TDEE Calculator
Find your Total Daily Energy Expenditure based on your age, weight, height, and activity level, then see your daily macro targets for cutting, maintaining, or building muscle.
Your TDEE will appear here
Enter your details, then click calculate to see your BMR, TDEE, and daily macros.
Quick Answer
TDEE is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) multiplied by an activity factor. It estimates how many calories you burn in a day, exercise and daily movement included, and serves as the baseline for your weight loss, maintenance, or muscle-gain calorie targets.
How It Works: Formula & Variables
BMR (men) = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age + 5
BMR (women) = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age − 161
TDEE = BMR × activity multiplier
- Sedentary
- ×1.2 — little or no exercise
- Light
- ×1.375 — exercise 1-3 days/week
- Moderate
- ×1.55 — exercise 3-5 days/week
- Active
- ×1.725 — exercise 6-7 days/week
- Very Active
- ×1.9 — hard exercise, physical job
Worked Examples
Example 1: Moderately active man
A 30-year-old man weighing 180 lb (81.6 kg) at 5'10" (177.8 cm), with moderate activity: BMR = 10×81.6 + 6.25×177.8 − 5×30 + 5 = 1,782. TDEE = 1,782 × 1.55 = 2,762 calories/day.
Example 2: Lightly active woman
A 28-year-old woman weighing 140 lb (63.5 kg) at 5'5" (165 cm), with light activity: BMR = 10×63.5 + 6.25×165 − 5×28 − 161 = 1,365. TDEE = 1,365 × 1.375 = 1,877 calories/day.
Key Concepts
BMR vs TDEE: BMR is your body's baseline energy need at rest. TDEE builds on that by adding everything else you do during the day. To see that baseline on its own, calculated three different ways, use the BMR Calculator.
Activity multipliers: Each activity level, from sedentary to very active, applies a multiplier to your BMR to estimate your total daily burn.
Goal-based calories: Once you know your TDEE, you can shift it up or down to lose, maintain, or gain weight at a pace that's sustainable.
Common Mistakes
Overestimating activity level: Most people think they move more than they do. If you're not sure which level fits, pick the lower one.
Cutting calories too hard: A deficit bigger than 20-25% below TDEE tends to cause muscle loss and can slow your metabolism down.
Skipping the real-world check: TDEE is an estimate, not a guarantee. Track your weight for a few weeks and adjust your target if the numbers don't match what you expected.
Frequently Asked Questions
TDEE, or Total Daily Energy Expenditure, is an estimate of how many calories your body burns in a day. That includes your resting metabolism, plus exercise, daily movement, and the energy your body spends digesting food.
BMR is the number of calories your body burns at complete rest, just keeping your organs running. TDEE starts with that number and multiplies it by an activity factor to account for movement and exercise, so it gives a more realistic picture of what you actually burn in a day.
It's a useful estimate, usually within 10-15% of your real calorie burn, but everyone's metabolism is a little different depending on genetics, muscle mass, and other factors. Treat your result as a starting point, then adjust it based on how your weight actually changes over two or three weeks.
A common approach is eating roughly 15-20% below your TDEE. That creates a moderate deficit, enough for steady weight loss without the muscle loss or metabolic slowdown that comes from cutting too hard.
This calculator splits your daily calories into 30% protein, 40% carbohydrates, and 30% fat. Protein and carbs each provide 4 calories per gram, while fat provides 9 calories per gram.
Related Calculators
Calorie Calculator
Turn your TDEE into a per-goal daily calorie target for losing, maintaining, or gaining.
Macro Calculator
Turn your calorie target into daily protein, carb, and fat grams.
BMR Calculator
Calculate the resting baseline behind your TDEE, across three formulas.
BMI Calculator
Calculate your Body Mass Index and weight category.