TDEE Calculator
Calculate Total Daily Energy Expenditure from your BMR and activity level, and see the calorie targets for cutting, maintaining and lean bulking.
TDEE Calculator
Results recalculate instantly on every keystroke. Nothing you type is transmitted.
What this result does not account for
- Results are a model, not a quotation — an institution's own figures govern.
- Every input is an assumption; change one and the answer changes with it.
- Rounding is applied only at the display layer, so totals may differ by a cent from a statement that rounds each line.
In short: Total Daily Energy Expenditure is the calories you burn in a day, calculated as your Basal Metabolic Rate multiplied by an activity factor from 1.2 for sedentary to 1.9 for extremely active. Eating at your TDEE maintains weight; a deficit of roughly 500 calories per day produces about 0.45 kg of fat loss per week.
Formula
s is +5 for men and −161 for women. The activity factor ranges from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (extremely active) and multiplies the whole basal figure.
Worked Example
- Compute BMR. 10 × 82 + 6.25 × 178 − 5 × 35 + 5 = 820 + 1,112.5 − 175 + 5 = 1,763 kcal/day.
- Pick the activity factor. Training three to five times a week gives 1.55.
- Multiply. 1,762.5 × 1.55 = 2,732 kcal/day.
- Isolate activity. 2,732 − 1,763 = 969 kcal burned above basal metabolism.
- Set the targets. A 20% cut is 2,186 kcal, a 10% cut 2,459 kcal, and a 10% lean bulk 3,005 kcal per day.
Practical note. Treat 2,732 as a starting hypothesis, not a measurement. Activity multipliers are coarse, and real-world adherence varies. Track weight for two to three weeks and adjust the figure until it matches what the scale actually does.
Strengths & Limits Of This Model
Where this engine is strong
- Runs entirely in your browser — no figure you type is transmitted or stored.
- Shows the full working, so every number can be traced and challenged.
- Free, unmetered and free of affiliate incentives.
Where it stops
- Generalised assumptions cannot capture every individual circumstance.
- Jurisdiction-specific rules and mid-year changes may not be reflected.
- A model output is not a substitute for a professional review of your position.
Practical Use Cases
Setting a calorie target that will actually work
Most failed diets start from a number that was never calibrated to the individual. Establish TDEE first, apply a moderate deficit, then verify against real weight change over a fortnight. Split the result into grams with the Macro Calculator.
Planning a lean bulk without excessive fat gain
A surplus of roughly 10% is enough to support muscle growth while limiting fat accumulation. Larger surpluses accelerate weight gain but shift the ratio unfavourably — check the composition outcome with the Body Fat Calculator as you go.
Understanding why weight loss stalls
TDEE falls as you lose weight, because a lighter body costs less to run. The deficit that worked at the start becomes maintenance later, so recalculate every few kilograms and revisit the Weight Loss Calculator for a revised timeline.
Methodology & Editorial Standards
Basal metabolic rate uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which validation studies consistently find more accurate than Harris-Benedict for contemporary populations, with a typical error of around 10% in individuals. Total daily energy expenditure applies the standard Katch activity multipliers from 1.2 to 1.9. The 0.5 kg per week target uses the conventional 7,700 kcal per kilogram of adipose tissue, giving a daily deficit of 550 kcal, and the engine flags when that target falls below basal metabolic rate — a level at which intake should not be set without clinical supervision. Individual variation in metabolic rate is substantial; treat the output as a calibrated starting point to be verified against observed weight change. This engine implements the published formula exactly as specified in the source literature, with inputs validated for physiological plausibility before evaluation. Values outside the domain of the formula return an em-dash rather than a misleading figure.
Computation runs in IEEE-754 double precision at full internal precision; rounding to two decimal places occurs strictly at the display layer, so no cumulative drift enters the result. All monetary outputs use accounting presentation — grouped thousands, two decimals, negatives in parentheses — so figures can be transcribed directly into a model or working paper. Division-by-zero and out-of-domain inputs return an em-dash rather than a misleading number.
This engine was reconciled against an independent reference implementation and hand-verified for the worked example above before release. Our full five-stage review process is published on the About Us page.
Disclaimer. This calculator is provided for informational and modelling purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, legal, medical, or engineering advice. Verify all figures with a qualified professional before acting on them.
TDEE Calculator — 20 Expert FAQs
20 analyst-written answers to the questions practitioners actually ask — optimised for voice and answer-engine retrieval.
What is TDEE?
Total Daily Energy Expenditure is the total number of calories your body burns in 24 hours, combining basal metabolism, the thermic effect of food, deliberate exercise and all incidental movement. Eating at TDEE holds weight stable.
How accurate is a TDEE calculation?
It is a population estimate with an individual error typically around 10%, occasionally more. Two people with identical statistics can differ by several hundred calories a day. Use it as a starting point, then adjust based on two to three weeks of actual weight data.
Which activity multiplier should I choose?
Most people overestimate. Three to five genuine training sessions a week is 1.55; a desk job with occasional walking is closer to 1.2. If your weight is not moving as predicted, the multiplier is the most likely culprit.
Should I eat back the calories I burn exercising?
Not if you selected an activity multiplier that already includes your training — that would double count. Only add exercise calories back if you calculated TDEE at the sedentary level and log workouts separately.
How big a deficit should I run?
Ten to twenty percent below TDEE suits most people, giving roughly 0.5 to 1% of body weight lost per week. Larger deficits accelerate loss but increase lean tissue loss, hunger and the likelihood of abandoning the plan.
Why has my weight loss stalled at the same calories?
Because TDEE is not fixed. A lighter body burns less at rest and costs less to move, and metabolic adaptation reduces expenditure further. Recalculate every 3 to 5 kg of weight change and adjust intake accordingly.
Does TDEE include the thermic effect of food?
Yes, implicitly. Digestion accounts for roughly 10% of intake and is absorbed into the activity multipliers rather than shown separately, since the multipliers were derived from total expenditure measurements.
Is Mifflin-St Jeor better than Harris-Benedict?
For most contemporary adults, yes. Mifflin-St Jeor was derived in 1990 from a more representative sample and validation studies consistently find it closer to measured expenditure. Harris-Benedict, from 1919, tends to overestimate slightly.
Does TDEE change day to day?
Considerably. A heavy training day, a long walk, poor sleep, illness or even ambient temperature all shift expenditure. The figure here is an average; there is no need to match intake to each day's activity precisely.
Why does the calculator warn about going below BMR?
Sustained intake below basal metabolic rate risks nutrient deficiency, accelerated lean mass loss and hormonal disruption. Very low calorie approaches occasionally have a clinical role, but only under medical supervision.
Does muscle mass affect TDEE?
Yes, though less dramatically than often claimed. Skeletal muscle burns roughly 13 kcal per kilogram per day at rest, so several kilograms of added muscle raises BMR modestly. The larger benefit is the training itself and the extra capacity for activity.
How does age reduce TDEE?
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation subtracts 5 calories per year of age, reflecting the gradual loss of lean mass and reduced organ metabolic activity. Maintaining muscle through resistance training substantially blunts this decline.
Is this tdee calculator free to use?
Yes. It is free, requires no account, and has no usage limits. ApexConverter is funded by contextual advertising, never by selling user data.
Is my data sent to a server?
No. The engine runs as Vanilla JavaScript inside your browser under our Zero-Server Client-Side Execution model. Your figures are computed locally and are never transmitted, logged, or stored.
How accurate is this calculator?
It applies the standard closed-form formula in IEEE-754 double precision, rounding only at the display layer. The engine is reconciled against an independent reference implementation before release.
Does it work on mobile?
Yes. The interface is mobile-first with numeric keypad hints and is tested down to a 320-pixel viewport with no horizontal scrolling.
Can I use it offline?
Largely, yes. Because computation is client-side, the page continues to calculate without a network connection once it has loaded.
Which currency does it use?
Amounts display in US$ accounting format, but the underlying mathematics is currency-agnostic. The result is identical in any currency, so simply read the figures in your own.
Why does a result show an em-dash?
An em-dash indicates the calculation is not defined for the inputs given — typically a division by zero or a value outside the valid domain. We show a dash rather than a misleading number.
How do I report an error?
Email apexconverter.praxiscalc@gmail.com with the tool URL, your exact inputs, the output received and the output you expected. Verified mathematical errors are patched within 72 hours.