TDEE Calculator
This TDEE calculator estimates your Total Daily Energy Expenditure—the total number of calories you burn in a day. Knowing your TDEE is the most crucial first step for setting effective goals for weight loss, muscle gain, or weight maintenance. It is your personal calorie baseline.
How to Use Your TDEE Calculator Results
The number generated by our TDEE calculator is the single most important piece of data for managing your weight. It represents your body's daily "energy budget." Think of it as your caloric break-even point. If you eat this number of calories, your weight will remain stable over time. To change your weight, you must adjust your intake relative to this number.
This TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is calculated by first determining your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)—the energy you burn at rest—and then multiplying it by an activity factor. This comprehensive approach provides a much more accurate picture of your true calorie needs than a simple BMR calculation alone.
Putting Your TDEE Into Action
Once you have your TDEE, you can create a clear and effective nutrition plan. The strategy is straightforward:
- For Fat Loss: To lose body fat, you must consume fewer calories than your TDEE. This is called a calorie deficit. A sustainable deficit is typically 15-20% below your TDEE (or about 300-500 calories). For example, if your TDEE is 2,500 calories, a good starting point for fat loss would be around 2,000 calories per day.
- For Muscle Gain (Bulking): To build muscle tissue, you must provide your body with a surplus of energy. This means consuming more calories than your TDEE. A modest surplus of 10-15% (or about 250-400 calories) above your TDEE is recommended to promote lean muscle growth while minimizing fat gain.
- For Weight Maintenance: If your goal is to maintain your current weight and performance, simply aim to eat at or around your calculated TDEE.
Remember, the result from any TDEE calculator is a highly educated estimate. The best approach is to use this number as your starting point, track your weight and progress for 2-3 weeks, and then make small adjustments to your calorie intake as needed based on real-world results.
Your TDEE Calculator Questions
Your top questions about TDEE and maintenance calories.
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It's an estimation of how many calories your body burns in a 24-hour period, including all activities like sleeping, working, and exercising. It's also known as your 'maintenance calories'—the amount you need to eat to maintain your current weight.
This TDEE calculator first determines your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) using the Mifflin-St Jeor formula. It then multiplies your BMR by an activity multiplier that corresponds to your weekly exercise level. The result is your TDEE, a comprehensive estimate of your daily calorie needs.
BMR is the number of calories your body burns at complete rest (e.g., lying in bed all day). TDEE is always higher than BMR because it includes the calories burned from daily activities, digestion, and exercise. TDEE is the more practical number to use for diet planning. You can calculate your BMR separately with our BMR Calculator.
Your TDEE is your baseline. For weight loss, you need to eat fewer calories than your TDEE (a calorie deficit). For muscle gain, you need to eat more calories than your TDEE (a calorie surplus). A common starting point is to subtract 500 calories for weight loss or add 300 calories for muscle gain. For more detail, see the guidance on energy balance from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Yes, absolutely. As your body weight changes, so does your metabolic rate. It's a good practice to recalculate your TDEE with a TDEE calculator every 10-15 pounds of weight loss or gain, or if your activity level changes significantly, to ensure your calorie targets remain accurate.