TDEE Calculator

What TDEE and BMR are

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the energy your body burns at complete rest to keep organs running.

Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is BMR plus everything you do on top: walking, training, fidgeting, and digesting food.

How the calculation works

We compute BMR with Mifflin–St Jeor, then multiply by an activity factor to land on TDEE.

• Sedentary: BMR × 1.2
• Light activity: BMR × 1.375
• Moderate activity: BMR × 1.55
• Active: BMR × 1.725
• Very active: BMR × 1.9

How to read your result

TDEE is your maintenance number in kcal/day. Eat at that level to keep weight stable; subtract for fat loss or add for muscle gain.

A 300–500 kcal/day deficit drives steady fat loss; a 200–300 kcal/day surplus supports lean muscle gain.

Why TDEE matters

• Anchors every other nutrition decision
• Lets you set realistic goal rates of progress
• Makes plateaus diagnosable — too aggressive, or activity slipping?
• Bridges training, recovery, and body-composition goals

Common mistakes

• Picking 'very active' because training feels hard — most people are 'light' to 'moderate'
• Recomputing daily instead of after real weight change
• Treating the BMR × factor value as exact to the calorie
• Ignoring NEAT (non-exercise activity) drops while dieting
• Confusing weight-stable eating with under-eating

Practical recommendations

• Average weight across 3 mornings per week to gauge real change
• Keep step counts roughly constant week to week
• Reassess TDEE every ~3 kg of weight change
• Pair TDEE with a protein target for the strongest plan
• Use the maintenance number to plan refeeds and diet breaks

Frequently asked questions

Bottom line

TDEE turns body-composition goals into a single workable number: kcal/day. Anchor your plan to it and let real-world data refine it over weeks.