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TDEE Calculator (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)
Total daily energy expenditure: your BMR plus activity, compared across every activity level, with cut and bulk targets.
Calculated in your browser – nothing you enter is sent or stored.
Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is the number of calories you burn in a day – your maintenance calories. This TDEE calculator works it out from your basal metabolic rate and activity level, compares every activity level side by side, and gives calorie and macro targets for cutting, maintaining and lean bulking. If you know your body fat percentage, it switches to the more precise Katch-McArdle formula.
What Makes Up Your TDEE
- BMR – basal metabolic rate (about 60–70%): energy for basic functions at complete rest.
- TEF – thermic effect of food (about 10%): energy used to digest what you eat. Protein costs the most to digest.
- NEAT – non-exercise activity (15% or more): walking, standing, fidgeting, chores. It varies more between people than any other part.
- EAT – exercise activity: planned workouts, usually a smaller share than people expect.
The calculator captures TEF, NEAT and exercise together in one activity multiplier.
How TDEE Is Calculated
TDEE = BMR × activity multiplier
BMR comes from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age, +5 for men or −161 for women). If you enter your body fat, the Katch-McArdle formula is used instead: BMR = 370 + 21.6 × lean body mass (kg). It is more accurate for lean, muscular people, whom weight-based formulas tend to underestimate.
| Activity level | Multiplier | Example: man, 30, 5'9", 170 lb |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary (desk job) | 1.2 | 2,066 cal |
| Light (1–3 workouts/week) | 1.375 | 2,367 cal |
| Moderate (3–5 workouts/week) | 1.55 | 2,668 cal |
| Very active (6–7 hard workouts/week) | 1.725 | 2,970 cal |
| Athlete / physical job | 1.9 | 3,271 cal |
His BMR is about 1,721 calories. At 20% body fat, Katch-McArdle gives a similar 1,702 calories.
Using TDEE to Cut or Bulk
- Cutting (fat loss): eat about 15–25% below TDEE. The calculator uses 20%, which for most people means 1 to 1.5 lb of loss a week while keeping muscle.
- Maintenance: eat at TDEE to keep your weight stable, for example while recomposing body fat into muscle.
- Lean bulking: eat about 5–10% above TDEE. A small surplus builds muscle with less fat gain than a large one.
Macros: Protein, Fat and Carbs
Calories decide whether you gain or lose weight; macronutrients decide much of what you gain or lose. The macro table uses common sports-nutrition guidelines:
- Protein: 0.8–1 g per pound of body weight (1.6–2.2 g/kg) helps keep muscle while dieting and build it while bulking. Protein has 4 calories per gram.
- Fat: about 25% of calories, for hormone health and vitamin absorption. Fat has 9 calories per gram.
- Carbohydrates: the remaining calories, to fuel training. Carbs have 4 calories per gram.
Making Your TDEE More Accurate
Treat the calculated TDEE as a starting estimate. Eat at that level for two to three weeks while weighing yourself several times a week at the same time of day. If your average weight stays the same, you have found your real TDEE. If it rises or falls, adjust by about 100 to 200 calories. Recalculate after significant weight change, because a lighter body burns less.
For a simpler daily calorie number with weight-loss targets in pounds per week, use the calorie calculator.
Sources
- Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure. Am J Clin Nutr, 1990
- Jäger R et al. ISSN position stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2017
- NIH – Body Weight Planner
Last reviewed: October 2026 by the ShrinkBee team. Results are estimates for healthy adults and are not medical or nutritional advice.
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