Introduction
Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total number of calories your body burns in a single day. It includes everything — from breathing and digesting food to walking and working out. Knowing your TDEE is one of the most important steps in reaching your fitness goals. Whether you want to lose weight, gain muscle, or maintain your current body, your TDEE gives you a clear calorie target to aim for. If you eat fewer calories than your TDEE, you will lose weight. If you eat more, you will gain weight. Use this TDEE calculator to find out exactly how many calories your body needs each day based on your age, weight, height, and activity level.
How to Use Our TDEE Calculator
Enter your body stats and activity level below to find out your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) — the total number of calories your body burns each day.
Age: Type in your current age in years. Your metabolism changes as you get older, so this helps us give you a more accurate calorie estimate.
Gender: Select your biological gender. Men and women burn calories at different rates because of differences in muscle mass and hormones.
Weight: Enter your current body weight. You can use pounds or kilograms. Your weight plays a big role in how many calories your body needs each day. If you're curious about where your weight stands, you can also check your results with our Ideal Body Weight Calculator.
Height: Enter your height in feet and inches or centimeters. Taller people generally burn more calories than shorter people, even at rest. If you're interested in predicting your future height or understanding growth patterns, try our Height Calculator.
Activity Level: Pick the option that best matches how active you are during a normal week. This ranges from sedentary (little or no exercise) to extra active (very hard exercise or a physical job). Be honest with your selection — picking a higher activity level than your real one will give you a number that is too high.
Results: Once you hit calculate, the tool will show your TDEE in calories per day. This number tells you how many calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight. To lose weight, eat fewer calories than your TDEE. To gain weight, eat more calories than your TDEE.
What Is TDEE?
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It is the total number of calories your body burns in a single day. This includes everything — breathing, digesting food, walking, exercising, and even sleeping. Knowing your TDEE helps you understand how much energy your body needs to get through the day.
How Is TDEE Calculated?
TDEE is found in two steps. First, you calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the number of calories your body burns just to stay alive while doing nothing at all. Think of it as the energy cost of keeping your heart beating, your lungs breathing, and your brain working. You can explore this number in more detail with our dedicated BMR Calculator. Then, your BMR is multiplied by an activity factor that matches how active you are during the day. The more you move, the higher your TDEE will be.
BMR Formulas Explained
There are several well-known formulas used to estimate BMR:
- Mifflin-St Jeor: This is the most widely recommended formula today. It uses your weight, height, age, and gender. Most nutrition experts consider it the most accurate option for the general population.
- Harris-Benedict (Revised): This is an older formula that was updated in 1984. It works in a similar way to Mifflin-St Jeor but tends to give slightly higher results for some people.
- Katch-McArdle: This formula is different because it uses your lean body mass instead of total body weight. To use it, you need to know your body fat percentage. You can determine your lean mass using our Lean Body Weight Calculator. It can be more accurate for people who are very muscular or who know their exact body composition.
Activity Levels and What They Mean
Your activity level plays a big role in your TDEE. Here is a simple guide:
- Sedentary: You sit most of the day and do little to no exercise. This includes typical desk jobs.
- Lightly Active: You do light exercise or walk a few times per week.
- Moderately Active: You exercise at a medium effort level 3 to 5 days per week.
- Very Active: You do hard workouts 6 to 7 days per week. If you train with weights, you might find our 1RM Calculator or RPE Calculator helpful for programming your sessions.
- Extra Active / Athlete: You train intensely every day, sometimes twice a day, or have a very physical job. Serious athletes may also want to track their fitness with tools like our VO2 Max Calculator or FFMI Calculator.
Using TDEE for Weight Loss, Gain, or Maintenance
Once you know your TDEE, you can set a calorie goal based on what you want to achieve:
- Maintain weight: Eat roughly the same number of calories as your TDEE.
- Lose weight: Eat fewer calories than your TDEE. A deficit of about 500 calories per day leads to roughly 0.5 kg (about 1 pound) of weight loss per week. Extreme deficits of 1,000 calories per day can cause faster loss, but they are harder to sustain and may not be safe for everyone. Our Calorie Calculator can help you set specific daily targets based on your weight loss goals.
- Gain weight: Eat more calories than your TDEE. A surplus of 250 to 500 calories per day is a common range for building muscle without gaining too much fat.
What About BMI?
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a quick way to check whether your weight falls in a healthy range for your height. It divides your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal. Below 18.5 is underweight, 25 to 29.9 is overweight, and 30 or above is classified as obese. BMI is useful as a general screening tool, but it does not account for muscle mass, bone density, or where you carry your fat. A very muscular person, for example, may have a high BMI but still be perfectly healthy. For a more complete picture of your body composition, consider checking your Waist to Hip Ratio or Waist to Height Ratio, as these metrics better account for fat distribution. You can also calculate your Body Surface Area (BSA) for additional health assessments.
Macronutrients: Protein, Carbs, and Fat
Calories come from three main macronutrients. Protein has 4 calories per gram and is essential for building and repairing muscle. Use our Protein Calculator to find out exactly how many grams you need each day. Carbohydrates also have 4 calories per gram and are your body's preferred source of quick energy. Our Carb Calculator can help you dial in your daily carbohydrate intake. Fat has 9 calories per gram and supports hormone production, brain health, and vitamin absorption. Different diet styles split these macros in different ways. A balanced moderate diet might use a 30/40/30 split (protein/carbs/fat), while a ketogenic diet shifts heavily toward fat and cuts carbs very low — our Keto Calculator is designed specifically for that approach. For a comprehensive breakdown of all three macros tailored to your goals, try our Macro Calculator. The best split depends on your goals, preferences, and how your body responds. If you're also exploring intermittent eating patterns, our Fasting Calculator can help you plan your eating windows.
Ideal Body Weight Estimates
Several formulas estimate an ideal body weight based on your height and gender. Formulas like Robinson, Miller, Devine, and Hamwi were developed decades ago and give slightly different results. You can explore these in more detail with our Ideal Body Weight Calculator. None of them are perfect because ideal weight depends on factors like muscle mass, frame size, and overall health. They are best used as rough guidelines rather than strict targets. Don't forget that staying properly hydrated also supports your overall health and metabolism — use our Water Intake Calculator to make sure you're drinking enough each day, and our Fiber Calculator to ensure your diet includes adequate fiber for digestion and satiety. Quality rest is equally important for recovery and metabolic function, so check out our Sleep Calculator to optimize your sleep schedule.