Free TDEE calculator
How many calories do you burn a day?
Enter your age, sex, height, weight and activity to get your total daily energy expenditure.
Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is the number of calories you burn in a day: resting metabolism plus digestion plus all your movement. It is also your maintenance level. A 35-year-old woman, 5 ft 5 in and 160 lb, who walks about an hour a day burns about 2,301 calories; a 35-year-old man, 5 ft 10 in and 180 lb, about 2,898. This calculator uses the 2023 National Academies equations, built from doubly labeled water measurements of people living normally.[1]
TDEE at a glance
- Formula: TDEE = resting metabolism × activity factor. Most adults burn about 1.4 to 2 times their BMR.[2]
- Best equations: the NASEM 2023 equations for total burn; Mifflin-St Jeor for resting metabolism (within 10% for 82% of non-obese adults).[3]
- Digestion: about 10% of the total.[4]
- Biggest error: the activity level you pick, not the formula.
- Most accurate of all: your own food and weight log over 3 to 4 weeks.[5]
How to use the TDEE calculator
- Enter your age, sex, height and weight. The equations are for adults aged 19 and over.
- Pick your activity level. Not sure? Open “Use your steps and workouts” in the results and enter your average steps and weekly exercise minutes.
- Optional: add your body fat under More options for the lean-mass formulas, or choose breastfeeding.
- Read your result: your TDEE, the range across five formulas, where the calories go, and your TDEE at every activity level. After 2 to 4 weeks of logging, use “Find your true TDEE” to replace the estimate with your own number.
How to calculate TDEE
Multiply your resting metabolism by an activity factor, or use an equation that predicts the total directly. This calculator does the second, using the NASEM 2023 equations for your sex and activity level.[1]
TDEE = BMR × activity factor (PAL)
NASEM, woman, low active: TDEE = 575.77 − 7.01 × age + 6.60 × height (cm) + 12.14 × weight (kg)
Worked example: a 35-year-old woman, 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) and 160 lb (72.6 kg), who walks about an hour a day. The NASEM equation gives 575.77 − 245 + 1,090 + 881 = about 2,301 calories. Her Mifflin-St Jeor BMR is 1,422, so her TDEE is about 1.62 times her BMR.[6]
| Weight | Inactive | Low active | Active | Very active |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 lb (54 kg) | 1,921 | 2,081 | 2,216 | 2,448 |
| 140 lb (64 kg) | 2,028 | 2,191 | 2,328 | 2,562 |
| 160 lb (73 kg) | 2,134 | 2,301 | 2,440 | 2,675 |
| 180 lb (82 kg) | 2,240 | 2,411 | 2,552 | 2,789 |
| 200 lb (91 kg) | 2,346 | 2,521 | 2,664 | 2,903 |
| 220 lb (100 kg) | 2,452 | 2,632 | 2,776 | 3,017 |
| 240 lb (109 kg) | 2,559 | 2,742 | 2,888 | 3,131 |
| Weight | Inactive | Low active | Active | Very active |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 140 lb (64 kg) | 2,425 | 2,627 | 2,795 | 3,092 |
| 160 lb (73 kg) | 2,553 | 2,762 | 2,940 | 3,265 |
| 180 lb (82 kg) | 2,681 | 2,898 | 3,084 | 3,439 |
| 200 lb (91 kg) | 2,809 | 3,033 | 3,228 | 3,612 |
| 220 lb (100 kg) | 2,937 | 3,169 | 3,373 | 3,786 |
| 240 lb (109 kg) | 3,065 | 3,305 | 3,517 | 3,959 |
| 260 lb (118 kg) | 3,193 | 3,440 | 3,661 | 4,132 |
TDEE vs BMR vs maintenance calories
BMR is what you burn lying still; TDEE is everything you burn in a day; maintenance calories are the intake that matches your TDEE. RMR (resting metabolic rate) is measured under slightly looser conditions and runs a little higher than BMR; calculators use the two almost interchangeably.
TDEE has three parts: resting metabolism, the energy used to digest food, and physical activity.[4] In people eating a mixed diet at energy balance, digestion takes about 10% of daily energy expenditure, within a range of 5 to 15%; protein and alcohol cost more to process than carbohydrate and fat.[4]
| Part | What it is | Example woman |
|---|---|---|
| Resting metabolism (BMR or RMR) | Keeping your heart, brain, organs and temperature running at complete rest | 1,422 calories |
| Digesting food (thermic effect) | Breaking down and storing what you eat: about 10% of the total | 230 calories |
| Daily movement (NEAT) | Walking, standing, chores, fidgeting: everything that is not formal exercise | 649 calories |
| Exercise | Workouts and sport. For most people a smaller share than daily movement | (inside movement) |
Exercise is usually the smaller part of movement. Walking, standing and chores (non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT) vary much more between people and explain much of why two people of the same size burn different amounts.
Which TDEE formula is most accurate?
For total burn, the NASEM 2023 equations; for resting metabolism alone, Mifflin-St Jeor. If your body fat was measured well and you are very lean or very muscular, a lean-mass equation may fit you better.
- NASEM 2023: fitted directly to total energy expenditure measured with doubly labeled water, the gold standard for free-living people, so no separate activity multiplier is needed.[1]
- Mifflin-St Jeor (1990): in a systematic review of the four most used resting equations, it predicted resting metabolism within 10% of measured values in 82% of non-obese and 70% of obese adults, more often than any other.[3]
- Harris-Benedict: first published in 1919 and revised in 1984. For the example woman it gives a slightly higher resting number than Mifflin-St Jeor.[8]
- “Katch-McArdle” (370 + 21.6 × lean mass): the equation most sites call Katch-McArdle was published as a general prediction equation by Cunningham in 1991.[9]
- Cunningham 1980 (500 + 22 × lean mass): in a reanalysis of resting data, lean mass was the single best predictor, and sex and age added little.[10] It gives higher numbers and is often used for athletes.
| Method | Resting (BMR) | Factor | TDEE |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASEM 2023 (doubly labeled water) | — | Own equation | 2,301 |
| Mifflin-St Jeor × NASEM factor | 1,422 | 1.6 | 2,275 |
| Mifflin-St Jeor × usual online multiplier | 1,422 | 1.375 | 1,955 |
| Harris-Benedict (revised 1984) × NASEM factor | 1,479 | 1.6 | 2,366 |
| Cunningham 1991 (“Katch-McArdle”) × NASEM factor | 1,467 | 1.6 | 2,348 |
| Cunningham 1980 × NASEM factor | 1,618 | 1.6 | 2,588 |
Lean-mass equations are only as good as your body fat number. A wrong body fat estimate of 5 points moves lean mass by about 8 lb for the example woman, and her resting estimate by about 78 calories. You can estimate your body fat with our body fat calculator and your lean mass with the lean body mass calculator.
Why do TDEE calculators give different numbers?
Mainly because of the activity multiplier. Most sites multiply BMR by 1.2 for sedentary, 1.375 for lightly active, 1.55 for moderately active, 1.725 for very active and 1.9 for extra active. These multipliers are everywhere, but we could not find a study that validated them.
Measured data tell a different story. The FAO, WHO and UNU, working from doubly labeled water studies, put sedentary and lightly active adults at a physical activity level (PAL, total burn divided by BMR) of 1.40 to 1.69.[2] The NASEM 2023 activity categories are similar.[11]
| Lifestyle (FAO/WHO/UNU) | Measured PAL (TDEE ÷ BMR) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary or light activity | 1.40 to 1.69 | Office worker who gets little or no exercise |
| Active or moderately active | 1.70 to 1.99 | Construction worker, or someone who runs for an hour a day |
| Vigorous or vigorously active | 2.00 to 2.40 | Farm worker without machines, or someone who swims for two hours a day |
So a calculator that uses 1.2 for an office worker will usually come out low. For the example woman, the usual 1.375 multiplier gives 1,955 calories against 2,301 from the NASEM equation, a gap of 346 calories a day. That is why the calculator shows both, and why your own log beats both.
Which activity level are you? Using your steps
Under about 6,000 steps a day with no workouts is inactive; about 9,000 to 11,000 steps is low active; the two higher levels need regular cardio or sport on top. There is no official step count for TDEE levels, so we built a simple, open model from the examples in the 2023 energy guidelines.[11]
The NASEM inactive level already includes about 30 minutes of walking a day; low active adds 60 to 80 minutes of walking at 3 to 4 mph; active adds about 85 minutes of cycling and tennis; very active about 130 minutes of cycling, jogging and tennis.[11] About 100 steps a minute marks moderate walking for most adults,[12] so we count each 100 steps above 3,000 as one minute of brisk walking. Moderate cycling (8 METs) burns about twice the calories above rest of brisk walking (4.3 METs), so cardio and sport minutes count double; general strength training (3.5 METs) counts the same as walking.[13]
| Your week | Step-count label | TDEE level (NASEM) |
|---|---|---|
| 4,000 steps, no workouts | Sedentary | Inactive |
| 7,500 steps, no workouts | Somewhat active | Low active |
| 10,000 steps, no workouts | Active | Low active |
| 8,000 steps + 3 gym sessions of 45 minutes | Somewhat active | Low active |
| 10,000 steps + 60 minutes of cardio 6 days a week | Active | Active |
| 6,000 steps + 2 hours of sport or cardio a day | Low active | Very active |
Step-count labels like “active” at 10,000 steps a day come from public-health step indices, not from energy studies.[14] If you want calories for a single walk, use our steps to calories calculator, and to plan workout intensity, see the heart rate zone calculator.
How to find your true TDEE
Track what you eat and your weight for 3 to 4 weeks, then subtract the energy in your weight change from what you ate. Any equation can be off by 10% or more for one person; your own data are not.[3]
True TDEE = average daily calories − (end weight − start weight) × 3,500 per lb (7,700 per kg) ÷ days
Worked example: a woman eats an average of 1,900 calories a day for 28 days, and her weekly-average weight falls from 160 to 157.5 lb. The 2.5 lb lost is about 8,750 calories, or about 312 a day, so her true TDEE is about 2,213.
The 3,500-calories-per-pound rule fails when it is used to predict weight loss months ahead: in seven closely supervised studies, people lost 20.1 lb on average against 27.6 lb predicted, because the body burns less as it shrinks.[15] Used backwards over a few weeks, with energy balance measured as it happens, the same arithmetic gives a reasonable estimate.[5] To get a clean number:
- Weigh every morning and use weekly averages, since daily weight swings with water, salt and the food in your gut.
- Skip the first week of a new diet, when water and stored carbohydrate drop fast.
- Log everything, including drinks, sauces and cooking oil; missed items make your TDEE look lower than it is.
Does TDEE go down with age?
Much less than most people think until about 60. In doubly labeled water data from 6,421 people in 29 countries, daily energy expenditure adjusted for body size and lean mass stayed stable from age 20 to 60, then declined.[7]
After 60 the fall is gradual, about 0.7% a year, and people in their 90s need about 26% fewer calories than people in midlife.[7] The NASEM equations still lower TDEE a little each decade, which mostly reflects the muscle and activity that people tend to lose with age. Strength training and staying on your feet protect both.
| Age | Woman, 5 ft 5 in, 160 lb, low active | Man, 5 ft 10 in, 180 lb, low active |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | 2,371 | 3,006 |
| 35 | 2,301 | 2,898 |
| 45 | 2,231 | 2,790 |
| 55 | 2,161 | 2,681 |
| 65 | 2,091 | 2,573 |
| 75 | 2,021 | 2,465 |
Does TDEE drop when you lose weight?
Yes. A smaller body burns less at rest and when moving, so your TDEE falls as you lose weight. Each change of 10 calories a day in intake eventually moves body weight by about 1 lb, and about half of that change takes a year.[16]
On top of that, metabolism can slow more than weight loss alone explains, an effect called metabolic adaptation. In an extreme case, 14 people who lost very large amounts of weight in a TV competition still burned about 499 calories a day less at rest than expected for their size 6 years later.[17] Most diets cause much smaller effects. The practical fix is simple: recalculate after every 10 lb (5 kg) you lose, and use the weight-log method when progress stalls.
Are smartwatch calorie numbers accurate?
Not for exact numbers. In a Stanford study of 7 wrist-worn devices in 60 adults, none estimated energy expenditure with an error below 20%; median errors ranged from 27.4% to 92.6%, even though most measured heart rate well.[18]
Watches are still useful for comparing your own days, such as a training day against a rest day. For your TDEE, use an equation as a start and your weight log to correct it.
TDEE while breastfeeding
Breastfeeding adds about 400 calories a day in the first 6 months and about 380 from 7 to 12 months, for full breastfeeding. These are the amounts in the 2023 energy reference values.[19]
The calculator adds them when you choose breastfeeding. It does not estimate TDEE in pregnancy, because needs change with each trimester and your weight before pregnancy; your obstetrician, midwife or a registered dietitian can set those.
How to use your TDEE to lose or gain weight
Eat below your TDEE to lose weight and above it to gain. A deficit of about 500 calories a day is a common starting point.[20]
Do not go below about 1,200 calories a day for women or 1,500 for men without medical supervision.[20] For weight gain, a small surplus with strength training helps more of it become muscle. The calorie calculator sets daily targets for your goal, and the protein intake calculator sets the protein to go with them. For a food-first approach, see our weight-loss guide.
Related calculators
Your TDEE connects to the rest of your numbers. Check your BMI, body fat and lean body mass, set your calories and protein, and turn your walks into calories with the steps calculator.
More free tools for food, training and daily health.
TDEE calculator FAQ
What is TDEE?
TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is all the calories you burn in a day: your resting metabolism, the energy used to digest food, and all your movement, from walking and chores to workouts. For a 35-year-old woman, 5 ft 5 in and 160 lb, who walks about an hour a day, it is about 2,301 calories.
Is TDEE the same as maintenance calories?
Yes. If you eat about your TDEE on average, your weight stays about the same. Eat less and you lose weight; eat more and you gain. Your real maintenance can still differ from any calculator by 10% or more, which is why the weight-log method in this calculator is useful.
What is the difference between TDEE and BMR?
BMR (basal metabolic rate) is what you burn at complete rest. TDEE adds digestion (about 10%) and all your movement. For most adults TDEE is about 1.4 to 2 times BMR. For the 160 lb example woman, BMR is about 1,422 calories and TDEE about 2,301.
Does TDEE include exercise?
Yes. TDEE is everything you burn, including workouts, so do not add exercise calories on top of it. Pick the activity level that matches your usual week, workouts included.
How many steps a day is sedentary for TDEE?
There is no official step count for TDEE levels. Using the examples in the 2023 energy guidelines and a pace of about 100 steps a minute, under about 6,000 steps a day with no workouts fits the inactive level, and about 9,000 to 11,000 steps fits low active. Note that 10,000 steps counts as active on step scales but only low active for TDEE.
Which TDEE formula is most accurate?
For total burn, the 2023 National Academies equations are the best choice because they were built from doubly labeled water measurements of people going about their normal lives. For resting metabolism, Mifflin-St Jeor came within 10% of measured values in 82% of non-obese and 70% of obese adults. If you know your body fat from a good scan, a lean-mass equation can help if you are very lean or very muscular.
Why do TDEE calculators give different numbers?
Mostly because of the activity multiplier, not the BMR formula. Many sites multiply BMR by 1.2 for sedentary and 1.375 for lightly active, while doubly labeled water studies put sedentary adults at about 1.40 to 1.69. For the example woman that gap is about 346 calories a day.
How do I find my true TDEE?
Log what you eat and weigh yourself for at least 2 to 4 weeks. Then TDEE equals your average daily calories minus your weight change times 3,500 calories per pound (7,700 per kg), divided by the number of days. The calculator does this for you under "Find your true TDEE".
How often should I recalculate my TDEE?
Recalculate whenever your weight changes by about 10 lb (5 kg), your activity changes, or your weight has not moved for 3 weeks or more at the same intake. A lower weight burns fewer calories, so the same intake gives smaller losses over time.
Are Apple Watch and Garmin calorie numbers accurate?
Not very. In a Stanford study of 7 wrist devices, none estimated energy expenditure with an error below 20%, even though heart rate was fairly accurate. Use watch calories to compare your own days, not as an exact number.
Should I eat less than my TDEE or my BMR to lose weight?
Eat below your TDEE, not necessarily below your BMR. A deficit of about 500 calories a day is a common start, but most women should not go under 1,200 calories a day and most men under 1,500 without medical supervision.
Can teenagers use this TDEE calculator?
No. The equations are for adults aged 19 and over. Teens are still growing and need more energy for that, so ask a doctor or registered dietitian, or use a calculator built for children and teens.
Sources
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2023. Summary and Table S-1. Link
- FAO, WHO, UNU. Human energy requirements: report of a joint FAO/WHO/UNU expert consultation, chapter 5: energy requirement of adults. Rome: FAO; 2004. Link
- Frankenfield D, Roth-Yousey L, Compher C. Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults: a systematic review. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005;105(5):775-789. Link
- Westerterp KR. Diet induced thermogenesis. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2004;1(1):5. Link
- Hall KD, Chow CC. Why is the 3500 kcal per pound weight loss rule wrong? Int J Obes. 2013;37(12):1614. Link
- Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, Scott BJ, Daugherty SA, Koh YO. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51(2):241-247. Link
- Pontzer H, Yamada Y, Sagayama H, et al. Daily energy expenditure through the human life course. Science. 2021;373(6556):808-812. Link
- Roza AM, Shizgal HM. The Harris Benedict equation reevaluated: resting energy requirements and the body cell mass. Am J Clin Nutr. 1984;40(1):168-182. Link
- Cunningham JJ. Body composition as a determinant of energy expenditure: a synthetic review and a proposed general prediction equation. Am J Clin Nutr. 1991;54(6):963-969. Link
- Cunningham JJ. A reanalysis of the factors influencing basal metabolic rate in normal adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 1980;33(11):2372-2374. Link
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, chapter 7, Table 7-1: daily activities by physical activity level category. 2023. Link
- Tudor-Locke C, Aguiar EJ, Han H, et al. Walking cadence (steps/min) and intensity in 21-40 year olds: CADENCE-adults. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2019;16:8. Link
- Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Herrmann SD, et al. 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities: a second update of codes and MET values. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011;43(8):1575-1581. Link
- Tudor-Locke C, Bassett DR Jr. How many steps/day are enough? Preliminary pedometer indices for public health. Sports Med. 2004;34(1):1-8. Link
- Thomas DM, Martin CK, Lettieri S, et al. Can a weight loss of one pound a week be achieved with a 3500-kcal deficit? Commentary on a commonly accepted rule. Int J Obes. 2013;37(12):1611-1613. Link
- Hall KD, Sacks G, Chandramohan D, et al. Quantification of the effect of energy imbalance on bodyweight. Lancet. 2011;378(9793):826-837. Link
- Fothergill E, Guo J, Howard L, et al. Persistent metabolic adaptation 6 years after "The Biggest Loser" competition. Obesity. 2016;24(8):1612-1619. Link
- Shcherbina A, Mattsson CM, Waggott D, et al. Accuracy in wrist-worn, sensor-based measurements of heart rate and energy expenditure in a diverse cohort. J Pers Med. 2017;7(2):3. Link
- Health Canada. Dietary reference intakes tables: equations to estimate energy requirement (including lactation). 2023. Link
- Jensen MD, et al. 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS guideline for the management of overweight and obesity in adults (summary by the American College of Cardiology). Link
This calculator gives estimates for healthy adults aged 19 and over. It is not medical advice and does not replace a doctor or registered dietitian. Equations can be off by 10% or more for any one person. If you are pregnant, have a thyroid or other medical condition, take a weight-loss medicine, or have a history of disordered eating, ask your doctor or dietitian before changing how much you eat.
