TDEE Calculator

TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure - the total number of calories your body burns in a day. It includes your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), the thermic effect of food (TEF), non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), and exercise activity. Knowing your TDEE is essential because it determines how many calories you need to eat to maintain, lose, or gain weight. Without knowing your TDEE, any calorie target is essentially guesswork.

TDEE is calculated in two steps. First, your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is estimated using formulas like the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (considered most accurate): for men, BMR = 10 x weight(kg) + 6.25 x height(cm) - 5 x age - 5; for women, BMR = 10 x weight(kg) + 6.25 x height(cm) - 5 x age - 161. Then, BMR is multiplied by an activity factor ranging from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (extremely active) to get your TDEE.

TDEE calculators provide an estimate that is typically within 10-15% of your actual expenditure. Factors like genetics, hormonal balance, body composition (muscle vs fat), metabolic adaptation, and non-exercise movement can cause individual variation. For best accuracy, use the calculator as a starting point, then track your weight and calorie intake for 2-3 weeks and adjust. If your weight stays stable at a given calorie level, that is your true TDEE.

For weight loss, eat 500-750 calories below your TDEE to lose approximately 0.5-0.75 kg per week. For weight gain (muscle building), eat 250-500 calories above your TDEE combined with resistance training. Avoid extreme deficits (more than 1,000 below TDEE) as they lead to muscle loss and metabolic slowdown. Recalculate your TDEE every 4-6 weeks as your weight changes, since losing weight reduces your daily calorie needs.

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the number of calories your body burns at complete rest just to maintain basic life functions like breathing, circulation, and cell production. It typically accounts for 60-75% of total daily calories. TDEE includes BMR plus all additional energy expenditure from movement, exercise, digestion, and daily activities. TDEE is always higher than BMR and is the number you should use for planning your calorie intake.

Recalculate your TDEE every 4-6 weeks, or whenever you experience significant changes in weight (more than 3-5 kg), activity level, or lifestyle. As you lose weight, your TDEE decreases because a smaller body requires fewer calories. Conversely, gaining muscle or increasing activity raises TDEE. Many people hit weight loss plateaus because they do not adjust their calorie intake as their body changes.

Start by calculating your TDEE, then subtract 500 calories to create a moderate deficit. Track your weight weekly (at the same time, same conditions) and take the average. If you are losing 0.5-1 kg per week, your deficit is on track. If weight loss stalls for more than 2 weeks, reduce calories by another 100-200 or increase activity. Never eat below your BMR (the resting calorie number) as this can compromise health and lead to significant muscle loss.