🔥 TDEE Calorie Calculator
By ToolNimba Health Team · Reviewed by ToolNimba Editorial Review, health content · Updated 2026-06-19
This calculator gives an estimate, not medical or dietary advice. Calorie needs vary with body composition, genetics, medications and health conditions, so treat the result as a starting point. Speak to a doctor or registered dietitian before making big changes to your diet, especially if you are pregnant, under 18, or managing a health condition.
Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the number of calories you burn in a full day, including sleep, daily movement and exercise. Enter your sex, age, height, weight and activity level, in metric or imperial, and this calculator estimates your maintenance calories along with rough targets for losing fat (a cut) or gaining muscle (a bulk). It uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which is widely regarded as one of the most accurate predictive formulas for everyday use.
What is the TDEE Calculator?
TDEE is built in two stages. First we estimate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), the calories your body burns at complete rest just to stay alive: heartbeat, breathing, brain activity and keeping warm. For most people BMR is the single largest slice of daily energy use, often 60% to 70% of the total. We then multiply BMR by an activity factor to account for everything you do on top of resting, from walking around the house to formal workouts. The result is your TDEE, the calories you would eat to stay at the same weight.
The formula behind the BMR here is Mifflin-St Jeor, published in 1990. It uses weight, height, age and sex, and research has found it predicts resting energy needs more reliably than the older Harris-Benedict equation for the general population. It does not account for body fat percentage, so a separate formula (Katch-McArdle) is sometimes preferred by lean, muscular people who know their body fat. For most people Mifflin-St Jeor is the sensible default.
The cut and bulk targets shift your maintenance number by about 500 calories a day. A pound of body fat stores roughly 3,500 calories, so a daily 500 calorie deficit adds up to about a pound (0.45 kg) of fat loss a week, and a 500 calorie surplus supports a similar rate of gain. These are estimates: real results depend on how accurately you track food, how your activity changes, and how your body adapts. Weigh yourself over two to three weeks and adjust the number rather than trusting the formula blindly.
When to use it
- Setting a daily calorie target before starting a diet, so you know roughly how much to eat to lose, gain or maintain weight.
- Working out a sensible surplus for a lean bulk without piling on excess fat.
- Sanity-checking a calorie goal that a fitness app gave you against an independent calculation.
How to use the TDEE Calculator
- Choose metric (cm/kg) or imperial (ft-in/lb) units.
- Select your sex and enter your age.
- Enter your height and current weight.
- Pick the activity level that best matches a typical week.
- Read your maintenance calories (TDEE), plus the cut and bulk targets below it.
Formula & method
Worked examples
A 30-year-old man, 180 cm, 80 kg, moderately active (factor 1.55).
- BMR = 10 × 80 + 6.25 × 180 − 5 × 30 + 5
- BMR = 800 + 1125 − 150 + 5 = 1780 kcal
- TDEE = 1780 × 1.55 = 2759 kcal
- Cut = 2759 − 500 = 2259 kcal, Bulk = 2759 + 500 = 3259 kcal
Result: TDEE about 2,759 kcal/day (cut 2,259, bulk 3,259)
A 30-year-old woman, 165 cm, 65 kg, lightly active (factor 1.375).
- BMR = 10 × 65 + 6.25 × 165 − 5 × 30 − 161
- BMR = 650 + 1031.25 − 150 − 161 = 1370.25 kcal
- TDEE = 1370.25 × 1.375 = 1884 kcal
- Cut = 1884 − 500 = 1384 kcal, Bulk = 1884 + 500 = 2384 kcal
Result: TDEE about 1,884 kcal/day (cut 1,384, bulk 2,384)
Activity factors used to turn BMR into TDEE
| Activity level | Description | Factor |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | Little or no exercise, desk job | 1.2 |
| Lightly active | Light exercise 1 to 3 days a week | 1.375 |
| Moderately active | Moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week | 1.55 |
| Very active | Hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week | 1.725 |
| Extra active | Very hard exercise or a physical job | 1.9 |
Common calorie goals relative to your TDEE
| Goal | Daily adjustment | Rough weekly change |
|---|---|---|
| Aggressive cut | −1000 kcal | −0.9 kg (−2 lb) |
| Standard cut | −500 kcal | −0.45 kg (−1 lb) |
| Maintain | 0 kcal | No change |
| Lean bulk | +250 to +500 kcal | +0.25 to 0.45 kg (+0.5 to 1 lb) |
Common mistakes to avoid
- Overstating your activity level. Most people pick a higher factor than reality. Three gym sessions a week with a desk job is usually "lightly" to "moderately" active, not "very active". Overestimating inflates your TDEE and stalls fat loss.
- Double-counting exercise calories. The activity factor already includes your workouts. Adding calories back from a watch or app on top of your TDEE counts the same exercise twice and can wipe out your deficit.
- Treating the number as fixed. TDEE changes as you lose or gain weight, and your body adapts to a deficit over time. Recalculate every few kilograms and adjust based on how the scale actually moves.
- Cutting too hard, too fast. Dropping far below your BMR to lose weight quickly tends to cost muscle and is hard to sustain. A 300 to 500 calorie deficit is gentler and easier to stick to.
Glossary
- TDEE
- Total Daily Energy Expenditure: all the calories you burn in a day, including rest, daily movement and exercise.
- BMR
- Basal Metabolic Rate: the calories your body burns at complete rest to keep its basic functions running.
- Mifflin-St Jeor
- A 1990 equation that estimates BMR from weight, height, age and sex, widely used for its accuracy.
- Activity factor
- A multiplier (1.2 to 1.9) applied to BMR to account for your daily activity and exercise.
- Caloric deficit
- Eating fewer calories than you burn, which over time leads to weight loss.
- Maintenance calories
- The intake that keeps your weight stable; another name for your TDEE.
Frequently asked questions
What is TDEE?
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure, the total number of calories you burn in a day. It includes your resting metabolism, the energy used to digest food, and all movement from daily activity to formal exercise.
How do I calculate my maintenance calories?
Calculate your BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then multiply by an activity factor between 1.2 and 1.9 based on how active you are. The result is your maintenance calories, the amount that keeps your weight steady. This tool does both steps for you.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
A common approach is to eat about 500 calories below your TDEE, which targets roughly 0.45 kg (1 lb) of fat loss per week. Avoid dropping below your BMR for long stretches, and adjust the number based on how your weight actually changes over two to three weeks.
Is the Mifflin-St Jeor equation accurate?
For the general population it is one of the most accurate predictive BMR formulas, and studies have found it more reliable than the older Harris-Benedict equation. It is still an estimate, with individual results varying by around 10% due to genetics and body composition.
What activity level should I choose?
Be honest and tend to round down. A desk job with a couple of light workouts is "lightly active", structured training 3 to 5 days a week is "moderately active", and "very" or "extra active" suit near-daily hard training or a physically demanding job.
Does this TDEE calculator store my data?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to a server or saved anywhere.
Sources
- A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals (Mifflin et al., 1990) , American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1990)
- How many calories do you need? , Harvard Health Publishing