Quick answer
Your TDEE, or total daily energy expenditure, is the calories you burn in a day. This calculator multiplies your resting energy by an activity factor from 1.2 to 1.9. Take the result as a starting point: the National Academies' own equations miss measured daily energy by about 190 calories for women and 270 for men on average.1,2
Estimate your daily calories
Enter your age, height and weight to see an estimate.
These are estimates from a published equation, not advice for you. They can be off by hundreds of calories for an individual. Ask your doctor first if you are pregnant or nursing, under 19, have a medical condition, or have ever had a difficult relationship with food.
Key facts
- TDEE has three parts: resting energy, typically 60 to 70 percent of the total; the energy spent digesting food, about 10 percent; and activity, the most variable part.2
- The resting figure comes from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, built from measurements in 498 healthy adults aged 19 to 78.3
- The ISSN describes a sustained calorie deficit as the driver of fat loss and a sustained surplus as the driver of gains in lean mass. This calculator offers a 10% step up or a 15% step down.4
- Estimates are not measurements. Equations built from measured data still miss an adult's daily energy by about 190 to 270 calories on average, so check the number against your weight over several weeks.1
- The five activity factors are a rounded convention. Research reports activity as daily energy divided by basal energy, which NIH says typically runs from 1.4 for sedentary to 2.5 for very active.5
What does your TDEE include?
TDEE is the sum of the three ways your body spends energy in a day. The first is resting energy, the cost of keeping you alive while you do nothing, which typically makes up 60 to 70 percent of the total. The second is the thermic effect of food, the energy used to digest and absorb what you eat, about 10 percent. The third is physical activity, which covers exercise and also fidgeting and everyday walking about, and which differs more from person to person than the other two.2
A calculator cannot see any of these directly. It knows your sex, age, height and weight, so it predicts the resting part from those and stands in for the other two parts with a single multiplier that you pick. That multiplier can move the result by several hundred calories, as the activity table below shows.
How this TDEE calculator works
- Enter your sex, age, height and weight in metric or imperial units. Pounds are divided by 2.2046, and feet and inches are converted at 2.54 centimeters to the inch, so both units give the same answer. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
- Resting energy comes from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation: 10 times your weight in kilograms, plus 6.25 times your height in centimeters, minus 5 times your age in years, then plus 5 for men or minus 161 for women.3
- Your daily energy is that resting figure times a factor for your activity level: 1.2, 1.375, 1.55, 1.725 or 1.9.
- Your goal changes the daily figure: no change, 10 percent more, or 15 percent less.
- The goal figure is never allowed below your resting energy, and every result is rounded to the nearest whole calorie.
Mifflin and colleagues measured 498 healthy adults aged 19 to 78, and the calculator accepts the same ages.3
It also accepts heights from 120 to 230 centimeters and weights from 35 to 250 kilograms. Outside those limits it asks you to check your numbers instead of guessing.
Which activity level should I choose?
| Level | Factor | What it describes | Daily calories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | 1.2 | Little or no exercise | 1,614 |
| Light | 1.375 | Exercise 1 to 3 days a week | 1,850 |
| Moderate | 1.55 | Exercise 3 to 5 days a week | 2,085 |
| High | 1.725 | Hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week | 2,321 |
| Extreme | 1.9 | Hard exercise twice a day, or a very physical job | 2,556 |
Resting energy for this woman is 1,345 calories a day, and each row is that figure times the factor. From the first row to the last the answer changes by about 940 calories. Each step up or down one level is worth 0.175 times resting energy, which is about 235 calories here.3
The five factors are a rounded convention for turning a resting estimate into a daily one, not measured constants. Research describes activity as the physical activity level, or PAL: total daily energy divided by basal energy. The National Academies sort adults into inactive (a PAL below 1.53), low active, active and very active (1.85 up to 2.5), and NIH's Body Weight Planner says typical values run from 1.4 for sedentary to 2.5 for very active. Those scales divide by basal energy, while this calculator multiplies a resting estimate, so its factors cannot be matched one for one with those categories.5,6
If two levels seem to fit, choose either one, then let your weight over the next several weeks tell you whether to move a level up or down.
How many calories to eat to gain or lose weight slowly
| Goal | What this calculator does | What the sources describe |
|---|---|---|
| Stay the same | Returns your daily energy with no change | The National Academies set the energy requirement of a person whose weight is steady equal to total daily energy expenditure |
| Gain slowly | Adds 10% to your daily energy | A review advises novice and intermediate natural bodybuilders in the off-season to eat a surplus of about 10 to 20%, and the ISSN says a sustained surplus drives gains in lean mass |
| Lose slowly | Takes 15% off your daily energy | The ISSN says a sustained deficit drives fat loss and that slower rates keep more lean mass in leaner people; NIDDK says experts recommend that weight-loss programs set an initial goal of 5 to 10% of starting weight within 6 months |
The two steps are this calculator's own, and both are labeled slowly. The sources describe ranges rather than one right number: the ISSN says the more body fat a person starts with, the more aggressively a deficit may be set. A systematic review of seven studies, summarized by the National Academies, found that gradual weight loss of about 0.5 kg a week lowered resting energy less than rapid loss of about 1.1 kg a week.2,4
The goal can never fall below your resting energy. With these five factors that limit does not come into play, because the lowest combination, sedentary with a 15 percent cut, works out to 1.02 times resting energy. A goal within a few percent of your resting figure is as low as this calculator goes, and NIDDK advises talking with a health care professional about safe and effective ways to lose weight before you set a plan.8
TDEE worked out for a woman and a man
| Step | Woman, 165 cm, 65 kg | Man, 180 cm, 80 kg |
|---|---|---|
| Resting energy | 1,345 | 1,755 |
| Daily energy, staying the same | 2,085 | 2,720 |
| Gain slowly, 10% more | 2,294 | 2,992 |
| Lose slowly, 15% less | 1,772 | 2,312 |
The man's resting figure is 410 calories higher. The sex term accounts for 166 of that, and his extra 15 kilograms and 15 centimeters of height for about 244 more. Both are 35, so age adds nothing to the gap.3
How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
The National Academies built equations for adult daily energy from doubly labeled water measurements, a laboratory method that records what people actually burn over days of normal life. Against those measurements the equations missed by 191 calories a day on average for women and 266 for men, and by 246 and 339 in the typical case (the root mean square error).1
Those equations were given each person's activity category, worked out from several measures. A calculator that relies on your own choice of activity level should be expected to miss by at least as much.1
For the resting part alone, a systematic review of four common equations found that Mifflin-St Jeor came within 10 percent of measured resting energy for more people than any other, and it still reported noteworthy errors for individuals. Older adults and ethnic minorities living in the US were underrepresented in the studies, so the equation may fit them less well.9
Resting energy also moves when your weight does. The National Academies report that systematic reviews of weight loss found resting energy fell further than predicted, by about 220 calories a day, with wide differences between studies. A number that fit you at the start may need adjusting later.2
How to check your TDEE against your own weight
The National Academies describe energy planning as two steps: calculate an estimate, then monitor body weight over time and adjust intake if your weight moves in a way you did not intend. This calculator is only the first step.1
Your food log is the weaker half of that check. The National Academies' review found measured energy expenditure to be more accurate than intake reported from dietary recall, and NIH's Body Weight Planner notes that people often underestimate how much they eat. Weigh-ins taken the same way each time give a more direct read on whether your number is close.1,5
Who should talk to a doctor before using a calorie estimate
This calculator gives estimates for healthy adults. It is not advice for you, and it knows nothing about your health history. Ask your doctor or a registered dietitian first if any of these apply.
- You are under 19. The equation was built on adults aged 19 to 78, and the National Academies use separate equations for children and teens that include an allowance for growth.1,3
- You are pregnant or nursing. The National Academies add extra energy to their equations for both, and this calculator does not.1
- You have a medical condition, or you take medicines that affect your weight or appetite. The equation was derived in healthy people, and the review of equations warned of noteworthy errors for individuals.3,9
- You have ever had an eating disorder, or counting calories makes you uneasy about food. NIMH describes eating disorders as serious illnesses that can be treated successfully, with early treatment important for full recovery.10
- You are older than 78, or outside the height and weight limits, where the equation was not studied.3
Estimates from any calculator can be off by hundreds of calories a day. If you plan to eat well below your estimate for more than a short time, ask your doctor first about which approach suits you.8
Questions people ask
Is a TDEE calculator the same as a daily calorie calculator?
Yes, for staying the same. The line marked staying the same is the calories that hold your weight steady at your activity level, and the goal line adds 10 percent or takes off 15 percent. The National Academies set the energy requirement of a person with steady weight equal to total daily energy expenditure.1
What is different in a TDEE calculator for women?
Only one number in the equation: it ends in minus 161 for women where it ends in plus 5 for men. The National Academies' review found that sex had little effect on resting energy once body mass and composition were accounted for. Few studies have focused on women, and the ISSN notes a paucity of research on them.2,3,4
Is a TDEE calculator for men the same formula?
Yes, with the plus 5 constant in place of minus 161, which adds 166 calories a day at the same age, height and weight. In the National Academies' data the average error of the daily-energy equation was larger for men (266 calories) than for women (191).1,3
How accurate is a total daily energy expenditure calculator?
Expect a few hundred calories of error. The National Academies' equations, built from measured data, missed by 191 calories a day on average for women and 266 for men, and a calculator that relies on a self-chosen activity level should do no better.1
How is TDEE different from BMR?
BMR is the energy your body uses at complete rest. TDEE adds the energy spent digesting food and the energy spent on activity, so it is always larger. Resting energy typically makes up 60 to 70 percent of the total.2
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Sources
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy. Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2023. Opened 2026-10-11.
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy. Chapter 4, Factors Affecting Energy Expenditure and Requirements. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2023. Opened 2026-10-11.
- Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, Scott BJ, Daugherty SA, Koh YO. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51(2):241-247. Opened 2026-10-11.
- Aragon AA, Schoenfeld BJ, Wildman R, et al. International society of sports nutrition position stand: diets and body composition. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:16. Opened 2026-10-11.
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. NIH Body Weight Planner. National Institutes of Health. Opened 2026-10-11.
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy. Chapter 5, Development of Prediction Equations for Estimated Energy Requirements. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2023. Opened 2026-10-11.
- Iraki J, Fitschen P, Espinar S, Helms E. Nutrition Recommendations for Bodybuilders in the Off-Season: A Narrative Review. Sports (Basel). 2019;7(7):154. Opened 2026-10-11.
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Choosing a Safe & Successful Weight-loss Program. National Institutes of Health. Opened 2026-10-11.
- Frankenfield D, Roth-Yousey L, Compher C. Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults: a systematic review. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005;105(5):775-789. Opened 2026-10-11.
- National Institute of Mental Health. Eating Disorders. National Institutes of Health. Last reviewed December 2024. Opened 2026-10-11.
This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.