Your TDEE — total daily energy expenditure — is the number of calories your body actually burns in a day: your resting metabolism plus everything you do, from walking to workouts. It is the single most useful number in nutrition, because every goal is defined relative to it: eat below TDEE and you lose weight, at it and you maintain, above it and you gain. This TDEE calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation — the formula research has found most accurate for the general population — then multiplies by an activity factor to produce your maintenance calories, along with ready-made targets for steady fat loss and lean gaining. Metric and imperial units are both supported.
TDEE Calculator
Health & Fitness
Total daily energy expenditure and calorie targets for your goal
Why TDEE Calculator Matters
Most diet failures are arithmetic failures: people guess their maintenance calories, guess wrong by 300–500 kcal, and wonder why the scale doesn't move. A calculated TDEE replaces guessing with a defensible starting point. It also protects against the opposite mistake — cutting too aggressively. A deficit of about 500 kcal/day produces roughly one pound of fat loss per week, which is sustainable; crash deficits below BMR tend to backfire through muscle loss, fatigue, and rebound. Knowing both your BMR and your TDEE shows you exactly how much room you have to work with.
The TDEE Calculator Formula, Explained
BMR = 10×weight(kg) + 6.25×height(cm) − 5×age + s, then TDEE = BMR × activity factorThe Mifflin-St Jeor equation estimates your basal metabolic rate — calories burned at complete rest — where s is +5 for males and −161 for females. Multiplying BMR by an activity factor (1.2 sedentary up to 1.9 for extremely active) converts it to total daily expenditure. Imperial inputs are converted internally (inches × 2.54 = cm; pounds × 0.4536 = kg), so the math is identical in either unit system.
How to Use the TDEE Calculator: Step by Step
Choose your units
Choose your units — metric (kg, cm) or imperial (lb, inches).
Select your sex and enter your age; both shift the BMR basel
Select your sex and enter your age; both shift the BMR baseline.
Enter your height and current weight
Enter your height and current weight.
Pick the activity level that honestly matches an average wee
Pick the activity level that honestly matches an average week — most desk workers who train 3–4 times weekly are 'moderately active'.
Read your maintenance calories (TDEE), plus the pre-computed
Read your maintenance calories (TDEE), plus the pre-computed cutting and bulking targets.
Track your weight for 2–3 weeks at the suggested intake and
Track your weight for 2–3 weeks at the suggested intake and adjust ±100–200 kcal based on the real-world trend.
TDEE Calculator Examples: Real-World Scenarios
1
Male, moderately active
30-year-old male, 175 cm, 77 kg, training 3–5 days per week.
Sex:Male
Age:30
Height:175 cm
Weight:77 kg
Activity:Moderate (1.55)
Calculation
BMR = 10(77) + 6.25(175) − 5(30) + 5 = 770 + 1,093.75 − 150 + 5 ≈ 1,719 kcal. TDEE = 1,719 × 1.55 ≈ 2,664 kcal/day. To lose about a pound a week: ≈ 2,164 kcal/day.
Result
TDEE ≈ 2,664 kcal/day
2
Female, lightly active
28-year-old female, 165 cm, 60 kg, walking plus 1–2 workouts weekly.
Sex:Female
Age:28
Height:165 cm
Weight:60 kg
Activity:Light (1.375)
Calculation
BMR = 10(60) + 6.25(165) − 5(28) − 161 = 600 + 1,031.25 − 140 − 161 ≈ 1,330 kcal. TDEE = 1,330 × 1.375 ≈ 1,829 kcal/day.
Result
TDEE ≈ 1,829 kcal/day
3
Imperial inputs
Male, 40, 5'11" (71 in), 190 lb, sedentary office job.
Sex:Male
Age:40
Height:71 in
Weight:190 lb
Activity:Sedentary (1.2)
Calculation
Converted: 180.3 cm, 86.2 kg. BMR = 862 + 1,127 − 200 + 5 ≈ 1,794 kcal; TDEE = 1,794 × 1.2 ≈ 2,153 kcal/day — a reminder of how much activity level moves the number.
Result
TDEE ≈ 2,153 kcal/day
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Overstating activity level — 'moderately active' means structured exercise most days, not occasional walks; when in doubt pick the lower tier.
- Treating the estimate as exact: individual metabolisms vary ±10%, so calibrate against 2–3 weeks of real weight data.
- Eating below BMR for extended periods, which sacrifices muscle and energy rather than accelerating fat loss.
- Forgetting to recalculate after significant weight change — a 10 kg lighter body burns meaningfully fewer calories.
- Ignoring protein: calorie targets work best alongside roughly 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kg of body weight when dieting.
Tips & Tricks
- Weigh yourself under consistent conditions (morning, after bathroom, before eating) and judge weekly averages, not daily noise.
- A 250 kcal 'mild cut' loses fat at half the rate but is far easier to sustain and preserves training performance.
- On a bulk, +250 to +500 kcal is plenty — larger surpluses mostly add fat, not muscle.
- Diet breaks at maintenance every 6–10 weeks make long cuts psychologically and hormonally easier.
- Pair your targets with our macro and calorie calculators to turn a number into an actual meal plan.
TDEE turns nutrition from folklore into arithmetic: one number, honestly calculated, plus a modest deficit or surplus and a few weeks of feedback. Calculate it, live it for three weeks, adjust to your real-world trend — that loop outperforms any fad protocol.
TDEE Calculator — Frequently Asked Questions
Related Calculators
Authoritative References
NIH — body weight planner
niddk.nih.gov — Authoritative reference
CDC — healthy weight basics
cdc.gov — Authoritative reference
External links open in a new tab. OmniCalc.us is not affiliated with these organisations.