TDEE Calculator
Estimate your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) — the calories you burn in a day — and your maintenance, weight-loss and weight-gain targets, using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation.
Your total daily energy expenditure is the number of calories your body uses in a day, including everything from basic organ function to exercise. It starts with your basal metabolic rate — the energy you'd burn at complete rest — and multiplies it by an activity factor. Knowing your TDEE gives you a sensible starting point for eating to maintain, lose or gain weight, which you can adjust based on real-world results.
How TDEE is calculated
This tool uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, widely regarded as one of the more accurate BMR formulas, then multiplies by an activity factor to reach TDEE.
BMR (female) = 10×kg + 6.25×cm − 5×age − 161
TDEE = BMR × activity factor
| Activity level | Factor |
|---|---|
| Sedentary | 1.20 |
| Lightly active | 1.375 |
| Moderately active | 1.55 |
| Active | 1.725 |
| Very active | 1.90 |
Worked example
A 30-year-old man, 180 cm and 80 kg, moderately active:
| BMR = 10×80 + 6.25×180 − 5×30 + 5 | 1,780 kcal |
| TDEE = 1,780 × 1.55 | ≈ 2,759 kcal |
Using your TDEE for goals
To lose weight, eat below your TDEE; to gain, eat above it. A deficit or surplus of about 500 calories a day corresponds roughly to half a kilogram (about a pound) a week, since a kilogram of body fat holds roughly 7,700 calories. Aggressive deficits are hard to sustain and can cost muscle, so moderate changes tend to work best. Treat the number as a starting estimate and adjust based on how your weight actually moves over two to three weeks.