🔥 TDEE Calculator
What is TDEE?
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total number of calories your body burns in a day — your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate, the energy used just to stay alive at rest) plus the energy used for movement, exercise, and digestion. Eating at your TDEE maintains your current weight; eating below it creates a deficit for weight loss, and above it a surplus for weight gain.
Why This Calculator Shows Every Activity Level at Once
Most people aren't sure which activity level actually describes them. Seeing all five side by side — instead of committing to one before you see any numbers — makes it easier to sanity-check where you actually fall, and to see how much of a difference activity level really makes to your daily needs.
⚠️ Consult a healthcare provider or registered dietitian before making significant dietary changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
BMR is the energy your body burns at complete rest, just to stay alive. TDEE adds everything else on top — walking, exercising, fidgeting, even digesting food — so TDEE is always higher than BMR unless you're lying perfectly still all day.
Be honest rather than aspirational — "moderate" assumes structured exercise 3–5 days a week on top of a normal day, not just an intention to start. Most people with a desk job and occasional workouts fall into Light or Moderate, not Active.
Formula-based estimates like this one can be off by 15–20% for any individual, since they can't account for genetics, muscle mass, or metabolic adaptation. Use the number as a starting point, then adjust up or down based on your actual weight trend over 2–4 weeks.
Most people do better averaging their target over the week rather than hitting an exact number daily — a slightly higher-calorie training day and a slightly lower-calorie rest day can average out to the same weekly total.