Total daily energy expenditure: all the energy you use in a day. It is estimated from your basal metabolic rate (BMR), your activity level, and the thermic effect of food. Eating at your TDEE maintains your weight; eating below it loses weight, above it gains.

Why is a weight-loss or weight-gain table sometimes missing?

The tables adapt to your BMI. Below a BMI of 18.5 no weight-loss table is shown, and at a BMI of 35 or more no weight-gain table is shown. Individual loss tiers that would drop intake below the recommended minimum (1,500 Calories for men, 1,200 for women) are also omitted, with a note to consult a doctor about faster loss.

TDEE Calculator

Q: How is TDEE calculated?

First your BMR is estimated from your age, gender, height, and weight (Mifflin St Jeor, or Katch-McArdle if you know your body fat percentage). That BMR is then multiplied by an activity factor from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (extra active). Choosing the BMR activity level itself shows your BMR alone.

Estimate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) — the calories you burn in a full day, and the intake that maintains your current weight — from your age, build, and activity level. The result also shows the energy intakes for losing or gaining weight at several rates, together with your BMI.

Age (ages 18 - 80)

Gender

Male Female

Height (cm)

Weight (kg)

Activity

+ Settings

Results unit:

Calories Kilojoules

BMR estimation formula:

Mifflin St Jeor Katch-McArdle (more accurate if you are lean and know your body fat %)

Body fat: % Calculate it

Exercise: 15-30 minutes of elevated heart rate activity.
Intense exercise: 45-120 minutes of elevated heart rate activity.
Very intense exercise: 2+ hours of elevated heart rate activity.

Result

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(Responsive Fluid)

What is TDEE?

TDEE — total daily energy expenditure — is all the energy you use in a day. It is genuinely hard to measure and shifts from day to day, so in practice it is estimated from three components. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is your energy use at complete rest in a temperate environment with the digestive system idle: the minimum needed to run the vital organs. Activity level covers everything you do on top of that — deliberate exercise (the thermic effect of activity) plus the movement of work and daily life, known as non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT. The thermic effect of food is the energy cost of processing what you eat, often estimated at about 10% of intake, though it varies by food — protein, for instance, costs far more to process than fat.

How is TDEE calculated?

The calculation starts with BMR, estimated by an equation built for the purpose from your age, gender, height, and weight. The common ones are the Mifflin St Jeor equation, the Harris-Benedict equation, and the Katch-McArdle formula; they land close to each other, with Katch-McArdle holding an edge for lean people because it works from lean body mass rather than total weight. This calculator offers Mifflin St Jeor and Katch-McArdle in Settings. The BMR is then multiplied by an activity factor reflecting exercise and how active your job and daily life are. The thermic effect of food can be layered on as well, but it is comparatively small next to BMR and activity, and is not always included — here it is left inside the margin of the estimate rather than added separately.

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