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TDEE Calculator
Estimate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure — the calories you actually burn each day. Includes cut, maintain and bulk targets.
What is TDEE?
Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total number of calories your body burns in a day. It is the sum of your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) — the energy needed to keep you alive at rest — plus the calories you spend on movement, exercise and digestion. Knowing your TDEE is the foundation of any rational nutrition plan: eat below it to lose weight, eat at it to maintain, eat above it to gain. The number this calculator returns is an evidence-based estimate; treat it as a starting point and adjust over time using real-world weight changes.
How to use this calculator
Pick your sex, type in your age, height (cm) and weight (kg), and choose the activity level closest to your average week. The result updates automatically. Use the breakdown to see your BMR (calories burned at rest) and the suggested cut, maintain and bulk targets. After two to three weeks of consistent eating, weigh yourself and adjust: if your weight is not moving the way you expect, raise or lower intake by 100–200 kcal/day rather than re-running the calculator.
The Mifflin–St Jeor formula
This calculator uses the Mifflin–St Jeor equation, the most accurate prediction equation in current clinical use. BMR for men: 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age + 5. BMR for women: 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age − 161. TDEE is then BMR multiplied by an activity factor between 1.2 (sedentary) and 1.9 (very active). Cut and bulk targets are simply TDEE ± 500 kcal — a textbook 0.5 kg/week pace.
Activity multipliers
| Level | Factor | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | 1.2 | Desk job, little or no exercise |
| Light | 1.375 | Light exercise 1–3 days/week |
| Moderate | 1.55 | Moderate exercise 3–5 days/week |
| Active | 1.725 | Hard exercise 6–7 days/week |
| Very active | 1.9 | Very hard exercise + physical job |
Why TDEE matters more than fad diets
Almost every diet — keto, intermittent fasting, low-carb, high-protein, plant-based — only works because it pushes you below your TDEE. Calories in versus calories out is still the underlying physics. The problem is that most people have no idea what their actual maintenance is, so they either crash-diet (losing muscle and gaining it all back) or eat in a small surplus while convinced they're being strict. A TDEE estimate gives you a real number to anchor against. Combine it with a high-protein intake (around 1.6–2.2 g/kg of bodyweight), some resistance training, and weekly weight tracking, and you will outperform 90% of people following the latest diet trend.