How is TDEE different from BMR?

BMR is calories burned at complete rest. TDEE includes BMR plus all physical activity and digestion, typically 1.2x to 1.9x your BMR.

How many calories should I eat to lose weight?

Eat 300-500 fewer calories than your TDEE for approximately 0.5-1 lb of fat loss per week while preserving muscle.

TDEE Calculator: How to Calculate Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure

Q: What is TDEE and why does it matter?

TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total calories your body burns in 24 hours including rest, digestion, movement, and exercise. It is your maintenance calorie level.

1.2×–1.9×

TDEE multiplier above BMR

500 kcal

Daily deficit for ~1 lb/week fat loss

3 formulas

For estimating your BMR baseline

🔑

TDEE vs. BMR — The Critical Distinction

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the calories your body burns at complete rest — just to keep your heart beating and lungs breathing. TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is your BMR multiplied by an activity factor to account for everything you actually do. TDEE is your real maintenance calorie number.

🔥 What Is TDEE and Why Does It Matter?

TDEE is the total number of calories your body burns in a 24-hour period. It includes your resting metabolism, the energy cost of digesting food (thermic effect of food, ~10%), plus all physical movement — from brushing your teeth to a heavy squat session.

Why it matters: every meaningful nutrition goal — fat loss, muscle gain, or maintenance — is defined relative to your TDEE. Eat below it and you lose weight. Eat above it and you gain. Eat at it and you maintain. Without knowing your TDEE, calorie targets are guesswork.

🧬 The Three BMR Formulas

TDEE starts with an estimate of your BMR. Three formulas are widely used, each with a different precision profile:

Formula	Best For	Inputs Required
Mifflin-St Jeor	General population — most accurate on average	Weight, height, age, sex
Harris-Benedict (revised)	Widely used, slightly less accurate than Mifflin	Weight, height, age, sex
Katch-McArdle	Athletes with known body fat % — most accurate for lean individuals	Lean body mass

📝

Mifflin-St Jeor Formula

Men: BMR = (10 × kg) + (6.25 × cm) − (5 × age) + 5
Women: BMR = (10 × kg) + (6.25 × cm) − (5 × age) − 161
Then multiply by your activity factor below.

🏃 Activity Multipliers

Once you have your BMR, multiply by the factor that best matches your weekly activity level:

Activity Level	Description	Multiplier
Sedentary	Desk job, little or no exercise	× 1.2
Lightly active	Light exercise 1–3 days/week	× 1.375
Moderately active	Moderate exercise 3–5 days/week	× 1.55
Very active	Hard exercise 6–7 days/week	× 1.725
Extremely active	Physical job + hard daily training	× 1.9

⚠️

Most People Overestimate Their Activity Level

When in doubt, pick one tier lower than you think. "Moderately active" requires structured exercise 3–5 days/week — gym visits that leave you sweaty. Walking to the coffee machine does not qualify. Overestimating leads to a TDEE that's too high, stalling fat loss progress.

📊 Calorie Targets by Goal

With your TDEE calculated, your daily calorie target follows directly from your goal:

📉

Fat Loss (Cut)

Deficit:300–500 kcal/day

Expected rate:0.5–1 lb fat/week

TDEE minus

500

kcal/day

⚖️

Maintenance

Deficit:0 kcal/day

Expected rate:Weight stable

Eat at

TDEE

exactly

📈

Muscle Gain (Bulk)

Surplus:200–300 kcal/day

Expected rate:~0.25–0.5 lb/week

TDEE plus

250

kcal/day

💡

TDEE Changes Over Time

As you lose weight, your TDEE decreases — you're carrying less mass. Recalculate every 10–15 lbs of weight change or when progress stalls for 3+ weeks. Adaptive thermogenesis (metabolic adaptation) can reduce TDEE by 5–15% beyond what the formula predicts during prolonged deficits — the body's defense against starvation.

🔢 Key Factors That Shift Your TDEE

Muscle mass: Muscle is metabolically expensive. Each pound of muscle burns ~6 kcal/day at rest. More muscle = higher BMR = higher TDEE.
Age: BMR declines ~1–2% per decade after 30 due to muscle loss (sarcopenia) — not aging per se.
Sex: Males typically have higher BMR due to greater lean mass. Hormonal differences (testosterone vs estrogen) also affect fat storage and metabolic rate.
Sleep: Chronic poor sleep elevates cortisol, suppresses testosterone, and can reduce BMR. 7–9 hours protects metabolic rate.
Diet history: Long-term restriction ("yo-yo dieting") can chronically downregulate TDEE through reduced NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis).
Thyroid function: Hypothyroidism reduces BMR; hyperthyroidism raises it. If TDEE estimates are consistently off, consult a physician.

🧮 Use the Calculator

Skip the math — plug your stats into our TDEE Calculator and get your maintenance calories instantly, along with targets for cutting, maintaining, and bulking based on your goal and activity level.