Calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) and get a personalized calorie target for weight loss, maintenance, or muscle gain. Includes macro breakdown (protein, carbs, fat) based on your goal. Uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation — the most accurate BMR formula for adults. Free, instant, no sign-up.
Calories + protein, carbs & fat for your goal
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total number of calories your body burns in a 24-hour period including all physical activity, digestion, and basic body functions. It is calculated by multiplying your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) by an activity factor: Sedentary (×1.2), Lightly Active (×1.375), Moderately Active (×1.55), Very Active (×1.725), or Extra Active (×1.9). TDEE is the most important number in any weight management program — eating consistently below your TDEE creates a calorie deficit that drives fat loss, while eating above drives muscle and weight gain. A 500-calorie daily deficit below TDEE produces approximately 1 lb of fat loss per week (3,500 calories = 1 lb of fat).
Macronutrient targets matter as much as total calories for body composition. Protein is the most critical macro: 0.7–1g per pound of body weight preserves muscle during a deficit and supports muscle synthesis during a surplus. The thermic effect of food (TEF) is highest for protein at 20–30% — meaning 100 calories of protein effectively delivers only 70–80 net calories. Carbohydrates are the body's preferred fuel for high-intensity exercise. Fat is essential for hormone production (including testosterone) and fat-soluble vitamin absorption. This calculator uses clinically validated macro ratios backed by sports nutrition research.
Most people overestimate their activity level. "Moderately active" means structured exercise 3–5 times per week — NOT just being on your feet at work. If you work a desk job but hit the gym 4x/week, choose Moderately Active. Overestimating activity is the #1 reason TDEE-based diets stall.
Prioritize protein at every meal. 0.8–1g/lb of body weight is the minimum for muscle preservation during fat loss. Higher protein (1–1.2g/lb) supports muscle gain during a bulk. Protein is the most satiating macro — it reduces hunger hormones and keeps you full longer per calorie.
After 4–6 weeks of dieting, your TDEE decreases by 5–15% (adaptive thermogenesis). Plan for diet breaks every 8–12 weeks: eat at maintenance calories for 1–2 weeks to reset leptin and reverse some metabolic adaptation before resuming your deficit.
Food logging studies show people underestimate calorie intake by 20–50%. Use a food scale for at least 2 weeks when starting a TDEE-based diet. Restaurant meals average 200–500 extra calories beyond menu estimates. Home cooking is the single most effective calorie control strategy.
Total daily energy expenditure is BMR multiplied by an activity factor, and it is the number that actually governs whether weight moves. It has four components: basal metabolism, the thermic effect of food (roughly 10% of intake, spent digesting it), deliberate exercise, and non-exercise activity thermogenesis — fidgeting, walking, standing, posture — which varies between individuals by hundreds of calories a day and is the single largest source of error in any estimate. The multiplier approach bundles the last three into one number, which is why people routinely over-select their activity level and then wonder why the maths does not work.
TDEE = BMR × activity factorSedentary 1.2 · Light 1.375 · Moderate 1.55 · Very active 1.725 · Athlete 1.9where:
Assumptions: A starting estimate, not a measurement. The honest method is to hold intake steady for two to three weeks, track weight, and adjust: if weight is stable, that intake IS your TDEE, whatever the formula predicted.
The 35-year-old man above trains three times a week but works at a desk.
ResultMaintenance 2,424 — cutting target 1,939 calories for about 1 lb a week
Had "moderate" been selected instead, maintenance would read 2,732 and the deficit would be illusory — the person would eat at roughly maintenance and conclude the calculator was wrong. Under-selecting activity is the safer error, because stalled progress is easier to diagnose than an invisible surplus.