TDEE Calculator
How many calories do you burn in a day? Enter your age, sex, height, weight and activity level to get your TDEE, BMR, and daily calorie targets for maintaining, cutting or bulking.
Sex
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Daily calorie targets
Estimates based on the Mifflin-St Jeor formula; actual energy needs vary with body composition, health, and genetics. Educational information only — not medical, nutrition, or fitness advice.
All calculations run in your browser — nothing is sent to a server.
What TDEE means and how this calculator finds it
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the number of calories your body burns across a full day — not just at rest, but including everything you do. It is the anchor for any nutrition plan: eat below it to lose weight, above it to gain, at it to maintain. This tool estimates TDEE in two steps: it first finds your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), then scales it by how active you are.
The formula behind the number
BMR here uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the modern standard for population estimates:
- Men: BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age + 5
- Women: BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age − 161
TDEE is then BMR × an activity factor from 1.2 (sedentary) up to 1.9 (extra active). The calorie goals shift TDEE by a percentage; as a rough guide, about 7,700 kcal corresponds to 1 kg of body fat, so a 500 kcal daily deficit trends toward roughly 0.45 kg per week.
Activity multipliers
| Level | Multiplier | Typical week |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | ×1.2 | Desk job, little or no exercise |
| Lightly active | ×1.375 | Light exercise 1 to 3 days |
| Moderately active | ×1.55 | Moderate exercise 3 to 5 days |
| Very active | ×1.725 | Hard exercise 6 to 7 days |
| Extra active | ×1.9 | Physical job or twice-daily training |
From TDEE to a weekly plan
Once you have a TDEE, the goal columns are just percentage shifts of it. Take the 2633 kcal example: a mild cut at −10% is about 2370 kcal, a standard cut at −20% about 2106, and a lean bulk at +15% about 3028. The size of the gap sets the pace of change — roughly 7,700 kcal per kilogram of fat means a steady 300 to 500 kcal daily deficit trends toward a sustainable 0.3 to 0.5 kg per week. Larger deficits rarely help: they cost lean muscle and are harder to hold. Keeping protein around 1.6 to 2.2 g per kilogram of body weight helps preserve muscle while you cut.
Common mistakes and honest limits
- Over-rating activity: most people overestimate. If the scale is not moving as expected, drop one level rather than adding food.
- Treating TDEE as fixed: it adapts. Eat in a deficit for weeks and expenditure drifts down (adaptive thermogenesis), so the estimate needs revisiting as your weight changes.
- Ignoring body composition: Mifflin-St Jeor uses total weight, so it can under- or over-shoot for very muscular or very lean bodies, where a lean-mass formula fits better.
- Chasing precision: these are population estimates. Use the number as a starting point, then adjust based on two to three weeks of real results.
This is educational information only, not medical, nutrition, or fitness advice. Anyone with a health condition, or who is pregnant, should speak with a qualified professional before changing their diet.
Sources & further reading
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans (USDA/HHS) — estimated daily calorie needs by age, sex, and activity level
- CDC Physical Activity Basics — activity levels used to scale BMR into daily expenditure
- American College of Sports Medicine — exercise and energy expenditure guidance
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics — evidence-based guidance on calorie needs and weight change
Frequently asked questions
How many calories do I burn a day? What is TDEE?
Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is every calorie your body uses in a day — the energy burned at rest (BMR) plus digestion, daily movement, and exercise. It's the number to eat around if you want your weight to stay the same. This TDEE calculator multiplies your basal metabolic rate by an activity multiplier for how active you are, so it captures your real day, not just what your body needs lying still. Most adults burn between 1,600 and 3,200 kcal a day depending on body size, sex, and activity level.
How does this TDEE calculator work — formula and worked example?
It first estimates your basal metabolic rate with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation: 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age, +5 for men or −161 for women. That BMR is then multiplied by an activity factor from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (extra active) to get your TDEE. Worked example: a 30-year-old man, 80 kg, 178 cm has a BMR of about 1,770 kcal; at moderately active (×1.55) his TDEE is roughly 2,740 kcal a day. Metric and imperial entries (ft/in, lb) are converted internally, so the result is identical either way.
Which activity level should I pick, and what happens if I overestimate it?
Sedentary means a desk job with little or no exercise; lightly active is 1-3 light workouts a week; moderately active is 3-5 workouts a week; very active is hard exercise 6-7 days a week; extra active covers physical jobs or twice-daily training. Most people overestimate their activity level and end up eating more than they actually burn — if your weight isn't moving toward your goal after 2-3 weeks, try the tier below the one you picked. Choosing sedentary when you're really lightly active can overstate your deficit by 150-250 kcal a day, enough to stall a cut.
Mild cut, standard cut or bulk — how many calories should I eat to lose or gain weight?
This calculator shows a mild cut (10% below TDEE, roughly 0.25-0.3 kg a week) and a standard cut (20% below TDEE, roughly 0.5-0.6 kg a week) for weight loss, plus a bulk (15% above TDEE) for building muscle with a lean surplus. The weekly rate uses the common estimate that about 7,700 kcal equals 1 kg of body fat; individual results vary with water weight, sleep, and training. A mild cut is easier to sustain and preserves more muscle; a standard cut is faster but harder to stick to for long periods, so pick based on the deficit you can maintain consistently.
Is my age, height and weight sent to a server?
No. Every calculation in this TDEE calculator runs entirely in your browser; your age, sex, height, weight and activity level never leave your device. They are only saved to your browser's localStorage so the form is pre-filled on your next visit, and you can clear them anytime from your browser settings. This tool provides educational estimates only and is not medical, nutrition, or fitness advice.