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TDEE Calculator

Calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure — the number of calories you burn each day based on your body and activity level.

TDEE Calculator

Mifflin-St Jeor · Activity multiplier

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Calories / Day (Maintenance)

TDEE is your maintenance calorie number — eat below it to lose fat, above it to gain muscle. It combines your Basal Metabolic Rate (calories burned at rest) with an activity multiplier based on your training frequency.

Uses Mifflin-St Jeor BMR formula (most accurate for most adults) then multiplies by Harris activity factor.

How to Use Your TDEE

Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the single most important number in nutrition planning — it represents the total calories your body burns in a 24-hour period including all activity. Calculated using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (the most validated formula for the general population, per the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics), it combines your Basal Metabolic Rate — calories burned at complete rest to maintain organ function — with a Harris activity multiplier based on your training frequency. Once you know your TDEE, the path to your physique goal is straightforward: eat 300–500 kcal below TDEE for fat loss (0.3–0.5 kg/week, safest for muscle preservation); eat 200–350 kcal above TDEE for muscle gain (minimises fat gain during a bulk); or eat at TDEE for maintenance. Recalculate every 4–6 weeks as your body weight and composition change — TDEE is not a fixed number. It drops as you lose weight and rises as you gain muscle mass.

  • Fat loss: TDEE − 300–500 kcal/day. Avoid below 1,200 kcal (women) or 1,500 kcal (men).
  • Muscle gain: TDEE + 200–350 kcal/day. Small surplus limits fat gain while fuelling hypertrophy.
  • Maintenance / recomp: Eat at TDEE with 2.0+ g/kg protein. Slower, but preserves most muscle.

Activity Level Guide

LevelMultiplierDescription
Sedentary× 1.2Desk job, no structured exercise
Light× 1.3751–3 light workouts per week
Moderate× 1.553–5 moderate workouts per week
Active× 1.725Hard training 6–7 days/week
Very Active× 1.9Physical job + daily training

Frequently Asked Questions

All TDEE calculators are estimates with ±10–15% accuracy. The most reliable method is to track calories and body weight for 2–3 weeks and adjust from there. If you're maintaining weight at 3000 kcal, your TDEE is 3000 — regardless of what the formula says.
Calorie cycling can work, but for most people a consistent daily calorie target is easier to maintain long-term. If you do cycle, eat more on training days and less on rest days, keeping the weekly total the same. The difference in calorie burn per workout is typically 300–600 kcal.
Yes — as body weight decreases, BMR decreases, and TDEE falls with it. Recalculate every 4–6 weeks during a cut to ensure you're still in a deficit at your new body weight.
Yes — the calorie output is the same regardless of whether you enter your stats in kg/cm or lbs/inches. The calculator converts imperial inputs to metric internally before applying the Mifflin-St Jeor formula. The result (kcal/day) is always in kilocalories, which is the universal energy unit used worldwide.

Related Calculators

Macro CalculatorSplit your TDEE into protein, carbs, and fat targets.Calculate Macros → BMR CalculatorYour Basal Metabolic Rate — calories burned at complete rest.Calculate BMR → Calorie Deficit CalculatorPlan your deficit for a target fat loss rate.Calculate Deficit → Protein Intake CalculatorFind your daily protein target for muscle growth or retention.Calculate Protein →