TDEE calculator

BMR and TDEE are not the same number

BMR is the floor: what you would burn if you lay still for twenty four hours. For most people it is the biggest single chunk of the day, and it is not the number to eat against. TDEE is BMR multiplied by how you actually live. The gap between them is often four or five hundred calories, which is the difference between losing weight steadily and wondering why nothing is happening.

The multipliers this tool uses are 1.2, 1.375, 1.55 and 1.725. Most people overestimate here. If you are unsure between two, take the lower one and let the scale correct you.

Common questions

What is TDEE?

Total daily energy expenditure: everything your body burns in a day. It is your basal metabolic rate, which is what you would burn lying still, multiplied by how much you move. You eat against TDEE, never against BMR.

How is TDEE calculated?

BMR from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then an activity multiplier: 1.2 for a desk job, 1.375 for lightly active, 1.55 for active, 1.725 for hard training most days.

How accurate is a TDEE calculator?

Mifflin-St Jeor is the most accurate of the common equations and it is still an estimate. Individual metabolisms vary by roughly 10% either way. Use the number as a starting point and correct it against what the scale does over two to three weeks.

Should I eat back the calories I burn exercising?

Usually not. The activity multiplier already includes your normal training week, so adding your watch estimate on top counts it twice. If your training genuinely changes, move up an activity level.

What should I eat to lose weight from my TDEE?

Subtract 300 to 700 kcal a day. That loses roughly 0.3 to 0.7 kg a week, which is fast enough to see and slow enough to keep muscle. Our free calorie deficit calculator sizes it from your goal weight and a pace you choose.