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TDEE Calculator

Total Daily Energy Expenditure — your actual calorie need.

TDEE is the number that actually matters for nutrition. Your BMR tells you what you'd burn in a coma; TDEE tells you what you burn living a real life. Get this number right and cutting, bulking, or maintaining becomes a matter of arithmetic — not guesswork.

TDEE
2,633kcal/day
BMR
1699 kcal
Cut (−20%)
2106 kcal
Lean bulk (+10%)
2896 kcal
Activity factor
1.55×

To lose ~0.5 kg/week, eat ~500 kcal/day below TDEE. To gain lean mass, aim for ~250-500 kcal above.

How TDEE is calculated

The calculation has two steps. First, BMR is estimated using the Mifflin-St Jeor formula (sex, age, weight, height). Then an activity multiplier is applied — 1.2 for sedentary up to 1.9 for athletes — to account for energy spent on movement and thermogenesis.

The multipliers are approximations calibrated against doubly-labelled water studies (the gold standard for real-world calorie expenditure). At the population level they're reasonably accurate; individually, they can be off by ±15%. The most reliable way to find your true TDEE is to track intake and weight for 2–3 weeks at a stable weight and work backwards.

Choosing the right activity multiplier

This is where most people go wrong. Overestimating activity inflates your TDEE and slows fat loss without you understanding why.

  • Sedentary (1.2×): desk job, mostly sitting, minimal walking. Under 5,000 steps per day.
  • Lightly active (1.375×): 1–3 structured workouts per week. Normal walking as part of daily life.
  • Moderately active (1.55×): 3–5 workouts per week, physically active enough to sweat regularly.
  • Very active (1.725×): daily training or physically demanding work (construction, delivery, nursing).
  • Athlete (1.9×): two-a-day training, professional athletes, or extremely high NEAT (non-exercise activity).
  • Rule of thumb: if you're unsure, pick one level lower. You can always eat more; it's easier to diagnose a slow cut than an oversized TDEE estimate.

Setting a cut, maintenance, or bulk target

Your TDEE is your maintenance — eat this and your weight stays roughly stable. From there, the adjustment is straightforward.

For fat loss: subtract 300–500 kcal from TDEE. This creates a 0.3–0.5 kg/week deficit — sustainable and muscle-preserving at adequate protein intake. Don't go below 1,200 kcal (women) or 1,500 kcal (men) for extended periods regardless of what the math suggests.

For muscle gain: add 200–300 kcal above TDEE (a 'lean bulk'). Larger surpluses produce faster scale weight gains but more fat accumulation. Most natural lifters gain 0.5–1 kg of muscle per month maximum, so a 300 kcal surplus is plenty.

Why TDEE changes over time

TDEE isn't a fixed number — it shifts with your body.

  • Weight loss: every kilogram lost reduces BMR by ~8–12 kcal/day. Lose 10 kg and your TDEE is meaningfully lower. Recalculate.
  • Muscle gain: adding lean mass raises BMR. A 5 kg muscle gain may add 65–70 kcal/day to TDEE.
  • Metabolic adaptation: prolonged large deficits (>25%) suppress metabolic rate beyond what weight loss alone explains. This is the 'starvation mode' effect — real but smaller than commonly claimed (typically 5–10% suppression).
  • Age: BMR declines slowly with age due to lean mass loss. Staying active and resistance training is the most effective way to slow this.

How to set your calorie target using TDEE

  1. 1
    Enter your stats accurately
    Use morning weight (most consistent), measured height without shoes, correct biological sex, and real age. Errors here compound through the activity multiplier.
  2. 2
    Pick an honest activity level
    Think about a typical week, not your best week. If you train 3 days and also have a 10,000-step commute, you're lightly-to-moderately active. If you train 5 days but otherwise sit all day, moderate is accurate.
  3. 3
    Read your cut and bulk targets from the result
    The calculator shows TDEE (maintenance), a 20% cut, and a 10% lean bulk. Your target is one of these three, depending on your goal.
  4. 4
    Track for 2–3 weeks
    Log food intake accurately and weigh daily. Average weekly weight gives a cleaner signal than daily fluctuation. If you're losing/gaining at the expected rate, your TDEE estimate is accurate. If not, adjust by 100–200 kcal and observe again.
  5. 5
    Recalculate every 5–10 kg of weight change
    As body weight changes, TDEE changes. The calculation that was accurate at 90 kg will overestimate calories needed at 80 kg.

FAQ

What activity level should I pick?
Be honest — most people overestimate. 'Moderate' means roughly 3–5 structured gym sessions per week on top of an otherwise desk-bound day. If you have a physically demanding job, that counts. If your week varies significantly, pick one level lower than you think.
How big a calorie deficit is safe?
15–20% below TDEE (roughly 300–500 kcal/day for most people) is sustainable without significant muscle loss. 25%+ starts to compromise recovery, hormone levels, and lean tissue. Prioritize high protein intake (1.6–2g/kg) to preserve muscle in a deficit.
Why does my weight loss stall?
TDEE decreases as you lose weight — both mechanically (less mass to move) and through metabolic adaptation. Someone who lost 10 kg now has a lower TDEE than when they started. Recalculate every 5–10 kg lost and adjust calories accordingly.
Should I eat back calories from exercise?
If you used an activity multiplier that already accounts for your exercise, no — it's already included in your TDEE. If you set activity to 'sedentary' and exercise separately, you can add back ~50–70% of burned calories (tracker calorie counts are often inflated by 30–40%).
What's the difference between TDEE and BMR?
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is what you'd burn lying perfectly still for 24 hours — your survival floor. TDEE multiplies BMR by an activity factor to estimate total real-world calorie use. TDEE is always higher than BMR — usually by 40–90%.

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