Calculate your maintenance calories and discover exactly how many calories you burn daily based on your basal metabolic rate and activity level.
Enter your information to calculate your TDEE and personalized calorie targets.
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) represents the total number of calories your body burns in 24 hours, including basal metabolic rate, activity, exercise, and digestion. Understanding your TDEE is critical for setting accurate calorie targets for fat loss, muscle gain, or maintenance.
Your TDEE consists of four main components:
TDEE is your baseline for all nutrition planning. Eat below TDEE to lose fat, above TDEE to gain muscle, or at TDEE to maintain current weight. Accurate TDEE calculation prevents undereating (slows metabolism) or overeating (excess fat gain).
Calculating your TDEE involves two steps: determining your BMR and multiplying by your activity factor.
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is the most accurate BMR formula for modern populations:
Men: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age) + 5
Women: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age) - 161
Your activity level multiplier accounts for daily movement and exercise:
Choosing the correct activity level is crucial for accurate TDEE calculation. Most people overestimate their activity level.
| Activity Level | Multiplier | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | 1.2 | Little or no exercise, desk job | Office worker, <5k steps/day, no gym |
| Lightly Active | 1.375 | Light exercise 1-3 days/week | Walking 30min/day, gym 1-2x/week |
| Moderately Active | 1.55 | Moderate exercise 3-5 days/week | Gym 3-5x/week, 8-10k steps/day |
| Very Active | 1.725 | Hard exercise 6-7 days/week | Daily training, 12k+ steps, active job |
| Extra Active | 1.9 | Very hard exercise + physical job | Construction + gym 2x/day, athlete |
When in doubt, choose the lower activity level. It's better to slightly underestimate and increase calories later based on results. Most desk workers training 3-5x/week are "Moderately Active" (1.55), not "Very Active."
Subtract 300-500 calories from your TDEE for steady fat loss of 0.5-1 lb (0.25-0.5 kg) per week. Larger deficits (>500 cal) may cause muscle loss and metabolic slowdown.
Add 200-300 calories to your TDEE for lean muscle growth without excess fat gain. Larger surpluses mainly add body fat, not muscle.
Eat at your calculated TDEE to maintain current weight and body composition. Use this approach during training phases focused on performance rather than physique changes.
Track weight for 2-3 weeks at your target calories. If weight doesn't change as expected, adjust by 100-200 calories and reassess. TDEE calculators provide estimates—real-world results determine actual needs.
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the number of calories your body burns at complete rest—just to keep you alive (breathing, circulation, cell production). TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) includes your BMR plus all activity and exercise throughout the day, giving you your total daily calorie burn. TDEE is always higher than BMR.
TDEE calculators provide estimates within 10-15% accuracy for most people. Individual metabolism, genetics, and body composition create variation. Use the calculator as a starting point, then track your weight and body composition for 2-3 weeks and adjust calories based on real results.
Yes, eating at your TDEE should maintain your current weight over time. However, monitor your weight for 2 weeks—if you're gaining or losing unexpectedly, adjust your calories by 100-200 and reassess. Your actual TDEE may differ slightly from the calculated estimate.
Recalculate your TDEE every 10-15 lbs (5-7 kg) of weight change, or when your activity level significantly changes (new job, training program, etc.). As you lose weight, your TDEE decreases; as you gain muscle, it increases. Regular recalculation ensures accurate targets.
Yes, especially if you're a beginner or returning after a break. This is called body recomposition. Eat slightly below your TDEE (100-300 calories deficit) with high protein intake (0.8-1.0g per lb bodyweight) while following a structured resistance training program. Progress is slower than pure bulking or cutting but results in simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain.
Common reasons include underestimating calorie intake, overestimating activity level, water retention from new exercise or high sodium, insufficient tracking consistency, or metabolic adaptation after prolonged dieting. Track calories precisely for 2 weeks—if still no change, reduce intake by 100-200 calories.