TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total calories you burn per day, accounting for your activity level. It equals your BMR multiplied by an activity factor.

How many calories should I eat to lose weight?

A 500 calorie daily deficit leads to approximately 0.5 kg (1 lb) of weight loss per week. Avoid going below 1200 kcal/day for women or 1500 for men without medical supervision.

What does my TDEE number mean?

Your TDEE is the total calories you burn in a day, including rest (BMR), digestion and all activity. Eat at your TDEE to maintain weight, below it to lose and above it to gain. It is the most useful single number for planning a diet.

How accurate is the activity multiplier method?

Activity multipliers (1.2 to 1.9) are population averages and can be off by 10 to 20% because people misjudge their activity. Treat TDEE as a starting estimate, track weight for 2 to 3 weeks, then adjust intake by 100 to 200 kcal if needed.

Why is my TDEE higher than a friend's of the same weight?

TDEE varies with lean mass, age, sex and daily movement (NEAT). More muscle and more non-exercise activity both raise TDEE, so two people at the same weight can differ by several hundred calories per day.

How many calories should I eat to gain muscle?

A modest surplus of about 250 to 500 kcal above TDEE supports muscle growth when combined with resistance training. Larger surpluses add more fat than muscle. Pair the surplus with 1.6 to 2.2 g of protein per kg of bodyweight daily.

Should I eat back the calories I burn exercising?

If you chose an activity multiplier that already reflects your training, your exercise is built into your TDEE, so do not add it again. Only log exercise separately if you based TDEE on a sedentary multiplier.

TDEE Calculator — Total Daily Energy Expenditure

How to use TDEE Calculator

The Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) calculator estimates how many calories you burn per day, combining your BMR with an activity multiplier. It also calculates goal-adjusted calorie targets for weight loss (−500 kcal), maintenance (±0) or muscle gain (+300 kcal), and provides a macro breakdown so you can structure your daily nutrition immediately. Unlike a bare calorie number, TDEE gives you an actionable daily target.

Select unit system (metric or imperial) and enter gender, age, weight and height.
Choose your activity level — be honest rather than aspirational for best accuracy.
Select your goal: Lose Weight, Maintain or Gain Muscle.
Click Calculate TDEE.
Review your TDEE, goal calories and macro breakdown.

Your data never leaves your device — 100% private processing.

TDEE components: BMR, TEF and NEAT

TDEE has three main components. BMR (60–70%) is energy at rest. The Thermic Effect of Food (TEF, ~10%) is calories burned digesting meals — protein has the highest TEF at 20–30%. Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT, 15–50%) covers all movement outside deliberate exercise: walking, fidgeting, standing. Highly active individuals can have NEAT exceeding 1,000 kcal/day above sedentary people.

Activity multiplier reference table

The table below shows the five Harris-Benedict / Mifflin-St Jeor activity multipliers. Multiply your BMR by the appropriate factor to find your TDEE.

TDEE activity multipliers
Level	Multiplier	Description	Example
Sedentary	×1.2	Little or no exercise	Desk job, no intentional exercise
Lightly active	×1.375	1–2 exercise days/week	Light walks, occasional gym session
Moderately active	×1.55	3–5 exercise days/week	Regular gym, recreational sports
Very active	×1.725	6–7 strenuous days/week	Daily training, physical job
Extra active	×1.9	Very hard daily exercise or 2×/day	Elite athlete, manual labour + training

Worked examples

Moderately active cut

Inputs: BMR 1,600 × 1.55 = 2,480, −500

Result: TDEE 2,480 → ≈ 1,980 kcal/day to lose

Sedentary maintenance

Inputs: BMR 1,500 × 1.2

Result: ≈ 1,800 kcal/day to maintain

Glossary

TDEE: Total Daily Energy Expenditure — the total calories you burn in a 24-hour period.
TEF: Thermic Effect of Food — energy required to digest, absorb and metabolise nutrients.
NEAT: Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis — daily movement outside deliberate exercise sessions.
Activity multiplier: A factor applied to BMR to estimate TDEE based on physical activity level.

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TDEE Calculator

How to use TDEE Calculator

TDEE components: BMR, TEF and NEAT

Activity multiplier reference table

Worked examples

Glossary

Related reading

Frequently Asked Questions

Why use TDEE Calculator?

Common use cases

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