Your Daily Calorie
TDEE Calculator
Calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure using the most accurate formulas available. Get personalised calorie targets, macro breakdowns, and a full nutrition roadmap.
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Fill in your details and press Calculate to see your personalised calorie needs.
Recommended Macronutrients
Why TDEE Is the Most Important
Number in Nutrition
Unlike a generic 2,000-calorie guideline, your TDEE is unique to you. It's the foundation of any effective nutrition strategy — whether you want to lose fat, gain muscle, or optimise performance.
Underpinning Energy Balance
Every nutrition outcome — fat loss, muscle gain, weight maintenance — is governed by energy balance. TDEE defines the exact fulcrum: eat below it and you lose weight; above it and you gain.
Personalisation Over Guesswork
A 5'4" sedentary woman and a 6'2" athletic man have vastly different calorie needs. Generic guidelines fail both. TDEE puts you in control of your own biology with precision.
Prevents Metabolic Adaptation
Eating too far below your TDEE triggers metabolic adaptation — the body reduces its expenditure to match intake, causing fat loss to stall. Knowing your TDEE lets you create a sustainable deficit.
Muscle Gain Precision
A lean bulk requires a calculated surplus of only 200–500 kcal/day above TDEE. Too large a surplus leads to excessive fat gain. TDEE knowledge makes the difference between a clean bulk and a dirty one.
Performance Optimisation
Athletes and active individuals who under-eat relative to their TDEE risk low energy availability (LEA), hormonal disruption, reduced performance, and increased injury risk.
Tracking Baseline
TDEE is your nutritional baseline. As your weight, activity, or body composition changes, your TDEE shifts too. Recalculating every 4–6 weeks ensures your targets stay accurate.
How BMR & TDEE Are Calculated
The calculator uses three validated equations. Choose based on what information you have available.
Published in 1990, the Mifflin-St Jeor equation is considered the gold standard by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. It is the most accurate for most adults.
BMR = (10 × weight_kg) + (6.25 × height_cm) − (5 × age) + 5
// Female BMR
BMR = (10 × weight_kg) + (6.25 × height_cm) − (5 × age) − 161
// TDEE
TDEE = BMR × Activity Multiplier
Originally developed in 1919, the Harris-Benedict equation was revised by Roza and Shizgal (1984). More conservative than Mifflin-St Jeor and tends to slightly over-estimate calorie needs in sedentary individuals.
BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 × kg) + (4.799 × cm) − (5.677 × age)
// Female BMR (Revised, 1984)
BMR = 447.593 + (9.247 × kg) + (3.098 × cm) − (4.330 × age)
// TDEE
TDEE = BMR × Activity Multiplier
The Katch-McArdle formula calculates BMR from lean body mass (LBM), making it the most accurate formula for athletes and individuals who know their body fat percentage.
LBM = weight_kg × (1 − body_fat_fraction)
// BMR (same formula for all sexes)
BMR = 370 + (21.6 × LBM)
// TDEE
TDEE = BMR × Activity Multiplier
Understanding Activity Levels
The activity multiplier (PAL — Physical Activity Level) is the single biggest variable in your TDEE. Choosing the right level is critical for accuracy.
| Level | Multiplier | Description | Examples | % of Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | × 1.2 | Little or no exercise, desk-based work all day | Office worker, driver, retail cashier with no gym routine | ~40% |
| Lightly Active | × 1.375 | Light exercise 1–3 days per week, otherwise mostly sedentary | Walking 30 min/day, yoga 2×/week, desk job + occasional gym | ~30% |
| Moderately Active | × 1.55 | Moderate exercise 3–5 days/week, active lifestyle | Gym 4×/week, cycling commuter, recreational sports player | ~20% |
| Very Active | × 1.725 | Hard exercise 6–7 days/week, physically demanding lifestyle | Competitive athlete, manual labourer who also trains, CrossFit 5×/week | ~8% |
| Extremely Active | × 1.9 | Very hard daily training + physical job, or two-a-day sessions | Elite endurance athletes, military in training, professional bodybuilders in prep | ~2% |
⚠️ Most people overestimate their activity level. If in doubt, start one level lower and adjust based on real-world weight changes over 2–3 weeks.
Understanding Your Macros
Once you know your calorie target, macronutrient distribution determines body composition, energy levels, and long-term health outcomes.
Typical TDEE Ranges by Profile
Use this table to sanity-check your result. Individual variation based on body composition, genetics, and metabolic health can be 10–20% beyond these ranges.
| Profile | Sedentary | Lightly Active | Moderately Active | Very Active |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woman, 25, 55 kg, 163 cm | 1,480 | 1,700 | 1,920 | 2,200 |
| Woman, 35, 65 kg, 165 cm | 1,550 | 1,780 | 2,010 | 2,310 |
| Woman, 45, 70 kg, 168 cm | 1,560 | 1,790 | 2,020 | 2,320 |
| Woman, 55, 68 kg, 165 cm | 1,480 | 1,700 | 1,920 | 2,200 |
| Man, 25, 75 kg, 178 cm | 1,890 | 2,170 | 2,450 | 2,820 |
| Man, 35, 85 kg, 180 cm | 1,970 | 2,260 | 2,550 | 2,940 |
| Man, 45, 90 kg, 183 cm | 1,970 | 2,270 | 2,560 | 2,940 |
| Man, 55, 85 kg, 180 cm | 1,870 | 2,150 | 2,430 | 2,790 |
| Teen girl, 16, 55 kg, 162 cm | 1,600 | 1,840 | 2,070 | 2,380 |
| Teen boy, 17, 70 kg, 178 cm | 2,000 | 2,300 | 2,600 | 2,990 |
Applying Your TDEE in Real Life
Knowing your TDEE is step one. Here's how to actually use it to reach your goals.
For Fat Loss: Use a Moderate Deficit
Aim for a deficit of 300–500 kcal/day (0.5–1% of body weight per week loss). Larger deficits increase muscle loss, hunger, and metabolic adaptation. Slow and steady preserves the most lean mass.
For Muscle Gain: Eat a Clean Surplus
A surplus of 200–300 kcal/day is sufficient for most natural trainees. More than 500 kcal/day above TDEE leads predominantly to fat gain, not additional muscle growth.
Recalculate Every 4–6 Weeks
As your weight changes, so does your TDEE. A 5 kg weight loss can reduce your TDEE by 100–150 kcal/day. Update your targets to avoid stalling.
Prioritise Protein First
Hit your protein target (1.6–2.2g/kg) before filling remaining calories with carbs and fat. Protein is the most satiating macro and the most critical for body composition.
Consider Calorie Cycling
Eat more on training days and less on rest days, keeping the weekly average at your target. This supports performance, recovery, and long-term adherence better than a flat daily target.
Track Weekly Average Weight
Daily weight fluctuates by 1–3 kg due to water, food volume, and hormones. Use a 7-day rolling average to assess real trends. If weight isn't moving, adjust by 100–150 kcal/day.
Don't Fear Refeed Days
A weekly refeed day at or above TDEE during a cut temporarily restores leptin, reduces cortisol, replenishes glycogen, and supports training performance — all without meaningfully impacting fat loss.
TDEE Is an Estimate — Test It
Formulas have a ±10–15% error margin. Track your intake for 2–3 weeks and compare to actual weight change. Adjust until the real-world result matches the expected outcome.