TDEE Calculator
How many calories should you actually eat?
TDEE Calculator
Daily Calories · Macros · Activity Sensitivity · 12-Week Projection
Results update in real time as you adjust any input.
5'10" = 70 in
Activity Level
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TDEE — Total Daily Energy Expenditure — is the number of calories your body actually burns each day when you account for everything you do. It's not your BMR (the calories you'd burn lying completely still). It's not a generic "2,000 calories." It's your specific number, for your body and your lifestyle. This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the most validated formula for estimating basal metabolic rate, then multiplies by an activity factor based on how much you actually move. The result is the calorie intake where your weight stays exactly the same. Eat below it to lose. Eat above it to gain. The goal setting feature applies sensible adjustments: a 500-calorie daily deficit targets approximately 1 pound per week of fat loss — the evidence-based "safe and sustainable" pace. A 300-calorie surplus supports lean muscle gain without excessive fat accumulation. Macro targets are calculated automatically based on your goal, because total calories alone aren't enough — the distribution of protein, carbohydrates, and fat affects satiety, muscle retention, and body composition, especially in a deficit.
- →Starting a weight loss plan — find your actual maintenance calories before cutting
- →Troubleshooting a weight loss plateau — your TDEE may have changed as your weight dropped
- →Planning a lean bulk — eat precisely above maintenance without excessive fat gain
- →Comparing the calorie impact of changing your activity level
- →Setting up a macro tracking app — TDEE is the starting point for all macro math
Nina is 32, female, 148 lbs, 5'5", moderately active (gym 4x/week). Her TDEE comes to 2,210 calories. She wants to lose weight. At a 500-calorie deficit, her target is 1,710 calories. Macros: 150g protein, 172g carbs, 47g fat. She's been eating 1,400 calories thinking she was in a big deficit — actually she was under-eating by 800 calories, slowing her metabolism and losing muscle. Eating at 1,710 with adequate protein preserves muscle and produces more sustainable results.
What's the difference between TDEE and BMR?
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the calories your body burns just to stay alive — organs functioning, breathing, maintaining body temperature — if you lay completely still all day. TDEE multiplies BMR by an activity factor to account for all movement: walking, exercise, fidgeting, work. Most people's TDEE is 40–80% higher than their BMR.
How accurate is the TDEE calculator?
TDEE calculators are estimates, not measurements. The Mifflin-St Jeor formula is generally accurate within 10% for most people. The bigger source of error is the activity multiplier — most people overestimate their activity level. If you're not losing weight at a supposed deficit, your actual TDEE may be lower than calculated, or your calorie tracking may be off.
How fast should I lose weight?
A deficit of 500 calories/day produces roughly 1 lb/week of weight loss. Evidence suggests this pace preserves more muscle mass than faster deficits. Deficits above 1,000 calories/day increase muscle loss, nutrient deficiencies, and metabolic adaptation. A 0.5–1% of body weight loss per week is generally considered optimal for most people.
Should I eat back calories burned during exercise?
Depends on your TDEE calculation. If you selected an activity level that includes your workouts, those calories are already built in — don't eat them back. If you selected 'sedentary' and exercise separately, eating back roughly 50–75% of estimated exercise calories is a reasonable approach (calorie burn estimates are notoriously inaccurate).