TDEE calculator
Total daily energy expenditure — what you actually burn — plus cut and bulk targets.
BMR vs TDEE
Your basal metabolic rate(BMR) is the energy your body burns at complete rest — keeping your heart beating, your brain running, your kidneys filtering. It's set mostly by your size, sex, age, and lean mass. TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is BMR multiplied by an activity multiplier — the calories you actually burn in a typical day.
The Mifflin-St Jeor formula
We use Mifflin-St Jeor (1990), which is more accurate than the older Harris-Benedict equation for most people:
BMR = 10·weight(kg) + 6.25·height(cm) − 5·age + s
where s = +5 for males, −161 for females
Activity multipliers
- Sedentary (×1.2): desk job, no exercise
- Light (×1.375): 1–3 sessions per week
- Moderate (×1.55): 3–5 sessions per week
- Active (×1.725): 6–7 sessions per week
- Very active (×1.9): manual job + training
People consistently overestimate their activity level. If you're honest with yourself, you're probably one tier lower than you think.
Cut, maintain, bulk
For body composition goals, eat at TDEE to maintain. For fat loss, a deficit of 300–500 kcal/day usually nets ~0.3–0.5 kg/week of fat loss while preserving lean mass. For lean muscle gain, a small surplus of 200–400 kcal/day combined with progressive resistance training is plenty — bigger surpluses just add fat.
What this calculator can't do
TDEE is an estimate; your real number can be ±10–20% off because of metabolic variation, NEAT (fidgeting and unconscious movement), and TEF (thermal effect of food). Track for 2–3 weeks at the estimated number, then adjust by ±200 kcal based on actual scale and tape-measure trends.