1.90 | Physical job + hard daily training |
Most people overestimate their activity level by one category. If you train 4 days a week but sit at a desk all day, you are moderately active, not very active. When in doubt, select one level lower and adjust after tracking 2–3 weeks of actual scale data.
Calories for Weight Loss vs Muscle Gain
Once you have your TDEE: fat loss = TDEE minus 300–500 kcal (0.3–0.5 kg/week loss); muscle gain = TDEE plus 200–300 kcal (lean bulk). Aggressive deficits above 500 kcal cause disproportionate muscle loss. Aggressive surpluses above 500 kcal primarily add fat rather than muscle.
Common Mistakes That Sabotage Results
Overestimating activity level
The single most common TDEE error. An inflated activity multiplier makes your “maintenance” calories actually a surplus. Select conservatively and adjust based on real 2-week weight trends.
Eating too little
Deficits beyond 500 kcal accelerate muscle loss, slow metabolism, and impair recovery. Sustainable fat loss requires a moderate deficit maintained consistently over months.
Under-eating protein
Without sufficient protein (1.8–2.2g/kg), the body breaks down muscle during a deficit, leaving you smaller but with the same body fat percentage. Prioritise protein above all other macros.
Not recalculating after weight changes
Every 5–7 kg of weight change, recalculate. Your TDEE decreases as you lose weight: a previous deficit becomes maintenance calories as you get lighter.
3 Real-Life Examples
Three different profiles and goals, calculated the way the tool above does it.
| Situation | Inputs | Result | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desk-job worker starting a fat-loss phase | Male, 35, 90 kg, 180 cm, sedentary. | BMR: 1,855 kcal. TDEE: 2,226 kcal (×1.20). Fat-loss target: 1,826 kcal/day. | At sedentary activity, even a moderate 400 kcal deficit still leaves a reasonable daily calorie budget, since the low multiplier keeps TDEE from being inflated by unearned activity credit. |
| Competitive athlete maintaining weight | Female, 24, 58 kg, 168 cm, very active. | BMR: 1,349 kcal. TDEE: 2,327 kcal (×1.725). Maintenance target: 2,327 kcal/day. | The very active multiplier substantially raises her estimated burn above resting, reflecting genuinely high daily training volume rather than a generic “active lifestyle” label. |
| Comparing two activity levels for the same person | Male, 30, 80 kg, 178 cm, comparing moderate (×1.55) vs. very active (×1.725). | BMR: 1,768 kcal both times. Moderate TDEE: 2,740 kcal. Very active TDEE: 3,049 kcal. | A single activity-level step changes the TDEE estimate by roughly 300 kcal, which is exactly why overestimating activity level is the most common source of stalled progress on this calculator’s numbers. |
These are illustrative calculations using the same Mifflin-St Jeor formula the calculator above applies. They’re a planning starting point, not a substitute for tracking your own results over time.
Important Notes
- These are population-average estimates, not a metabolic test. The Mifflin-St Jeor equation predicts BMR to within roughly 10% for most healthy adults, but only a lab-based indirect calorimetry test measures your actual resting metabolism.
- Rounding. Displayed calorie and macro figures round to the nearest whole number.
- Activity level is self-reported and the biggest source of error. Choosing a multiplier one level too high is the single most common reason a calculated “maintenance” target turns out to be a hidden surplus.
- The deficit and surplus offsets are fixed, not personalised. The 400 kcal deficit and 300 kcal surplus shown are common starting points, not individually calculated for your specific rate of change.
- Metabolism adapts over time. As you lose or gain weight, your BMR and TDEE change too. The NIH’s Body Weight Planner research notes that a fixed 3,500-kcal-per-pound rule doesn’t account for this metabolic adaptation, which is why recalculating periodically matters more than following one static number indefinitely.
- Not validated for every population. This formula isn’t intended for children, pregnant or breastfeeding women, or people with substantially higher or lower muscle mass than typical for their weight.
- Data privacy. All calculations run in your browser. Your inputs aren’t sent to a server, and the PDF is generated locally on your device.
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