TDEE Calculator
Find out exactly how many calories your body burns every day — then use that number to actually make progress, whether you're trying to lose fat, build muscle, or just maintain what you have.
Calculate Your TDEE
Suggested Macros at Maintenance (balanced split)
What Is TDEE and Why Should You Care?
Total Daily Energy Expenditure is the total number of calories your body burns in a day — accounting for everything: your organs keeping you alive while you sleep, the energy cost of digesting food, every step you take, every workout you do. It's the single most important number in any body composition goal, and most people either don't know it or have a wildly inaccurate estimate of it.
The core principle of body weight management is simple: eat less than your TDEE and you lose weight; eat more and you gain it; eat at maintenance and your weight stays stable. Knowing your TDEE doesn't make nutrition complicated — it makes it clearer. Instead of guessing, restricting randomly, or following generic advice, you have a personalised baseline to work from.
The Mifflin-St Jeor Equation
This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, published in 1990 and consistently validated as the most accurate BMR formula for most people. It was developed specifically to address the overestimates produced by the older Harris-Benedict equation (published in 1919 and based on a less representative dataset).
Women: BMR = (10 × weight kg) + (6.25 × height cm) − (5 × age) − 161
TDEE = BMR × Activity Factor
The BMR result is then multiplied by an activity factor to account for how much energy you expend beyond basic survival. This gives you TDEE — your actual daily calorie need in the real world.
Activity Factors Explained
| Level | Factor | Who It Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | × 1.2 | Desk job, no deliberate exercise, fewer than 5,000 steps/day |
| Light | × 1.375 | Light exercise 1–3 days/week, mostly desk-based lifestyle |
| Moderate | × 1.55 | Exercise 3–5 days/week with moderate intensity — the most common category |
| Heavy | × 1.725 | Hard training 6–7 days/week, or a physically active job plus regular training |
| Athlete | × 1.9 | Twice-daily training, professional athletes, very demanding physical labour |
The most common mistake people make is overestimating their activity level. If you train 4 times a week but otherwise sit at a desk, you are moderate at best — not heavy. Overestimating your activity factor leads to overestimating TDEE, which means eating more than you need, which explains why many people claim to eat "at maintenance" but slowly gain weight over time.
Tip: If you're unsure which activity level applies to you, start one level lower than your instinct. Track your weight for two weeks at that calorie target. If you're losing weight unexpectedly, adjust up. Real-world calibration beats formula estimates every time.
How to Use Your TDEE for Fat Loss
A deficit of 500 calories per day below your TDEE produces approximately 0.5kg (1 lb) of fat loss per week in most people — because 1kg of body fat contains roughly 7,700 calories, and 500 × 7 = 3,500 calories per week. This isn't a perfect relationship (water, glycogen, and muscle mass complicate the math in the short term) but it's a reliable enough guideline to structure a plan around.
Going too aggressive with your deficit — more than 20–25% below maintenance — typically leads to muscle loss, significant fatigue, impaired recovery from training, hormonal disruption, and eventually a rebound when the restriction becomes unsustainable. A moderate, consistent deficit of 300–500 calories is nearly always the better approach for long-term body composition.
How to Use Your TDEE for Muscle Gain
Building muscle requires a calorie surplus — your body needs extra energy and protein to synthesise new tissue. A surplus of 200–500 calories above TDEE is generally enough. Larger surpluses don't build muscle faster; they just accumulate more fat alongside whatever muscle your training stimulus produces.
The rate of muscle gain is slow. A natural trainee in their first year of serious training might gain 1–2kg of muscle per month under ideal conditions. After two or three years of consistent training, monthly gains are closer to 0.25–0.5kg. This is why "lean bulking" — a small, controlled surplus — makes sense for most people past the beginner stage: the upside of a large surplus is minimal, and the downside (more fat to cut later) is real.
Protein, Carbs, and Fat — Getting Your Macros Right
Protein is the priority macro for anyone with a body composition goal. Current evidence consistently supports 1.6–2.2g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day for people who train. This preserves muscle on a cut, supports growth on a bulk, and keeps you fuller per calorie than either carbs or fat. The macro display in our calculator uses a starting split of roughly 30% protein, 45% carbohydrates, and 25% fat — a reasonable balanced starting point, not a prescription.
Carbohydrates are your primary training fuel, particularly for glycolytic activities like weight training, sprinting, and most team sports. Reducing carbs too aggressively typically reduces training quality, which undermines the whole point of the exercise.
Fat is essential for hormone production, vitamin absorption, and joint health. Going below 0.5–0.6g per kg of bodyweight for extended periods is associated with hormonal disruption, particularly in women.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is accurate within about 10% for most people — meaning if it says 2,400 calories, your real TDEE is likely somewhere between 2,160 and 2,640. It's a starting point, not a precise measurement. The most reliable approach is to use the calculator's output, eat at that level for two to three weeks, track your weight daily and take a weekly average, then adjust up or down by 100–200 calories based on what's actually happening to your weight. Real-world calibration over a few weeks is always more accurate than any formula.
The most common reasons are: overestimating your activity level (which inflates your calculated TDEE), underestimating calorie intake (studies consistently show most people underreport food consumption by 20–40%), or water retention masking fat loss on the scale in the short term. If you've been in a deficit for three or more weeks with no weight change, your actual TDEE is likely lower than calculated. Try reducing by another 150–200 calories and track for another two weeks before drawing conclusions.
Yes — as you lose weight, your TDEE decreases. A lighter body requires less energy to move and maintain. This is why weight loss often slows or stalls after an initial period even when you're eating the same amount. Recalculate your TDEE every 4–6 weeks, or whenever you've lost around 5kg, and adjust your calorie target accordingly. Your activity factor can also change if your fitness level shifts significantly.
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the number of calories your body burns at complete rest — doing nothing but keeping your organs functioning, your heart beating, and your temperature regulated. TDEE is BMR multiplied by an activity factor to account for all the energy you actually expend in daily life. For most people, BMR is 60–70% of their TDEE. A sedentary person with a BMR of 1,600 might have a TDEE of just 1,920, while someone training heavily might have a TDEE of 2,800+ from the same BMR.
For people who train, the current research consensus is 1.6–2.2g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight per day. Higher intakes (up to 2.5g/kg) are safe and may provide a small additional benefit during aggressive fat loss phases, when muscle preservation becomes a priority. For sedentary individuals, the RDA is around 0.8g/kg, but this is the minimum to avoid deficiency — not an optimum for people trying to improve their body composition. A simple starting target is bodyweight in kg × 2 for most active people.
Disclaimer: TDEE calculations are estimates based on population-level equations. Individual metabolic rates vary. This tool is for informational purposes and does not constitute medical or nutritional advice. If you have a health condition affecting your metabolism, consult a registered dietitian or healthcare professional before making significant dietary changes.