TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure — the calories your body burns per day.
For informational purposes only. Not a substitute for professional medical advice. Consult a healthcare provider before making health decisions.
TDEE Calculator — Maintenance Calories, BMR & Mifflin-St Jeor
Enter weight, height, age, sex, and activity level to calculate your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and calorie targets for maintenance, losing 0.5 kg/week, or gaining 0.5 kg/week. Uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, considered the most accurate for modern adults.
About TDEE
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total calories your body burns in 24 hours, including basal metabolism and all movement. It is derived from BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate — calories at absolute rest) multiplied by an activity factor from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (very active). Eating around your TDEE maintains weight; eating 500 cal/day below creates roughly a 0.5 kg/week deficit.
- Mifflin-St Jeor formula
- 5 activity levels
- BMR + TDEE + calorie targets
- Metric and imperial units
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Frequently asked questions
Mifflin-St Jeor or Harris-Benedict — which formula does this use?
The calculator uses Mifflin-St Jeor (1990, Am J Clin Nutr 51(2):241-247) as the primary BMR formula. Mifflin-St Jeor is approximately 5% more accurate than Harris-Benedict 1919 across modern populations — Harris-Benedict was derived from early-20th-century cohorts that ate differently and were generally more sedentary, so it systematically over-estimates BMR for most modern adults. A lean-body-mass-based alternative is theoretically more accurate (uses LBM directly) but requires DEXA or hydrostatic weighing to know your precise LBM, which most people don't have access to.
Where do the activity multipliers (1.2/1.375/1.55/1.725/1.9) come from?
The 5-tier ladder (sedentary 1.2 = office work + no exercise; light 1.375 = 1-3 days/week; moderate 1.55 = 3-5 days/week; very active 1.725 = 6-7 days/week; extra 1.9 = intense daily training + physical job) is a fitness-industry convention that pairs with Mifflin-St Jeor BMR — practitioner adaptation, not a primary-source-published table. The FAO/WHO/UNU 2004 'Human Energy Requirements' report classifies activity in three broader bands (sedentary/light 1.40-1.69, moderate 1.70-1.99, vigorous 2.00-2.40). Individual TDEE varies ±15% from any formula prediction.
Why does TDEE matter for weight management?
Weight change is approximately energy intake minus energy expenditure. TDEE is your baseline expenditure target — match it to maintain weight, eat below to lose, eat above to gain. Without knowing TDEE, weight-management math is guesswork. The 7,700 kcal-per-kg-of-body-fat heuristic (Wishnofsky 1958) lets you convert intake-vs-TDEE differences into expected weekly weight change. Useful for planning a cut or bulk, predicting how long a goal will take, and avoiding the crash-diet trap of under-eating without context.
Why does my measured TDEE differ from the formula?
Individual variation. Real metabolic rates vary ±15% from the formula prediction even at matched age, sex, weight, height, and activity. Genetics, body composition (muscle vs fat ratio), hormonal status (thyroid, cortisol, sex hormones), historical caloric restriction (BMR adapts down), NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis varies enormously between individuals), and acute factors (sleep, stress, fever) all shift TDEE. Use the formula as a starting point, then adjust by ±200-300 kcal/day based on actual weight trend over 3-4 weeks of consistent intake.
Should I use BMR or TDEE for weight loss math?
TDEE, not BMR. BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the energy your body burns at complete rest — heart, lungs, kidneys, neurons. TDEE adds the activity multiplier on top: NEAT (fidgeting, walking, errands), exercise, and the thermic effect of food (~10% of intake). Eating below BMR is the territory of medically-supervised very-low-calorie diets and risks micronutrient deficiency, hormonal disruption, and rebound weight gain. Use TDEE as the baseline; subtract 300-500 kcal/day for moderate sustainable loss. Never plan deficits relative to BMR alone.
Sources (4)
- Mifflin, M. D., St Jeor, S. T., Hill, L. A., Scott, B. J., Daugherty, S. A., & Koh, Y. O. (1990). A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 51(2), 241–247.
- Harris, J. A., & Benedict, F. G. (1919). A Biometric Study of Basal Metabolism in Man. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication No. 279.
- FAO/WHO/UNU Expert Consultation (2004). Human energy requirements (Report of a Joint FAO/WHO/UNU Expert Consultation). FAO Food and Nutrition Technical Report Series No. 1, Rome — PAL bands: sedentary/light 1.40-1.69, moderate 1.70-1.99, vigorous 2.00-2.40 (the 5-tier 1.2/1.375/1.55/1.725/1.9 ladder is a fitness-industry adaptation, not in this report).
- Wishnofsky, M. (1958). Caloric equivalents of gained or lost weight. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 6(5), 542–546 — origin of the 3,500 kcal/lb (≈ 7,700 kcal/kg) heuristic for body-fat energy equivalent (re-cited in TDEE Q3 weight-management math).
These are the original publications the formulas in this tool are based on. Locate them by journal name and year on Google Scholar or PubMed.
By Marco B. ·