TDEE Calculator
Your maintenance calories as an honest range, from your body and how much you move, then calories to lose or gain at a pace you can keep, and your macros.
Key facts
- TDEE is your BMR times an activity multiplier: FAO/WHO/UNU put sedentary lifestyles at 1.40–1.69 times BMR, moderately active at 1.70–1.99 and vigorous at 2.00–2.40.
How active you are
Lightly active · 5,000–7,500 steps a day. A desk job with some walking, or 1–3 workouts a week. × 1.55
More optionsMifflin-St Jeor
From a body-composition scan or scale. It lets you use Katch-McArdle, which works from lean mass.
BMR equation
Why sex? The equations were fitted on people recorded as male or female, so they need one. If neither fits your body, try both: you are likely between the two.
ExampleA 35-year-old woman, 72 kg, 165 cm
2,190kcal a day
Likely between 2,020 and 2,370: activity is an estimate. Your scale will tell you where in that range you are.
- At rest (BMR)1,420
- Moving and exercise560
- Digesting food220
- At rest (BMR)
- 1,420 kcal
- To lose 0.36 kg a week
- 1,800 kcal
- Protein
- 115 g a day
General information from published research, not a diagnosis or medical advice. Talk to a doctor before changing medication or treatment. An estimate for adults, not for pregnancy or breastfeeding; if eating feels hard or stressful, talk to a doctor. Terms
Calories for your goalTo lose 0.36 kg a week: 1,800 kcal a day
1,800 kcal a day · 400 below maintenance
65 kg in about 19 weeks. Maintenance moves with your weight: about 2,090 kcal at 65 kg, so re-check every few weeks.
The page never goes under 1,200 kcal for women or 1,500 for men, or faster than 1% of your weight (at most 1 kg) a week.
Your macros115 g protein · 200 g carbs · 60 g fat
Protein at 1.6 g/kg, where extra stopped adding muscle in trials; fat at 30% of calories; carbs the rest.
- Protein115 g26% of calories30 g a meal
- Carbs200 g44% of calories50 g a meal
- Fat60 g30% of calories15 g a meal
For 1,800 kcal a day. Aim for about 25 g of fibre too (14 g per 1,000 kcal).
Adjust from your real resultsAfter 2–3 weeks, let your scale correct the estimate
Every equation is an estimate. After a few weeks of eating about the same each day, your weight trend shows your real maintenance: each kilogram lost is about 7,700 kcal your body took from its stores. Use the average of several weigh-ins at each end, since water moves the scale day to day.
Over the last
Your maintenance at each activity levelWhat each level means, and your calories at it
| Level | Multiplier | Your calories |
|---|---|---|
| Mostly sittingUnder 5,000 steps a day. A desk job, driving most places and no regular workouts. | × 1.40 | 1,9801,820–2,140 |
| Lightly active5,000–7,500 steps a day. A desk job with some walking, or 1–3 workouts a week. | × 1.55 | 2,1902,020–2,370 |
| Active7,500–10,000 steps a day. On your feet much of the day, or 3–5 workouts a week. | × 1.70 | 2,4102,210–2,600 |
| Very activeOver 10,000 steps a day. Building or farm work, or about an hour of exercise most days. | × 1.85 | 2,6202,410–2,830 |
| Athlete or heavy labourHours of hard work a day. Two hours or more of hard training daily, or heavy manual work all day. | × 2.20 | 3,1102,860–3,360 |
Multipliers on the FAO/WHO/UNU activity levels; steps from Tudor-Locke and Bassett (2004).
How this works: Method, 8 sources, Checked against 19 worked examples,
How this works
Method
Resting energy (BMR) comes from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, or revised Harris-Benedict or Katch-McArdle if you pick them, and is multiplied by your activity level’s FAO/WHO/UNU multiplier (1.40 to 2.20); the range is that multiplier ± 8%. Goals change intake by your pace at 7,700 kcal per kilogram, never below 1,200 kcal (women) or 1,500 (men); protein is set in grams per kilogram, fat as a share of calories, and carbs fill the rest.
Sources
- A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals (Mifflin et al.) (Am J Clin Nutr, 1990)
- The Harris Benedict equation reevaluated (Roza and Shizgal) (Am J Clin Nutr, 1984)
- Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate: a systematic review (Frankenfield et al.) (J Am Diet Assoc, 2005)
- Human energy requirements: report of a joint FAO/WHO/UNU expert consultation (FAO, 2004)
- 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS guideline for the management of overweight and obesity in adults (Circulation, 2014)
- A meta-analysis of protein supplementation and resistance training (Morton et al.) (Br J Sports Med, 2018)
- ISSN position stand: protein and exercise (Jäger et al.) (J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2017)
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025, Appendix 1 (USDA and HHS, 2020)
How it’s tested
19 worked examples for this page are checked by automated tests before every release: given the inputs, the tool must show the expected answer.
Limits
General information from published research, not a diagnosis or medical advice. Talk to a doctor before changing medication or treatment. An estimate for adults, not for pregnancy or breastfeeding; if eating feels hard or stressful, talk to a doctor.
Changes
- First published: maintenance calories as a range, calories for your goal with a week-by-week timeline, macros and protein, with calorie, macro, BMR and protein calculator pages.
Why the answer is a range
Your total daily energy expenditure has three parts: what your body burns at rest (the basal metabolic rate: one divided by the activity multiplier, so 45–70% of the day), what moving and exercise add, and the energy it takes to digest food, 5 to 15% of the day on a mixed diet. Only the first part can be predicted well from age, height and weight, and even then the best equation is within 10% of a measured value for most, not all, people.
The activity part is the bigger guess. The FAO/WHO/UNU expert report on human energy requirements puts people’s real energy needs within about 8 to 10% either side of the middle of their activity level. So the page shows the middle as your number and the band either side of it as the likely range, instead of pretending to know your maintenance to the nearest calorie.
Activity levels in steps, not labels
“Moderately active” means something different to everyone. Each level here is described the way you can check it: steps a day from a phone or watch, using the step bands researchers use (under 5,000 a day is sedentary, 10,000 or more is active), and workouts a week. The multipliers sit on the FAO/WHO/UNU figures: an office worker who walks a little is about 1.55, and an hour of exercise a day takes that to about 1.75.
If your number looks higher than other calculators’, this is why: many use 1.2 for “sedentary”, which the same report gives for people who are completely inactive, such as patients confined to bed. Pick the level that matches your steps, then let your scale settle it, below.
What this page won’t do
It won’t suggest fewer than 1,200 kcal a day for women or 1,500 for men, the lowest intakes in the US obesity guideline, or losing more than 1% of your weight (and never more than 1 kg) a week. If your maintenance is already near that floor, or your BMI is under 18.5, it shows no loss plan at all. There are no crash options, no supplements, no coaching upsells and no email gate: everything is worked out in your browser.
Sources
- Mifflin et al., A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals (Am J Clin Nutr, 1990)
- Roza and Shizgal, The Harris Benedict equation reevaluated (Am J Clin Nutr, 1984)
- McArdle, Katch and Katch, Essentials of Exercise Physiology, 3rd edition (2006), p. 266
- Frankenfield et al., Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate: a systematic review (J Am Diet Assoc, 2005)
- FAO/WHO/UNU, Human energy requirements (2004), chapter 5
- Tudor-Locke and Bassett, How many steps/day are enough? (Sports Med, 2004)
- Westerterp, Diet induced thermogenesis (Nutr Metab, 2004)
- Hall, What is the required energy deficit per unit weight loss? (Int J Obes, 2008)
- Hall et al., Quantification of the effect of energy imbalance on bodyweight (Lancet, 2011)
- 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS guideline for the management of overweight and obesity in adults (Circulation, 2014)
- NHS, Obesity: treatment
- Helms et al., Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation (JISSN, 2014)
- Iraki et al., Nutrition recommendations for bodybuilders in the off-season (Sports, 2019)
- Morton et al., Protein supplementation and resistance training: a meta-analysis of 49 trials (Br J Sports Med, 2018)
- Jäger et al., International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: protein and exercise (JISSN, 2017)
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025, Appendix 1 (USDA and HHS)
All 4 calculators
Calories · What to eat
Calories
What to eat
Frequently Asked Questions
What is TDEE?
Total daily energy expenditure: all the calories your body uses in a day. It is your basal metabolic rate (the energy to keep you alive at rest) plus what moving, exercise and digesting food add. Eat about your TDEE and your weight stays steady; eat less and you lose, more and you gain.
How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
Roughly, and that’s why this one shows a range. The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is within 10% of a measured resting rate for more people than other equations, and the activity multipliers carry their own 8–10% spread. Treat the number as a starting point: eat close to it for two or three weeks, watch your weight trend, and use “Adjust from your real results” to replace the estimate with your own measured maintenance.
Why is my TDEE higher here than on other calculators?
Mostly the activity multiplier. Many calculators use 1.2 for “sedentary”, but the FAO/WHO/UNU report gives about 1.2 only for people who are completely inactive, and puts sedentary lifestyles at 1.40–1.69. This page starts “mostly sitting” at 1.40 and shows the range either side.
Which equation should I use: Mifflin-St Jeor, Harris-Benedict or Katch-McArdle?
Mifflin-St Jeor, unless you know your body fat. A 2005 systematic review found it predicted resting metabolic rate within 10% of measured in more people, lean and with obesity, than Harris-Benedict and the others. Katch-McArdle works from lean mass, so it can suit very muscular people, but only if your body-fat figure is good.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
Enough below your maintenance to lose about 0.5 to 1% of your weight a week, which the page works out at 7,700 kcal per kilogram. It never goes under 1,200 kcal a day for women or 1,500 for men, the lowest intakes the 2013 US obesity guideline uses, and as you lose weight your maintenance falls, so re-check every few weeks.
Is this for everyone?
It is for adults. The equations weren’t built for pregnancy, breastfeeding or under-18s, and they can be further off with a medical condition that changes metabolism. If food or weight feels stressful, or you have had an eating disorder, a doctor or dietitian is a better place to start than any calculator.