TDEE calculator:
your real daily calorie burn

What TDEE is and what it is made of

Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is the estimated number of calories your body uses in a full day. It is the figure you eat close to if you want your weight to stay steady.

TDEE has four broad parts. The biggest is usually your basal metabolic rate, the energy used at rest. On top of that come the energy of digesting food, the movement of everyday life such as walking and standing, and deliberate exercise.

Because three of those four parts depend on how you live, two people with identical BMR can have very different TDEE. That is why activity decides so much of the final number.

TDEE formula: BMR multiplied by an activity factor

1. 1Estimate your BMR with a standard equation.
2. 2Pick the activity description that matches an ordinary week.
3. 3Multiply BMR by the matching factor.
4. 4Use the answer as a starting estimate and check it against real weight data.

A multiplier is used instead of a fixed addition because the cost of moving a larger body is larger. Someone heavier burns more calories walking the same distance, so activity scales with size rather than adding a flat amount.

The factors below are the commonly used set, originally associated with the Harris-Benedict approach. Different calculators word the descriptions differently, but the numbers are very similar.

Activity multipliers and what each level looks like

Each step up the ladder adds the same amount, about 260 kcal for this BMR. Picking the wrong level by one rung therefore moves your daily figure by roughly a quarter of a thousand calories, which is more than most small diet changes.

Descriptions are guides, not rules. A person who walks 10,000 steps a day at work and never visits a gym may fit better in 'lightly' or 'moderately active' than the exercise wording suggests.

Worked example: the same body at two activity levels

Take a BMR of 1,500 kcal a day. The first person has a desk job and little exercise. The second moves regularly and trains three or four times a week.

Same body, same BMR, and yet a 525 kcal daily difference. Over a week that is more than 3,600 kcal, which is why choosing the factor carefully matters more than quibbling about the BMR equation.

A calculated case shows the full chain. A woman aged 35, 62 kg and 158 cm tall has a Mifflin-St Jeor BMR of 10 × 62 + 6.25 × 158 − 5 × 35 − 161 = 1,271.5 kcal. At a factor of 1.2 her TDEE is about 1,526 kcal, at 1.375 it is about 1,748 kcal, and at 1.55 it is about 1,971 kcal.

Here is what a wrong pick costs. If you choose 1.55 but actually behave like 1.375, you overestimate by about 260 kcal a day. Eating to the higher number would hold your weight steady at best, and could lead to slow weight gain.

How to choose your activity factor honestly

Most disagreements about TDEE are really disagreements about this one step. Take it slowly, because the multiplier is applied to the whole BMR.

Look at an ordinary week over the last month, not the best week or your intentions for next month. Start with your job and daily movement, then add training.

• Mostly seated at work, one or two short workouts: sedentary to lightly active.
• Mostly on your feet or walking a lot, plus three to five workouts: moderately active.
• Physically demanding work or daily intense training: very active or above.

Count sessions, not hours. One long weekend trek does not make you moderately active for the week. Many people with desk jobs fall in the first two categories, even when they exercise regularly.

Using your TDEE: maintain, cut or build

Eating near your TDEE should hold your weight. Eating below it creates a deficit, and eating above it creates a surplus. The size of the gap should reflect your goal and how your body responds.

Test the estimate. Track intake and body weight for two to three weeks. If your weight is stable at an average of, say, 2,000 kcal when your estimate said 2,325, the estimate was too high and 2,000 is your real maintenance.

You can also think weekly. If you train hard on three days and rest on four, your average TDEE is a blend of both. Aiming at the weekly average, and letting daily intake wobble around it, is usually simpler than running two separate numbers.

If you are unsure, start with the lower factor and check it against your weight trend. A figure that is slightly low shows itself within a few weeks, while one that is too generous can hide for months.

Recalculate when something changes. A weight loss of several kilograms, a new job or a new training habit all shift TDEE, and the estimate needs updating to match.

The daily calorie needs guide on this site turns TDEE into goal-based targets, and the calorie deficit guide explains how to size a gap.

TDEE mistakes to avoid

A few habits trip people up again and again. Keeping them in mind saves weeks of confusion:

• Counting exercise twice by adding watch calories on top of an activity factor.
• Choosing a factor for the person you want to be, not the one you are.
• Forcing your intake to match the calculator when your weight tells a different story.
• Using one TDEE for every day. Rest days and heavy training days differ.
• Using TDEE for children, pregnancy or clinical nutrition, which need professional advice.