TDEE Calculator
Calories to maintain, and sensible targets either side.
The equations were fitted separately for men and women, so they need one of the two. It is the body the formula describes, not an identity.
Most people place themselves a level above where they are. When in doubt, take the lower one: the target is easier to adjust up than to explain away.
Optional — a more precise resting rate
Only if you know it from a measurement. With it the resting rate comes from lean mass (Katch-McArdle) instead of weight, height and age.
Fill in the fields and the answer appears here.
An estimate from a formula, not a measurement. It does not replace a doctor, a dietitian or a qualified trainer — least of all with a health condition, during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or under 18.
How this was worked out
Fill in the fields and the answer appears here.
Guide: What TDEE is, and what it is not6 min read
What TDEE is, and what it is not
Total daily energy expenditure is the energy your body uses in a day: the resting rate that keeps you alive, plus everything you do on top of it. Eat about that much and your weight holds; eat less and it tends to fall; eat more and it tends to rise. That is the whole use of the number.
What it is not is a measurement. Nothing on this page weighs your metabolism. It applies an equation fitted to hundreds of other people, and an equation describes the middle of a group well and any one person in it approximately.
Two equations, and which one answers
By default the resting rate comes from Mifflin-St Jeor, published in 1990. When a review for the American Dietetic Association (now the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics) compared the common equations against measured resting rates in 2005, it came out the most reliable: within 10% of the measurement for about eight people in ten. That is also a way of saying that two in ten are further off, and a formula cannot tell you which group you are in.
If you know your body fat percentage from a real measurement, add it and the calculator switches to Katch-McArdle, which works from lean mass instead of weight, height and age. Lean tissue is what burns most of the resting energy, so for a muscular person it is usually the better estimate. A body fat figure guessed by eye makes it worse, not better, which is why the field is optional.
The activity level is where most of the error lives
The resting rate is multiplied by a factor from 1.2, for a day spent sitting, to 1.9, for training twice a day or heavy physical work. These factors are conventions rather than measurements, and the gap between two neighbouring levels is often bigger than the error in the resting rate itself. Pick the level that describes your ordinary week, not your best one. Most people choose a level too high; when unsure, take the lower one. The table under the answer shows what every level would give, so the difference is visible.
Targets, and why they stop at 20%
To lose weight the calculator shows two steps below maintenance, 15% and 20%; to gain, 10% and 15% above it. A percentage rather than a fixed 500 kcal, because 500 kcal is a quarter of a small woman’s day and a sixth of a large man’s. There is no “aggressive” option on purpose: larger deficits take muscle along with fat, are hard to sustain, and tend to end where they started.
There is also a floor. When a target comes out under 1,200 kcal a day for a woman or 1,500 for a man, the page still shows it and says beside it that eating below that needs a dietitian or doctor following along. At that level what matters is your health, and a formula knows nothing about it.
Use it as a starting point
Eat around the target for two or three weeks, weigh yourself under the same conditions a few times a week, and look at the trend rather than any single day. If the trend is not what you expected, your real expenditure is not what the equation guessed: move the number by 100 to 200 kcal and watch again. Your own data beats any formula after a month.
Everything here is worked out in your browser. What you type is not sent anywhere and is gone when you close the tab.
How we calculate
Mifflin-St Jeor (1990)
10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age + 5 for men, − 161 for women
Source: Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, Scott BJ, Daugherty SA, Koh YO. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51(2):241-247.
Katch-McArdle (1996)
370 + 21.6 × lean mass (kg), where lean mass = weight × (1 − body fat)
Source: McArdle WD, Katch FI, Katch VL. Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance. 4th ed. Williams & Wilkins; 1996.
Activity
Resting rate × the multiplier of the level chosen: sedentary 1.2, lightly active 1.375, moderately active 1.55, very active 1.725, extremely active 1.9. The multipliers are conventions, not measurements, and carry an error of their own.
Source: McArdle WD, Katch FI, Katch VL. Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR (basal metabolic rate) is what your body burns lying still for a day: breathing, circulation, keeping warm. TDEE adds everything else — walking, working, training, even digesting — and is the number to eat around. Here TDEE is the resting rate multiplied by an activity factor from 1.2 to 1.9.
Which formula does this use?
Mifflin-St Jeor (1990) by default, the equation a 2005 review for the American Dietetic Association found closest to measured resting rates. If you know your body fat percentage from a measurement, the calculator switches to Katch-McArdle, which works from lean mass instead of weight, height and age. The page says which one answered.
How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
For about eight people in ten, Mifflin-St Jeor lands within 10% of a measured resting rate; the other two are further off, and nobody can tell from a formula which group they are in. The activity multiplier adds its own error. Use the result as a starting point and adjust by what your weight does over two or three weeks.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
The calculator shows two steps below maintenance: 15% and 20%. It stops at 20% on purpose — larger cuts take muscle along with fat and are hard to sustain. If a target comes out under 1,200 kcal a day for a woman or 1,500 for a man, the page says so beside it: eating below that needs a dietitian or doctor following along.
Which activity level should I choose?
The one that describes your whole week, not your best one. Sitting at a desk and training three to five times a week is “moderately active”. Most people rate themselves a level too high, so when in doubt take the lower option and adjust up later.
Does it work in pounds and inches?
Yes. The units switch at the top changes every field between kilograms and centimetres and pounds and inches; the arithmetic runs in metric either way, and the working shows the converted figures.
Is what I type stored anywhere?
No. Weight, height and age are used in this tab and gone when it closes. Nothing is sent, and the page works with the connection off.