Calorie Calculator (TDEE)
Work out how many calories you burn in a day, then get a target for losing, maintaining or gaining weight with a protein, carb and fat breakdown.
Your results
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Maintenance (TDEE)
Basal metabolic rate: kcal
Macro breakdown
Calories at every activity level
| Activity level | Multiplier | Maintenance |
|---|
These are estimates for general information only and not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or registered dietitian before changing your diet, especially if you have a medical condition.
What is TDEE?
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the number of calories your body burns in a whole day. It is made up of four parts: your basal metabolic rate (energy used at complete rest), the thermic effect of food (energy used to digest what you eat), exercise, and everyday movement such as walking, fidgeting and chores. TDEE is the number to start from when you want to lose, maintain or gain weight.
How this calculator works
First it estimates your BMR with the formula you choose. The default is Mifflin-St Jeor, which studies have found to be among the most accurate for most adults. Then it multiplies by an activity factor.
TDEE = BMR × activity multiplier
Mifflin-St Jeor (men) = 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age + 5
Mifflin-St Jeor (women) = 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age − 161
The revised Harris-Benedict equation is an older alternative. Katch-McArdle uses lean body mass and so needs your body fat percentage. It can suit people who are very lean or muscular.
Setting a calorie goal
One kilogram of body fat holds roughly 7,700 kcal, so a daily shortfall of about 550 kcal leads to around 0.5 kg of loss a week. Real results vary, because your metabolism adapts as your weight changes. A gentle deficit is easier to keep up and helps you hold on to muscle. The calculator will not go below 1,200 kcal for women or 1,500 kcal for men.
Macronutrients
Protein and carbohydrates provide about 4 kcal per gram, and fat provides about 9 kcal per gram. The presets split your calorie target between the three. Higher protein is popular when cutting calories because it helps with fullness and with keeping muscle. The best split is the one you can stick to.
| Level | Multiplier | Typical week |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | 1.2 | Desk job, little exercise |
| Lightly active | 1.375 | Light exercise 1-3 days |
| Moderately active | 1.55 | Moderate exercise 3-5 days |
| Very active | 1.725 | Hard exercise 6-7 days |
| Extra active | 1.9 | Physical job plus training |
If you are unsure, choose the lower level. People tend to overestimate how active they are.
Worked Example: Woman, 30, 165 cm, 65 kg
BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor) = 10 × 65 + 6.25 × 165 − 5 × 30 − 161 = 1,370 kcal. If she exercises lightly one to three days a week, TDEE = 1,370 × 1.375 = 1,884 kcal a day. That is her estimated maintenance level. A man of 35, 180 cm and 80 kg who trains moderately has a BMR of 1,755 kcal and a TDEE of about 2,720 kcal.
TDEE by Weight and Activity
A quick reference for a 30-year-old. Use the calculator for your own age, height and weight.
| Weight | Sex / height | Sedentary | Lightly active | Moderately active |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 kg | Woman 165 cm | 1,524 kcal | 1,747 kcal | 1,969 kcal |
| 65 kg | Woman 165 cm | 1,644 kcal | 1,884 kcal | 2,124 kcal |
| 75 kg | Woman 165 cm | 1,764 kcal | 2,022 kcal | 2,279 kcal |
| 70 kg | Man 178 cm | 2,001 kcal | 2,293 kcal | 2,585 kcal |
| 80 kg | Man 178 cm | 2,121 kcal | 2,430 kcal | 2,740 kcal |
| 90 kg | Man 178 cm | 2,241 kcal | 2,568 kcal | 2,895 kcal |
Calorie Deficit and Weekly Weight Change
The usual rule of thumb is that about 7,700 kcal equals 1 kg of body fat (3,500 kcal per pound). Real results are slower than the sum, because your body adapts and part of the weight lost is water.
| Daily deficit | Weekly deficit | Estimated loss per week |
|---|---|---|
| 250 kcal | 1,750 kcal | 0.23 kg (0.50 lb) |
| 500 kcal | 3,500 kcal | 0.45 kg (1.00 lb) |
| 750 kcal | 5,250 kcal | 0.68 kg (1.50 lb) |
| 1000 kcal | 7,000 kcal | 0.91 kg (2.00 lb) |
A moderate deficit is easier to keep up than a large one. Do not go below the minimum calories used in the calculator, and speak to a doctor or dietitian before using a large deficit.
What does "TDEE minus 400" mean?
A lot of people work out their TDEE and then simply take a round number off it, like "TDEE minus 400" or "TDEE minus 500". It is a plain instruction: eat that many calories less than your maintenance level each day. If your TDEE is 2,150 kcal, then TDEE minus 400 is 1,750 kcal. Add 400 instead and you get 2,550 kcal, which is a modest surplus for gaining weight.
The same arithmetic works for any number, so here is the whole grid in one place. Find the row closest to your own result and read across.
| Your TDEE | TDEE − 250 | TDEE − 400 | TDEE − 500 | TDEE + 250 | TDEE + 400 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,700 kcal | 1,450 kcal | 1,300 kcal | 1,200 kcal | 1,950 kcal | 2,100 kcal |
| 2,150 kcal | 1,900 kcal | 1,750 kcal | 1,650 kcal | 2,400 kcal | 2,550 kcal |
| 2,500 kcal | 2,250 kcal | 2,100 kcal | 2,000 kcal | 2,750 kcal | 2,900 kcal |
| 3,000 kcal | 2,750 kcal | 2,600 kcal | 2,500 kcal | 3,250 kcal | 3,400 kcal |
A 400 kcal gap sounds small, but it adds up. Over a week it is 2,800 kcal, which is about 0.36 kg of body fat on the usual 7,700 kcal per kilogram rule. For someone with a TDEE of 2,150 it is roughly a fifth less food than usual, so it is a real change, though not a drastic one.
| Gap per day | Per week | Rough change per week (fat) | Share of a 2,150 kcal TDEE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400 kcal | 2,800 kcal | about 0.36 kg (0.8 lb) | 18.6% |
How big should the gap be?
A fixed number such as 500 kcal is easy to remember, but it hits people very differently. Taking 500 kcal off a TDEE of 3,000 is a 17% cut. Taking the same 500 off a TDEE of 1,700 is almost 30%, which is hard to live with and leaves little room for nutrients. That is why many coaches and dietitians think in percentages instead.
A common starting point for fat loss is a cut of 10 to 20 percent below TDEE, with the smaller end suited to people who are lean already or who want to keep training hard. For gaining, a surplus of about 5 to 10 percent is usually enough, because anything more is mostly stored as fat. These are starting points, not rules, and you can adjust after a few weeks of real data.
| Your TDEE | 10% cut | 15% cut | 20% cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,600 kcal | 1,440 kcal (160 less) | 1,360 kcal (240 less) | 1,280 kcal (320 less) |
| 2,000 kcal | 1,800 kcal (200 less) | 1,700 kcal (300 less) | 1,600 kcal (400 less) |
| 2,400 kcal | 2,160 kcal (240 less) | 2,040 kcal (360 less) | 1,920 kcal (480 less) |
| 3,000 kcal | 2,700 kcal (300 less) | 2,550 kcal (450 less) | 2,400 kcal (600 less) |
If you are not sure where to begin, start at the gentle end. A cut you can keep up for three months beats an aggressive one you abandon after three weeks.
Comparing the BMR Formulas
The three formulas give similar answers for most people. This example shows the spread for one person, so your own choice matters less than measuring your real weight change over a few weeks.
| Formula | BMR (kcal) | TDEE at 1.55 |
|---|---|---|
| Mifflin-St Jeor | 1,755 | 2,720 |
| Revised Harris-Benedict | 1,825 | 2,829 |
| Katch-McArdle | 1,752 | 2,716 |
Macros in Grams: 2,000 Calorie Examples
Protein and carbs have 4 kcal per gram and fat has 9. To turn a split into grams, take the calories for each nutrient and divide by those numbers.
| Split (protein / carbs / fat) | Protein | Carbohydrate | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 / 40 / 30 | 150 g | 200 g | 67 g |
| 25 / 50 / 25 | 125 g | 250 g | 56 g |
| 20 / 50 / 30 | 100 g | 250 g | 67 g |
| 35 / 30 / 35 | 175 g | 150 g | 78 g |
What makes your TDEE higher or lower
Two people of the same weight can have quite different TDEEs. These are the main things behind that.
- Body size. A bigger body costs more to run. In the Mifflin-St Jeor formula every extra kilogram adds 10 kcal to BMR and every extra centimetre of height adds 6.25 kcal.
- Muscle and fat. Muscle uses more energy at rest than fat does. Textbook estimates are roughly 13 kcal per kilogram per day for muscle and around 4.5 for fat tissue. The difference per kilogram is small, so building muscle will not transform your TDEE, but it does help.
- Age. The formula takes 5 kcal off BMR for every year of age, which works out to about 50 kcal a decade. Older adults are often less active too, and that usually matters more than the formula.
- Daily movement. Walking, standing, cleaning and fidgeting are easy to overlook, yet they can differ by several hundred calories a day between two people with the same job title. This is the biggest reason a calculator can miss.
- Food itself. Digesting meals uses up around a tenth of the calories you eat, and protein costs more to process than fat or carbohydrate.
- Exercise. Formal workouts add to TDEE, but for most people they account for less than the rest of the day's movement combined.
Why your TDEE drifts as your weight changes
TDEE is not a number you work out once and keep. As you lose weight, your body gets cheaper to run, so the calories that used to produce a loss slowly become your new maintenance. The table below shows the size of the effect for one man, using the same activity level throughout.
| Body weight | BMR | TDEE at 1.55 |
|---|---|---|
| 80 kg | 1,755 kcal | 2,720 kcal |
| 75 kg | 1,705 kcal | 2,643 kcal |
| 70 kg | 1,655 kcal | 2,565 kcal |
| 65 kg | 1,605 kcal | 2,488 kcal |
Ten kilograms off lowers his TDEE by about 155 kcal on the formula alone. Real bodies can adapt a little more than the formula suggests, because people also tend to move less when they eat less. The practical fix is simple: recalculate every 4 to 5 kilograms, or any time your progress stalls for three weeks or more.
Two worked examples: losing and gaining
Losing 5 kg
The 35-year-old man from earlier weighs 80 kg and has a TDEE of about 2,720 kcal. He chooses TDEE minus 500, so his target is 2,220 kcal a day. A 500 kcal gap is 3,500 kcal a week, or about 0.45 kg of fat, so 5 kg should take roughly 11 weeks. By then his TDEE will have fallen by about 80 kcal, so his deficit will have shrunk a little and the last weeks may be slower. Recalculating halfway keeps the plan honest.
Gaining weight
A 30-year-old woman with a TDEE of 1,884 kcal wants to gain steadily. She adds 250 kcal and eats about 2,134 kcal. On paper that is around 0.23 kg a week, but real gains are slower than the arithmetic, because some of the extra calories are burned off as you eat more and move more, and muscle takes much longer to build than fat. If the scale has not moved after three weeks, add another 100 to 150 kcal rather than doubling the surplus.
Protein matters more than the exact calorie figure when the goal is muscle. A review of resistance-training studies found that benefits levelled off at around 1.6 g of protein per kilogram of body weight a day, and many people aim a little higher to be safe.
Mistakes that make a TDEE estimate fail
- Picking the activity level from gym days alone. Four workouts a week with a desk job the rest of the time is usually "lightly active", not "very active".
- Eating back workout calories on top. The multiplier already counts your normal training, so adding it again double counts.
- Judging progress from one weigh-in. Daily weight moves by a kilogram or more with water, salt and what is still in your gut. Compare weekly averages instead.
- Forgetting the extras. Cooking oil, drinks, snacks and weekend meals are the most common source of missing calories.
- Changing everything at once. If you change your calories, steps and training in the same week, you cannot tell which one worked.
- Starting with a huge gap. Big cuts feel quick for a fortnight and then often end in a rebound. Smaller gaps are more boring and more reliable.
Check Your Estimate With Real Data
A calculator estimate is a starting point. Eat at your TDEE for two to three weeks and weigh yourself at the same time each day. If your weekly average does not move, that is your maintenance level. If it rises or falls, adjust your calories by 100 to 200 and check again. Recalculate whenever your weight changes by a few kilograms.
This page is for general information and is not medical advice. Anyone with a medical condition, or who is pregnant or under 18, should speak to a doctor or registered dietitian.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is the energy your body needs at complete rest. TDEE adds the calories you burn through eating, exercise and daily movement, so it is always higher than BMR.
How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
It gives an estimate that is usually within about 10% for most healthy adults. Individual metabolism differs. The best approach is to use the number for two to three weeks, track your weight, and adjust.
Which BMR formula should I choose?
Mifflin-St Jeor is a good default for most people. Katch-McArdle can be better if you know your body fat percentage and are quite lean or muscular.
Why does the calculator stop at a minimum calorie amount?
Very low calorie intakes make it hard to get enough nutrients and are not suitable without medical supervision. The minimums used here are 1,200 kcal for women and 1,500 kcal for men.
Does this work during pregnancy or for people under 15?
No. Energy needs change during pregnancy, breastfeeding and growth. Speak to a doctor or registered dietitian in those situations.
Is my data saved or shared?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing you enter is uploaded or stored.
How many calories should I eat to lose 1 pound a week?
A deficit of about 500 kcal a day is the usual estimate for 1 lb (about 0.45 kg) a week, using the 3,500 kcal per pound rule. Real results vary, so track your weight for a few weeks and adjust.
Is TDEE the same as maintenance calories?
Yes. Your TDEE is the calories you need to stay at your current weight, assuming your activity level is as you described.
Should I eat back the calories from exercise?
The activity multiplier already includes your usual exercise, so there is no need to add it again. Eating back the burn from a workout on top of it counts the same exercise twice.
Why is my weight not changing even though I follow my target?
Your estimate may be off by 10% or more, you may be under-recording food, or your activity may be lower than chosen. Track for two to three weeks and adjust by 100 to 200 kcal.
Which activity level should I choose?
Choose the lower one if you are unsure, because most people overestimate their activity. Count normal movement, not just formal workouts.
What does "TDEE minus 400" mean?
It means eating 400 kcal a day below your maintenance level. If your TDEE is 2,150 kcal, TDEE minus 400 is 1,750 kcal. Over a week that is a 2,800 kcal gap, which is about 0.36 kg of fat on the usual 7,700 kcal per kilogram rule. The same method works for any number, and "TDEE plus 400" is the equivalent for gaining.
How many calories above TDEE do I need to build muscle?
A surplus of roughly 5 to 10 percent above TDEE, which is often 150 to 300 kcal a day, is enough for most people. A larger surplus mostly adds fat. Beginners gain muscle faster than experienced lifters, and gains are slower than the calorie arithmetic suggests, so judge by weekly averages over several weeks.
How often should I recalculate my TDEE?
Recalculate whenever your weight changes by 4 to 5 kilograms, your activity level changes noticeably, or your progress has stalled for three weeks or more. Your TDEE falls as you lose weight and rises as you gain it.
Does TDEE go down as I get older?
On average, yes. The Mifflin-St Jeor formula reduces resting energy by about 5 kcal per year of age, or roughly 50 kcal a decade. People also tend to become less active with age, which often lowers TDEE more than the age term does. Staying active and keeping muscle helps.
Is my TDEE the same on rest days and training days?
Not exactly, but the calculator gives a weekly average, and the weekly average is what decides whether your weight goes up or down. You can eat the same amount every day or vary it, as long as the week averages out to your target.
Does meal timing or intermittent fasting change my TDEE?
Not meaningfully. TDEE is about the total energy you burn across the day. When you eat is a way to organise your meals, and what decides weight change is whether your average intake is above or below TDEE over time.
Why do different TDEE calculators give different answers?
They may use different BMR formulas and slightly different activity multipliers. Differences of 100 to 300 kcal between calculators are normal and are smaller than the natural error in any estimate. Pick one, use it consistently and adjust it using your own weight data.
Related calculators
If you want to see the number behind the number, the BMR calculator shows your resting energy on its own. The body fat calculator gives you the body fat percentage that the Katch-McArdle option needs, and the ideal weight calculator and BMI calculator can help you set a realistic target weight before you pick a deficit.
Sources and further reading
- Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1990;51(2):241-247.
- Roza AM, Shizgal HM. The Harris Benedict equation reevaluated. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1984;40(1):168-182.
- McArdle WD, Katch FI, Katch VL. Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy, and Human Performance (Katch-McArdle equation).
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIH). Body Weight Planner.
- Elia M. Organ and tissue contribution to metabolic rate. In: Kinney JM, Tucker HN, eds. Energy Metabolism: Tissue Determinants and Cellular Corollaries. Raven Press; 1992.
- Morton RW, et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018;52(6):376-384.