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TDEE calculator

Estimate your total daily energy expenditure from your size, age and activity level, with calorie targets for losing, keeping or gaining weight.

Maintenance calories (TDEE)1,884 kcalper day · lightly active
Basal metabolic rate (BMR)1,370 kcalMifflin-St Jeor

Daily calories for your goal

Calorie targets
GoalCalories / dayvs. TDEE
Lose 2 lb / week884 kcal−1,000Too low
Lose 1.5 lb / week1,134 kcal−750Too low
Lose 1 lb / week1,384 kcal−500
Lose 0.5 lb / week1,634 kcal−250
Maintain weight1,884 kcal—
Gain 0.5 lb / week2,134 kcal+250
Gain 1 lb / week2,384 kcal+500

Based on 3,500 kcal per pound of body fat. Intakes under 1,200 kcal a day for women are generally not advised without medical supervision.

Calories by activity level

How we calculate
BMR = 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age − 161
Mifflin-St Jeor (1990) — the most accurate for most adults
BMR = 447.593 + 9.247 × kg + 3.098 × cm − 4.330 × age
Revised Harris-Benedict (Roza & Shizgal, 1984)
BMR = 370 + 21.6 × lean mass (kg)
Katch-McArdle — uses lean body mass, best when you know your body fat
TDEE = BMR × activity factor
Activity multipliers: 1.2, 1.375, 1.55, 1.725, 1.9

For you: BMR 1,370 kcal × 1.375 = 1,884 kcal. Formulas are population averages; real needs can differ by 10% or more, so adjust based on how your weight changes over a few weeks.

For general information only, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or registered dietitian before major diet changes, especially if you are pregnant, under 18 or have a health condition.
Runs in your browser · no uploadHow it works

How to use TDEE calculator

  1. 1

    Describe yourself

    Pick metric or imperial and enter your sex, age, height, weight and — if you know it — body-fat percentage.

  2. 2

    Choose your activity level

    Select how active a typical week is; the TDEE updates instantly, with each level's calories listed for comparison.

  3. 3

    Pick a calorie target

    Read the daily calories for your weekly goal, then open Macros to turn it into grams of protein, carbs and fat.

Limits and Pro

Free and unlimited for adults: five activity levels, three BMR equations, weekly goals from −1 to +0.5 kg (−2 to +1 lb) and three macro splits.

About TDEE calculator

Total daily energy expenditure, or TDEE, is the number of calories your body burns in a day: the energy needed simply to stay alive — the basal metabolic rate — plus everything spent moving, exercising and digesting food. Eating close to your TDEE keeps weight stable; eating below it leads to weight loss and above it to gain.

This page opens on the calorie tools. Enter age, sex, height and weight in metric or imperial units and choose one of five activity levels, from a desk job with little exercise (×1.2) to hard training twice a day (×1.9). The calculator shows BMR from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation by default, or from the revised Harris-Benedict equation, or from Katch-McArdle if you add a body-fat percentage, then multiplies it out to TDEE. For a 30-year-old woman who is 165 cm and 65 kg and lightly active, that is a BMR of about 1,370 kcal and a TDEE of about 1,884 kcal.

A goal table lists daily calories for losing or gaining 0.25 to 1 kg (or 0.5 to 2 lb) a week, flags targets that fall below your BMR or below commonly advised minimums, and the Macros tab splits any target into grams of protein, carbohydrate and fat.

Every equation is an average for a population, so your real burn can differ by 10% or more; treat the number as a starting point and adjust after two or three weeks of tracking your weight.

Privacy

Your body measurements and activity level stay on this device: BMR, TDEE and calorie targets are computed by your browser without any server request. The values are saved locally and in the link you can copy, and nowhere else.

TDEE calculator: frequently asked questions

How is TDEE calculated?
TDEE is your basal metabolic rate multiplied by an activity factor. A 30-year-old man who is 180 cm tall and weighs 80 kg has a Mifflin-St Jeor BMR of 10 × 80 + 6.25 × 180 − 5 × 30 + 5 = 1,780 kcal. If he exercises moderately three to five days a week, the factor is 1.55, giving a TDEE of about 2,759 kcal a day.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
A deficit of about 550 kcal a day below TDEE removes roughly 0.5 kg of fat a week, based on 7,700 kcal per kilogram. For a lightly active 30-year-old woman of 165 cm and 65 kg, TDEE is about 1,884 kcal, so the target is about 1,334 kcal. Going below roughly 1,200 kcal for women or 1,500 kcal for men is best done with medical advice.
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR, the basal metabolic rate, is what you would burn lying still all day — breathing, circulation, keeping warm. It usually makes up 60–70% of total burn. TDEE adds the energy for daily movement, exercise and digesting food. You should normally eat close to TDEE, not BMR; eating only your BMR is already a sizeable deficit.
Which BMR formula is the most accurate?
For most adults, Mifflin-St Jeor. A review by the American Dietetic Association found it predicted resting energy within 10% of measured values more often than the Harris-Benedict equations. Katch-McArdle can be better for lean, muscular people because it is based on lean body mass, but it is only as accurate as your body-fat measurement.
Which activity level should I choose?
Be conservative: most people overestimate how active they are. If you sit at work and train three times a week, lightly active (×1.375) is usually closer than moderately active. Workouts count less than you think — an hour in the gym may burn 300–500 kcal. Start with the lower level and move up if your weight drops faster than expected.

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