TDEE Calculator
Find out exactly how many calories you burn every day. Get personalized macro targets for weight loss, maintenance, or muscle gain.
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About the TDEE Calculator
Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is the total number of calories you burn in a day, everything from staying alive to moving, exercising and digesting food. It is the single most useful number for managing your weight, because once you know roughly how many calories you burn, you know how many to eat to lose, gain or maintain. This calculator estimates your TDEE from your age, sex, height, weight and activity level.
I think of TDEE as the anchor for any nutrition plan. Without it, calorie goals are guesswork. With it, you can set a realistic target and adjust from there based on what your body actually does, which is exactly how sustainable results happen.
What goes into your TDEE
Your TDEE is built from a few parts: your basal metabolic rate (the calories you burn at rest, usually the biggest chunk), the energy used in everyday movement and exercise, and a smaller amount spent digesting food. The calculator starts with your BMR and multiplies it by an activity factor that reflects how active you are, which is why answering the activity question honestly matters so much.
Choosing your activity level honestly
This is where most people go wrong, usually by overestimating. A desk job with a couple of gym sessions a week is typically light to moderate activity, not high. If you are unsure, it is safer to pick the lower option, see how your weight responds over two or three weeks, and adjust. Real-world feedback beats the estimate every time, because the activity multiplier is the biggest source of uncertainty.
Using TDEE for your goal
Once you have your TDEE, the rest is simple arithmetic. To lose weight, eat below it (a deficit of around 500 calories a day is a common, sustainable pace for steady loss). To gain, eat above it. To maintain, eat around it. I generally steer people away from very large deficits, because they are hard to sustain and can cost muscle. Small, consistent gaps win.
Treat it as a starting point
Your TDEE is an educated estimate, not an exact measurement, and it changes as your weight, activity and even your body composition shift. The smart approach is to use it as a starting target, track your weight trend over a few weeks, and adjust your intake up or down based on what actually happens. Recalculate it as your weight changes so it keeps pace with you.
Sources & method
This calculator uses established, peer-reviewed formulas and reference ranges from recognized health and nutrition authorities. Results are estimates for general education, not a medical diagnosis. For decisions about your health, consult a qualified clinician. Reviewed by Macro & Meals Editorial Team, Content editor.
Frequently Asked Questions
TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is the total calories you burn in a day, including resting metabolism, movement, exercise and digesting food. It is the key number for weight management, because it tells you roughly how many calories to eat to lose, gain or maintain weight.
The calculator estimates your basal metabolic rate from your age, sex, height and weight, then multiplies it by an activity factor reflecting how active you are. The activity multiplier is the biggest source of uncertainty, so answering that question honestly matters most.
Eat below your TDEE. A deficit of around 500 calories a day is a common, sustainable pace for steady loss, while very large deficits are hard to maintain and can cost muscle. Track your weight trend over a few weeks and adjust based on what actually happens.
Because it relies on formulas and an activity multiplier that cannot capture every individual difference, and because your needs change as your weight, activity and body composition shift. Use it as a starting target, watch your weight trend, and adjust your intake from there.
