TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) Calculator
Your estimated daily calories
Enter your details, confirm the adult scope, then calculate.
General estimates for adults, not medical nutrition advice. Eating disorders or restrictive-eating history, conditions affecting energy needs, prescribed diets or significant unintentional weight changes need individualized guidance. No diagnosis details are requested.
About this calculator
Estimate daily calorie expenditure, explore goal ranges and optional macros, and compare a weight-trend calibration with clear assumptions.
TDEE is estimated. Formula-based calorie needs can differ from real energy expenditure, and real-world calibration is also an approximation influenced by body-weight fluctuations and tracking accuracy.
How to use the TDEE Calculator
Choose the equation coefficient, enter age, height and weight, select activity and a goal, and confirm that you are an adult who is not pregnant or breastfeeding. Calculate TDEE, then explore the result. Valid edits update it; invalid main inputs remove stale estimates. Optional tools stay collapsed until you open them.
Metric and US units convert the existing body size without resetting it. Pace appears only for fat loss or muscle gain. There is no target weight, deadline, daily food log or multi-step setup.
What TDEE means
Total daily energy expenditure is the energy used across a day, including resting functions, movement and the processing of food. This tool approximates average expenditure by multiplying estimated resting energy by a selected activity factor. Day-to-day expenditure can vary.
A maintenance estimate is a starting reference, not a requirement to eat exactly that number. The calculator does not directly observe your metabolism or daily activity.
BMR and resting energy
Basal metabolic rate refers to expenditure under tightly controlled basal conditions. Resting energy expenditure is measured under somewhat different conditions. Mifflin–St Jeor predicts REE; the interface uses “estimated resting energy” rather than suggesting a measured BMR.
The activity/lifestyle difference is TDEE minus resting energy. It is not measured workout calories and should not be added to TDEE a second time.
Mifflin–St Jeor equation
Male coefficient: REE = 10 × weight in kg + 6.25 × height in cm − 5 × age in years + 5.
Female coefficient: REE = 10 × weight in kg + 6.25 × height in cm − 5 × age in years − 161.
The sex selection controls only this coefficient, not gender identity. The original study derived the equation from 498 healthy participants aged 19–78, using indirect calorimetry. The simplified equations above are reported in its abstract. Individual measurements can differ; ages outside that sample need extra caution.
How activity multipliers work
TDEE = estimated REE × activity factor. These five factors are practical product conventions, not coefficients from the original Mifflin resting-energy study or measured clinical activity values.
- Sedentary: 1.2 — Desk job + little exercise.
- Lightly active: 1.375 — About 1–3 workouts/week.
- Moderately active: 1.55 — About 3–5 workouts/week.
- Very active: 1.725 — About 6–7 workouts/week or a physical job.
- Extremely active: 1.9 — Hard training plus a physically demanding job.
Workouts differ in intensity and duration, and a job can contribute substantial movement. The factor is a major source of uncertainty, even when height and weight are accurate.
Why TDEE is an estimate
Prediction models describe groups; individual body composition, age, movement and other circumstances can produce different energy needs. Indirect calorimetry can give a different resting-energy result. This page cannot diagnose a slow or fast metabolism.
Neither formula agreement nor a small difference from calibration proves accuracy. Avoid treating a change of a few displayed calories as a meaningful biological change.
How calorie targets are calculated
The moderate product model uses 80–90% of TDEE for Lose fat, 95–105% for Maintain, and 105–115% for Gain muscle. Conservative pace narrows loss to 85–90% and gain to 105–110%. Goal and pace never change the base TDEE.
These starting adjustments are not universal medical recommendations or guaranteed weekly rates. CDC favors gradual, steady weight management over rapid loss; it does not validate these exact percentages. No “faster” option is included. A surplus does not guarantee muscle gain.
Why use calorie ranges?
A range avoids implying one exact intake is known. Maintenance ±5% is a practical planning band, not a confidence interval or evidence that an individual prediction is accurate within 5%. Goal ranges describe choices in the product model, not measured physiological thresholds.
All calorie displays round to the nearest 10 kcal. Exact values feed subsequent calculations; range endpoints and differences are rounded independently.
Choosing an activity level
Start with a level that reflects both planned exercise and the rest of your week. A short workout does not necessarily offset a largely seated day. Choose Extremely active only for the described combination of hard training and demanding physical work.
Use consistent information and review the estimate over time. Do not increase activity just to justify a particular calorie number.
How the activity helper works
The optional helper combines a workout category and typical day. It suggests a level; only Use this level changes the main selection. It is a deterministic product shortcut, not an assessment.
0 workouts/week
- Mostly sitting: Sedentary
- Mixed day: Lightly active
- Standing/walking: Lightly active
- Physical labor: Very active
1–2 workouts/week
- Mostly sitting: Lightly active
- Mixed day: Lightly active
- Standing/walking: Moderately active
- Physical labor: Very active
3–5 workouts/week
- Mostly sitting: Moderately active
- Mixed day: Moderately active
- Standing/walking: Very active
- Physical labor: Very active
6+ workouts/week
- Mostly sitting: Very active
- Mixed day: Very active
- Standing/walking: Very active
- Physical labor: Extremely active
Optional macro examples
Optional macros use the exact midpoint of the selected goal range. Presets are examples, not individualized nutrition prescriptions. National Academies adult AMDR context is protein 10–35%, fat 20–35% and carbohydrate 45–65% of energy.
- Balanced: protein 25%, fat 30%, carbohydrate 45%.
- Higher Protein: protein 30%, fat 25%, carbohydrate 45%.
- Higher Carb: protein 20%, fat 25%, carbohydrate 55%.
Higher Carb replaces a below-AMDR lower-carbohydrate preset. Each split totals 100%; protein and carbohydrate calories divide by 4, fat by 9. Grams round only for display, so rounded grams may not reconstruct calories exactly. Percentages do not guarantee nutritional adequacy. See the related Macro Nutrient Gram Calculator for more detailed planning.
Real-world TDEE calibration
Calibration uses starting and current body weights, average daily calories and 14–42 days. It estimates an average for that period and does not automatically replace formula-based TDEE or the goal range.
Weight change = current kg − starting kg. Estimated energy change = weight change × 7,700 kcal/kg. Daily energy balance = energy change ÷ days. Real-world estimate = average calories − daily energy balance. Loss therefore adds to recorded intake; gain subtracts from it.
The fixed 7,700 kcal/kg value is a rough product assumption, closely related to the historical 3,500 kcal/lb rule. Hall’s research explains why a fixed energy density cannot describe every person or weight change. This simple retrospective calculation is not the NIDDK dynamic Body Weight Planner and does not forecast future weight.
Why weight trends are noisy
Weight reflects water, glycogen, gut contents, fat and lean tissue. A rapid drop need not represent fat loss. Starting and ending values should reflect consistent morning weigh-ins, ideally averages near each endpoint, alongside reasonably accurate intake records.
At least 14 days reduces reliance on a few noisy observations; consistent longer periods up to 42 days can help, but do not remove tracking error or changing energy needs. Do not use this tool during acute illness, large fluid shifts or rapid unexplained changes.
Assumptions and safety limits
General adult estimates only, not medical nutrition advice. Under-18s, pregnancy and breastfeeding are excluded. Eating disorders or a history of restrictive eating, conditions affecting energy needs, prescribed diets and significant unintentional weight changes warrant individualized guidance. No diagnoses are requested.
Engineering input bounds are age 18–100, height 120–230 cm and weight 35–250 kg. Cautions appear below 145 or above 205 cm, below 45 or above 180 kg, and outside the original 19–78-year sample. These are review cues, not diagnostic categories; no BMI or body-fat output is calculated.
Normal intake guidance and macros are withheld when any goal endpoint is below 1,500 or above 6,000 kcal/day, or an endpoint differs from TDEE by more than 750 kcal/day. There is no silent clamp. These conservative product review limits are not universal safe minima/maxima or proof that an in-range target suits you.
Calibration requires 14–42 whole days, weights within 35–250 kg and intake within 1,500–6,000 kcal/day. It rejects changes exceeding the lower of 1% of starting weight/week or 1 kg/week, absolute modeled balance above 1,000 kcal/day, or a resulting estimate outside 1,500–6,000. These are conservative engineering screens, not validated diagnostic cutoffs. No output is a prescription to change intake.
Worked example
The engine-generated example is Male, age 30, 180 cm, 80 kg and Moderately active, with the moderate pace setting.
Resting energy: 1,780 kcal/day. TDEE: 2759 kcal/day internally, displayed ~2,760. Estimated activity/lifestyle difference: ~980 kcal/day.
- Lose fat: ~2,210–2,480 kcal/day.
- Maintain: ~2,620–2,900 kcal/day.
- Gain muscle: ~2,900–3,170 kcal/day.
Balanced macros at the maintenance midpoint (~2,760 kcal/day): 172 g protein, 92 g fat and 310 g carbohydrate. The unrounded allocations reconcile to the midpoint.
Calibration worked example
Starting weight 80.2 kg, current weight 79.5 kg, average intake 2,200 kcal/day, period 21 days. Under the stated assumption, change is -0.7 kg; energy change -5,390 kcal; daily balance -256.7 kcal/day.
The real-world estimate is 2456.7 kcal/day before presentation rounding: ~2,460 kcal/day. This is not measured TDEE. It is independent of the formula example and is not automatically applied to its goal ranges.
Privacy and copying
Personal details, activity choices, goals and calibration inputs stay in tab memory. No history is saved, no calculation request is sent, and no inputs are encoded into URLs. Refresh resets the form and clears calibration entries; switching units clears the optional calibration entries as disclosed.
Copy result exports generated TDEE, resting estimate, selected goal and starting range only after your action. It omits age, sex, body size and calibration entries. Derived outputs may still suggest underlying information. There is no input-sharing URL. Rejecting optional cookies does not disable the calculator.
TDEE FAQ
What is TDEE?
An estimate of total daily energy expenditure, including resting functions and daily activity. This calculator multiplies estimated resting energy by a selected activity factor.
Is BMR the same as TDEE?
No. Resting energy is one part of daily expenditure. Mifflin–St Jeor predicts REE; the TDEE factor accounts broadly for the rest of your day.
How accurate is this calculation?
Individual needs can differ from a prediction. Activity selection, body composition and other circumstances matter. The ±5% maintenance band is a product planning range, not measured prediction error.
Which activity level should I choose?
Consider your ordinary workday as well as exercise. The optional helper suggests a starting category and requires Use this level before changing your choice.
Does changing my goal change my TDEE?
No. Goal and pace change only the starting intake range and its optional macros. They do not guarantee a rate of weight change.
Why might no goal range appear?
A range outside 1,500–6,000 kcal/day, or more than a 750 kcal/day endpoint adjustment, needs individual review. The tool withholds targets and macros instead of clamping.
Are the macro examples a diet plan?
No. They are percentage examples at the goal midpoint, within broad adult AMDR ranges. They do not provide meals or account for individual nutrition needs.
Does calibration measure my metabolism?
No. It combines intake and weight trends with a rough 7,700 kcal/kg assumption. Water and tissue changes and tracking error can affect it; it does not replace the formula result automatically.
Who should not use these targets?
They are not for under-18s, pregnancy or breastfeeding. Restrictive-eating history, prescribed diets, conditions affecting energy needs or unexplained weight changes call for individualized guidance.
Does BuzCalculator save or share my details?
No TDEE history is stored. Inputs stay in this tab and are not put in URLs. Copy result exports output text only when you select it, without raw personal or calibration inputs.
Sources and methodology review
Sources distinguish evidence for the resting equation and general nutrition context from product choices. Activity factors, goal bands, helper mapping, review thresholds and the simple calibration approximation are not individually validated clinical rules. Reviewed September 28, 2026.
- Mifflin et al. (1990): Original resting energy equation (opens in a new tab)
- NIDDK: Body Weight Planner and adult scope (opens in a new tab)
- CDC: Gradual, steady weight management (opens in a new tab)
- National Academies: Adult AMDR, Table C-5 (opens in a new tab)
- Hall (2008): Limitations of fixed energy per weight change (opens in a new tab)
- NIDDK: Research behind the Body Weight Planner (opens in a new tab)