What is TDEE?
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the complete number of calories your body burns in a day. It combines four things: your basal metabolic rate (energy used at rest — usually 60–70% of the total), the thermic effect of food (energy used digesting meals), exercise, and all other daily movement like walking and fidgeting.
TDEE is the anchor number of nutrition planning: eat consistently below it and you lose weight, at it and you maintain, above it and you gain.
How this calculator works
It first estimates your BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, widely regarded as one of the most accurate general-purpose formulas:
Women: BMR = 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age − 161
Your BMR is then multiplied by a standard activity factor (1.2 to 1.9) to produce your TDEE. The table in your results shows all five levels so you can see how much your daily movement changes the picture.
TDEE vs BMR: why the difference matters
A common mistake is eating at your BMR thinking it is your "burn" for the day. Your real daily burn is your TDEE, which is typically 20–90% higher than BMR depending on how active you are. Setting targets from BMR alone usually creates an unnecessarily aggressive deficit.
Using your TDEE
Once you know your TDEE, our calorie calculator converts it into specific daily targets for weight loss or gain, and our BMI calculator helps you judge where your weight currently stands. Remember that all equation-based numbers are estimates — track your actual weight trend for two to three weeks and adjust your intake by 100–200 kcal at a time based on what really happens.
Practical guide for using this result
BMR versus TDEE
BMR is the energy needed at rest; TDEE adds daily movement, digestion and exercise. Food targets should generally be planned from TDEE, not BMR alone.
A simple calibration method
Track intake and morning weight consistently for several weeks. Stable weight suggests intake is close to maintenance, while a trend indicates a surplus or deficit.
How often to update
Recalculate when body weight, job activity or weekly training changes substantially.
TDEE maintenance calories: how to verify the estimate
The Search Console phrase “TDEE maintenance calories” describes the calculator’s main purpose: estimating the average intake likely to maintain current weight at the selected activity level.
Start with a two-week trial
Eat near the estimate while tracking intake and morning weight consistently. Use weekly average weight rather than reacting to one day.
Correct the activity assumption
People often overestimate formal exercise while underestimating the effect of daily movement. Steps, standing time and job demands can shift TDEE substantially.
Adjust gradually
If the weight trend is stable, the estimate is close. If it moves consistently, adjust by a modest amount and observe another two weeks before making a second change.
Sources & references
- Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51(2):241–247.
- Levine JA. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2002;16(4):679–702.