TDEE Calculator: how many calories should you eat per day?

TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total number of calories you burn in a day. This calculator finds it by first computing your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation from your gender, height, weight, and age, then multiplying by an activity multiplier (PAL). For TDEE for women the BMR formula subtracts 161; for TDEE for men it adds 5, so men typically land higher at the same size. The result is how many calories you burn a day across walking, working, exercise, and fidgeting combined.

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the calories your body burns at complete rest to power organs, cells, and basic functions. TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is BMR multiplied by an activity factor, so it captures everything you do in a day: walking, working, exercise, fidgeting. TDEE is what you eat to maintain weight.

Mifflin-St Jeor is generally the most accurate for the general adult population and is the default in this calculator. Harris-Benedict tends to overestimate by 5 to 15 percent for many adults. Katch-McArdle is more accurate for lean, athletic people because it uses lean body mass instead of total weight, but it requires a known body fat percentage.

To use TDEE to lose weight, eat below your TDEE (a calorie deficit); to gain, eat above it (a calorie surplus). A 500 calorie per day deficit produces roughly 1 lb (0.45 kg) of fat loss per week and is the most sustainable for most people. A 1000 calorie deficit (the aggressive cut) targets roughly 2 lb per week but is harder to sustain, often costs lean mass, and may trigger this calculator's safety floor for shorter or smaller people. Start at 500 and adjust based on real progress.

Yes. Every 4 to 8 kg (about 10 to 17 lb) of weight change shifts your BMR meaningfully because your body simply has less tissue to maintain. Re-enter the calculator every 10 to 15 lb of progress, or every 4 to 6 weeks if your activity has changed.

Yes. TDEE is your maintenance calorie level, the number of calories per day at which your weight stays roughly constant. The 'Maintain' goal card on this page is exactly your TDEE.

Validated equations like Mifflin-St Jeor land within roughly 10 percent of indirect calorimetry (the lab gold standard) for most adults, but activity multipliers add more uncertainty because everyday movement is hard to estimate. These calculators give population averages, so your real burn can be 10 to 20 percent off because of NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis), genetics, sleep, stress, and prior dieting history. Treat the result as a calibrated starting point. If weight does not move after 10 to 14 days at a stated target, adjust calories up or down by 100 to 200 and retest.

No. Pregnant and breastfeeding people have meaningfully different energy needs (typically +300 to +500 kcal per day depending on stage) and additional micronutrient demands. Use a calculator built for pregnancy, or work with a registered dietitian or your obstetric provider.

Pick Moderately active (1.55). The activity multiplier reflects your whole week, not just sedentary work. Desk-based work plus 3 to 5 weekly training sessions typically averages to Moderate. If your sessions are short or low intensity, lean toward Lightly active (1.375).

We never recommend less than 1200 kcal/day for women, 1500 kcal/day for men (1350 for the gender-neutral average), or 110 percent of your BMR, whichever number is higher. Eating below this level for extended periods can suppress your metabolism, harm hormonal health, and cost lean mass.

NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) is the calories you burn fidgeting, standing, walking, doing chores, and otherwise being alive outside of formal exercise. NEAT is the single biggest reason two people with the same body data and workouts can have very different TDEEs. The activity multipliers in this calculator bundle NEAT and structured exercise together.

Yes, partially. TEF is roughly 8 to 12 percent of total intake for a mixed diet (higher on high-protein diets). Standard activity multipliers absorb TEF inside the total expenditure estimate, so you do not need to add it separately.

Yes. This TDEE calculator is completely free, with no registration, account creation, or payment required. Enter your body data and activity level and you get instant results: your BMR, TDEE, and all six goal targets from aggressive cut through bulk. Saved calculations are stored locally in your browser only (up to 8 entries), so you can revisit past results without ever creating an account or handing over an email address.