TDEE calculator
Total daily energy expenditure: the calories you burn in a day.
About this calculator
This TDEE calculator estimates your total daily energy expenditure, the calories you burn in a day including exercise and everyday movement. It's the number to eat to keep your weight steady.
Choose the Mifflin-St Jeor, Harris-Benedict or Katch-McArdle formula, and see your TDEE at every activity level so you can plan for busy and quiet weeks.
How it works
TDEE is your resting burn (BMR) multiplied by an activity factor, from 1.2 if you mostly sit to 1.9 for a physical job plus hard training.
Last reviewed:
Worked example
- Units: Feet and pounds
- Sex: Female
- Age: 35 years
- Height: 5 ft 7 in
- Weight: 155 lb
- Activity: Light exercise, 1 to 3 days a week
- Formula: Mifflin-St Jeor (recommended)
Your TDEE: 1,967 kcal (a day)
Common questions
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is what your body burns at complete rest. TDEE adds everything you do on top, from walking and working to exercise, so it's always higher.
How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
It's an estimate, usually within about 10% for most people. Track your weight for two or three weeks and adjust your calories if it moves when you expected it to stay the same.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
Eating about 500 kcal a day below your TDEE leads to roughly 0.5 kg (1 lb) of weight loss a week. Very low intakes are hard to keep up and best done with medical advice.
Sources and further reading
The story behind it
Where the idea came from: J. Arthur Harris and Francis Benedict published the first widely used equations for daily energy use in 1919.
Around 1900, scientists began measuring the energy people use by sealing volunteers in chambers and recording the heat they gave off. Harris and Benedict turned those measurements into equations based on weight, height and age. Newer equations, such as Mifflin-St Jeor from 1990, are now more widely used, and this calculator offers both.
Why you can trust this calculator
- It runs in your browser. Nothing you type into it is sent anywhere.
- The method is explained on this page, so you can check it yourself.
- Free to use, with no sign-up.
- Results are estimates, not medical advice.
- Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll look into it.
After 15 years as a mathematics educator, I built CalculStore to give students, teachers, professionals and anyone working with numbers simple, reliable tools.
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