Calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) — the total calories you burn each day.
This tool estimates your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) — the total number of calories you burn in a day, including both your basal metabolic rate and calories burned through daily activity and exercise. TDEE is the foundation for setting calorie targets for weight loss, maintenance, or gain.
TDEE = BMR × Activity Multiplier. Common activity multipliers range from about 1.2 (sedentary, little exercise) to 1.9 (very active, physical job plus intense daily training), with BMR typically calculated first using a formula like Mifflin-St Jeor.
Enter your weight, height, age, sex, and activity level, and the calculator returns your estimated TDEE in calories per day.
Example: A person with a BMR of 1,500 calories and a moderately active lifestyle (multiplier 1.55) has a TDEE of 1,500 × 1.55 ≈ 2,325 calories per day.
How do I use TDEE for weight loss? Eating consistently below your TDEE (a calorie deficit, commonly 500 calories per day for roughly 0.5 kg/week loss) is a standard approach to gradual, sustainable weight loss.
How do I use TDEE for weight gain? Eating consistently above your TDEE (a calorie surplus) supports weight gain, with the composition of that gain (muscle vs fat) influenced by training and protein intake.
Why might my actual weight change not match TDEE predictions exactly? TDEE estimates rely on formulas and self-reported activity levels, which carry some inherent inaccuracy; real-world results are also affected by water retention, measurement variability, and how consistently activity levels are tracked.
Should I recalculate my TDEE as my weight changes? Yes, since TDEE depends partly on body weight and composition, it's generally recommended to recalculate periodically (such as every 5-10 lbs of weight change) to keep calorie targets accurate.
What's the difference between TDEE and BMR? BMR is calories burned at complete rest; TDEE builds on BMR by adding calories burned through all daily activity, exercise, and digestion, giving the fuller picture needed for calorie planning.