This TDEE calculator estimates your total daily energy expenditure — the complete number of calories you burn in 24 hours, including your resting metabolism, exercise, everyday movement, and even the energy cost of digesting food. TDEE is the single most useful number in nutrition: eat at it and your weight holds steady, eat below it and you lose, eat above it and you gain.
The calculator computes your basal metabolic rate with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then multiplies it by an activity factor that matches your weekly exercise. You also get a full table of your TDEE at every activity level, so you can see how much a more active lifestyle changes your calorie budget.
What Makes Up Your TDEE
TDEE is the sum of four components, each with a typical share of daily burn:
- BMR (basal metabolic rate): 60–70% — energy used at complete rest for breathing, circulation, and cell repair
- NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis): 15–30% — walking, fidgeting, chores, standing; the most variable component between individuals
- TEF (thermic effect of food): ~10% — calories burned digesting and processing meals; protein costs 20–30% of its calories to digest versus 0–3% for fat
- EAT (exercise activity thermogenesis): 5–10% for most people — deliberate workouts
Surprisingly, structured exercise is usually the smallest slice. Two office workers with identical gym routines can differ by 400+ calories a day purely through NEAT, which is why activity level selection matters more than most people expect.
Using TDEE to Cut, Bulk, or Maintain
Once you know your TDEE, setting a goal is arithmetic:
- Cutting (fat loss): eat 15–25% below TDEE, commonly −500 calories/day for about 1 lb per week. Keep protein high (0.7–1 g per lb of body weight) to protect muscle.
- Maintaining: eat at TDEE, within ±100 calories. Useful after a long diet to stabilize before the next phase.
- Lean bulking: eat 5–15% above TDEE, commonly +250 to +300 calories/day, aiming to gain 0.25–0.5 lb per week. Larger surpluses mostly add fat.
Treat the calculated number as a starting point, not gospel. Track your weight for two to three weeks: if it is not moving in the expected direction, adjust intake by 100–200 calories and reassess. Your true TDEE also drops as you lose weight, so recalculate every 10–15 lbs.
Example: 30-Year-Old Male, 5'10", 165 lbs, Moderately Active
Convert to metric: 165 lbs ÷ 2.2046 = 74.8 kg and 70 in × 2.54 = 177.8 cm.
BMR = 10 × 74.8 + 6.25 × 177.8 − 5 × 30 + 5 = 1,715 calories/day
With moderate exercise 4–5 times per week, TDEE = 1,715 × 1.465 ≈ 2,512 calories/day.
His complete activity table:
- Sedentary (× 1.2): 2,058
- Light (× 1.375): 2,358
- Moderate (× 1.465): 2,512
- Active (× 1.55): 2,658
- Very active (× 1.725): 2,958
- Extra active (× 1.9): 3,258
To cut, he would eat about 2,012 calories/day; to lean bulk, about 2,812. Note the 1,200-calorie/day gap between sedentary and extra active — activity level dwarfs most dietary tweaks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is TDEE?
TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is the total calories you burn per day from all sources: basal metabolism (60–70%), everyday movement or NEAT (15–30%), digestion or TEF (about 10%), and exercise (5–10%). It equals your maintenance calories — the intake at which your weight stays stable.
What is the difference between TDEE and BMR?
BMR is only the energy your body burns at complete rest, while TDEE adds everything else — movement, exercise, and digestion. TDEE is calculated by multiplying BMR by an activity factor between 1.2 and 1.9, so TDEE always exceeds BMR, typically by 20–90%.
How many calories below TDEE should I eat to lose fat?
A deficit of 15–25% below TDEE is the standard recommendation — about 500 calories/day for most people, producing roughly 1 lb of loss per week. Larger deficits work faster but increase muscle loss, hunger, and rebound risk. Avoid dropping below 1,200 calories/day without medical supervision.
Which activity level should I choose?
Count only consistent weekly activity, and when in doubt pick the lower level — people overestimate activity far more often than they underestimate it. Desk job with no exercise: sedentary. Exercise 1–3 times/week: light. 4–5 times: moderate. Hard daily training: very active. Physical job plus training: extra active.
How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
Formula-based estimates are typically within about 10% of measured values for most adults, so a calculated 2,500 TDEE could truly be 2,250–2,750. Use the estimate as a starting point, then track your body weight for 2–3 weeks and adjust intake by 100–200 calories based on the actual trend.