TDEE Calculator

TDEE — Total Daily Energy Expenditure — is the sum of every calorie you burn in a day: your resting metabolism, the energy from digesting food, and everything you use through movement and exercise. Eat this number and your weight stays flat. It is the true number behind the word "calories" you see on labels — and the single most useful figure for managing your body weight.

What makes up your TDEE

TDEE is not one thing but four overlapping parts. Basal metabolic rate (your resting burn) makes up the largest share, usually around 60–75%. Then come thermic effect of food — the calories your body spends digesting and processing what you eat — and physical activity, both deliberate exercise and the everyday moving around known as non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). Walking, fidgeting, standing and chores all add up, which is one reason people who are "sedentary" can still differ a lot in their true burn.

Step 1 — BMR (resting burn)

Your BMR is the energy your body needs at complete rest. The Mifflin-St Jeor formula is the most widely used estimate:

Men:    BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age + 5
Women:  BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age − 161

For a 30-year-old man, 175 cm, 75 kg:

BMR = 750 + 1093.75 − 150 + 5 ≈ 1,699 kcal

Step 2 — add activity

Moderately active → TDEE = 1,699 × 1.55 ≈ 2,633 kcal.

Notice how much room this leaves for error: someone who rates themselves "light" instead of "moderate" shifts the estimate by several hundred calories. Be honest when you pick a level, and when in doubt lean towards the lower one.

Using your TDEE

• Maintain — eat your TDEE.
• Lose — aim about 500 kcal below TDEE (≈0.5 kg/week).
• Gain — aim about 500 kcal above TDEE.

These are estimates. Real burn varies with muscle mass, genetics and hormones — track your weight for a few weeks and adjust by 100–200 kcal as needed.

The bigger picture

TDEE explains why weight management can feel confusing: your burn is not fixed. As you lose weight your body needs fewer calories, and as you gain muscle it needs more. A number calculated today can be out of date in a month's time, which is why the most reliable approach is to treat TDEE as a hypothesis, follow it for a few weeks, then check the scale and adjust. This content is for general education, not medical advice — consult a professional for individualised guidance.