Total daily energy expenditure and calories to maintain, lose or gain weight
Maintenance calories (TDEE)
2,633kcal / day
Your BMR: 1,699 kcal. TDEE = BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor) × activity factor.
Mild weight loss (−250)
2,383kcal
Weight loss (−500)
2,133kcal
Mild weight gain (+250)
2,883kcal
Weight gain (+500)
3,133kcal
More free tools: BMR and TDEE · Macros · Protein · Water · Calorie deficit
Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is the number of calories you burn in a day, including exercise and movement. Calculate your BMR first, then multiply it by an activity factor from 1.2 for a desk job up to 2.0 for heavy training plus manual work. Eat around TDEE to maintain weight.
TDEE has four parts: BMR, the thermic effect of food (energy used to digest meals), exercise, and non-exercise activity such as walking, fidgeting and chores. Exercise is often the smallest slice, which is why the activity factor is about your whole day, not just your workouts.
| Activity level | Multiplier | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | × 1.2 | Little to no exercise, desk job, mostly sitting daily. |
| Lightly Active | × 1.375 | Light exercise or casual walking/sports 1–3 days per week. |
| Moderately Active | × 1.55 | Moderate training, running, or gym sessions 3–5 days per week. |
| Active | × 1.725 | Hard training or intense athletic practice 6–7 days per week. |
| Very Active | × 1.9 | Very hard daily exercise, physical labor job, or twice-a-day training. |
| Extremely Active | × 2 | Professional athlete training regimen plus heavy manual labor. |
Weight 75 kg, height 175 cm, age 28, gym three to five days a week (moderately active, 1.55). BMR = 10 × 75 + 6.25 × 175 − 5 × 28 + 5 = 1,709 kcal. TDEE = 1,709 × 1.55 = 2,649 kcal per day.
| Goal | Calories per day | How it is set |
|---|---|---|
| Maintain | 2,649 | TDEE |
| Mild cut | 2,399 | TDEE − 250 |
| Cut | 2,149 | TDEE − 500 |
| Mild gain | 2,899 | TDEE + 250 |
| Gain | 3,149 | TDEE + 500 |
Weight 62 kg, height 165 cm, age 30, three light workouts a week (lightly active, 1.375). BMR = 10 × 62 + 6.25 × 165 − 5 × 30 − 161 = 1,340 kcal. TDEE = 1,340 × 1.375 = 1,843 kcal per day.
A 250 kcal cut gives about 1,593 kcal a day, and a 500 kcal cut about 1,343 kcal. The calculator never suggests fewer than 1,200 kcal a day.
Your TDEE changes when your weight, muscle or activity changes, so recheck it every few weeks. This is general information for healthy adults, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or registered dietitian if you are pregnant, under 18, have a medical condition or a history of disordered eating.
TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure. It is the total calories you burn in a day: resting metabolism (BMR), digesting food, exercise and everyday movement.
Work out your BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then multiply it by an activity factor between 1.2 and 2.0. A 75 kg, 175 cm, 28-year-old man with a BMR of 1,709 kcal who trains three to five days a week has a TDEE of about 2,649 kcal.
Yes, in practice. Maintenance calories are the intake at which your weight stays stable, which is your TDEE. Because the formulas are estimates, confirm it by tracking your weight for two to three weeks.
No. BMR is only the calories you burn at rest. TDEE adds the energy for digestion, exercise and daily movement, so it is always higher than BMR.
A deficit of 250 to 500 kcal below TDEE, or about 15 to 20%, suits most people. Larger deficits are harder to sustain and make it harder to keep muscle.
It is an estimate and can be off by 10% or more for an individual, mostly because of the activity factor. Use it as a starting point, then adjust using your real weight trend over a few weeks.
Recalculate every few weeks, or after you lose or gain about 4 to 5 kg or change your training. Lower body weight means lower energy use, so a TDEE that was right at the start drifts over time.