TDEE calculator
Estimate how many calories you burn each day, and see starting calorie targets to maintain, lose or gain weight.
Fill in the form to see your estimate.
- Maintain
- Mild loss (~0.5 lb/wk)
- Loss (~1 lb/wk)
- Gain (~0.5 lb/wk)
For general information only, not medical advice. Your results stay on your device.
How your daily calorie burn adds up
Most of the calories you burn go to keeping you alive at rest: your basal metabolic rate, or BMR. The rest comes from digesting food and moving, both exercise and everyday activity like walking and standing. TDEE combines all of these into one number.
Activity levels
- Sedentary: desk job, little exercise (BMR × 1.2)
- Lightly active: light exercise 1–3 days a week (× 1.375)
- Moderately active: moderate exercise 3–5 days a week (× 1.55)
- Very active: hard exercise 6–7 days a week (× 1.725)
- Extra active: physical job or training twice a day (× 1.9)
Calorie targets below 1,200 a day for women or 1,500 a day for men are generally not recommended without medical supervision.
Want support beyond calorie counting?
For some people, appetite makes a calorie target hard to stick to. A licensed provider can review whether GLP-1 treatment is right for you.
Common questions
What is TDEE?
Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is an estimate of the calories you burn in a day, including your resting metabolism, digestion and physical activity.
How is TDEE calculated?
This calculator estimates your basal metabolic rate (BMR) with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then multiplies it by an activity factor based on how active you are.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
A common starting point is about 500 calories below your TDEE, which works out to roughly 1 pound per week for many people. Very low-calorie diets should only be followed with medical supervision.
How accurate is this?
It is an estimate. Real calorie needs can differ by 10% or more depending on body composition, genetics, medications and health conditions. Track your progress and adjust.