Maintain weight
Choose Maintain to use your estimated TDEE as the calorie target. Think of it as a starting point to check against your usual intake and weight trend.
TDEE Calculator
Estimate how many calories you burn in a typical day, then compare targets for maintaining, losing, or gaining weight. This free TDEE calculator uses your body stats and activity level. Choose lb and ft/in or kg and cm; no body fat estimate is needed.
Your daily energy
Estimated maintenance calories
Enter your details to find the daily calories that help maintain your current weight.
BMRActivity levelTDEE
Your estimate includes
Daily maintenance calories
A calorie target for your goal
BMR and a calculation breakdown
Based on the Mifflin–St Jeor equation. An estimate to use as a starting point.
Turn your TDEE into a calorie target
TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure: the calories your body uses across a whole day. Your result is an estimate of your maintenance calories—the daily intake that would keep your weight stable on average. Your goal determines how the calorie target compares with that estimate.
Lose weight / cut
Choose Lose weight to compare a target 250 or 500 kcal below maintenance. These are example deficits; a fixed adjustment does not suit everyone or predict a rate of weight loss.
Gain weight / bulk
Choose Gain weight to compare a target 250 or 500 kcal above maintenance. The result is a surplus scenario; it does not tell you how much of a weight change will be muscle.
After calculating, switch goals to compare targets instantly. If you edit your body stats or activity level, select Calculate TDEE again to update the estimate. Results use kcal/day, the Calories used on food labels.
Which activity level should I choose?
Look at your whole usual week: work, commuting, walking, chores, and training. A desk job with a few gym sessions and a physically demanding job can involve very different amounts of daily movement. Use the descriptions in the activity selector, or open Help me choose to compare all five levels.
| Activity level | Factor | What your usual week looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | 1.2 | Mostly sitting, with little daily movement or exercise. |
| Lightly Active | 1.375 | Mostly sitting, with some walking, errands, and light exercise. |
| Moderately Active | 1.55 | Regular daily movement plus moderate training, or an on-your-feet job with some exercise. |
| Very Active | 1.725 | A physically demanding daily routine plus frequent hard training. |
| Extra Active | 1.9 | Very physical work combined with intensive athletic training. |
Sedentary or lightly active?
Working from home, driving for errands, and doing little exercise may fit Sedentary. Adding regular walks and some light exercise may make Lightly Active a closer match. Compare the full descriptions; a workout count or step total alone cannot settle the choice.
Does TDEE include exercise calories?
Yes. The activity factor already accounts for the movement and exercise described by your chosen level. Adding the same workout calories from a watch or fitness app would count that activity twice.
BMR vs TDEE: see how the estimate works
Start with resting energy
BMR is the resting-energy estimate shown in your results. TDEE adds an allowance for your daily activity. BMR alone is not your maintenance calorie target.
This calculator uses the simplified Mifflin–St Jeor equation, which estimates resting energy from weight, height, age, and sex:
BMR = 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age + s
Use age in years. The sex term s is +5 for males and −161 for females. Imperial measurements are converted to kg and cm for the calculation.
TDEE = BMR × activity factor
The calculator multiplies the unrounded resting estimate by your selected activity factor, then rounds TDEE to the nearest kcal. No body fat percentage is used.
Same body stats, different activity
Example: a 30-year-old male, 175 cm tall and 70 kg, has a resting estimate of 1,648.75 kcal/day, displayed as 1,649. Keeping those body stats fixed gives:
| Activity choice | Factor | TDEE (kcal/day) |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | 1.2 | 1,979 |
| Lightly Active | 1.375 | 2,267 |
| Moderately Active | 1.55 | 2,556 |
At the Moderately Active setting, a 250 kcal deficit gives an example target of 2,306 kcal/day; a 250 kcal surplus gives 2,806 kcal/day. The maintenance estimate stays at 2,556. These are worked examples, not your personal results.
Check your maintenance calories against real life
A formula gives you a starting point. Consistent food and weight records can help you judge whether it fits your routine. A short log still has uncertainty, so avoid treating one day or one weigh-in as a verdict.
Keep a consistent record
Record your food and drinks, including portions, cooking oils, and extras that are easy to miss. If you track weight, use similar weighing conditions so the records are easier to compare.
Look at trends over several weeks
Compare average intake with weekly average weights. A sustained, broadly stable weight trend can suggest that recorded intake is near maintenance, provided the records are reasonably complete. A rising or falling trend calls for reviewing the estimate and assumptions.
Recalculate when your routine changes
Update your weight and activity choice after a meaningful change in body weight, work, or training. Keep checking the longer-term trend. This tool does not import logs or automatically adjust your TDEE from them.
TDEE calculator questions
How accurate is this TDEE calculator?
It estimates daily energy needs from a population-based resting-energy equation and a broad activity category. Body composition, everyday movement, and input errors can all affect how well it fits you. A result rounded to one calorie is a display choice, not a claim of that level of accuracy. Use the estimate alongside longer-term records.
Why do TDEE calculators give different results?
Compare the resting-energy equation and activity assumptions first. A tool using Harris–Benedict or a body-fat-based equation such as Katch–McArdle may produce a different starting number. Even tools using Mifflin–St Jeor may define activity categories differently. Unit conversions and rounding can also change the displayed result. This page uses the formula and multipliers listed above.
Can I calculate TDEE without knowing my body fat percentage?
Yes. This calculator needs your age, biological sex, height, weight, and typical activity. Mifflin–St Jeor does not require body fat percentage, so there is no need to guess it to use this tool.
Do 10,000 steps a day make me moderately active?
A step count alone does not establish an activity level. Consider your work routine, other movement, and the type and intensity of your exercise as well. Compare the activity descriptions above and review the estimate against your records rather than assigning a multiplier from steps alone.
Should I use a different TDEE on rest days?
The activity choice here describes a typical week, so the result is a daily average for that routine. This calculator does not create separate training-day and rest-day targets. Use an activity level that reflects the overall balance of both.
Why am I not losing weight if I eat below my estimated TDEE?
The displayed TDEE is an estimate, and the food and weight records used to check it can also be incomplete or noisy. Review portions, drinks, your activity choice, and the trend over several weeks before drawing a conclusion. A short-term mismatch does not establish a medical cause or mean you should automatically eat less. A registered dietitian or healthcare professional can help if the pattern persists.
Does this calculator give me macros?
The results include calorie targets and an optional Protein reference of 1.6–2.2 g/kg/day. That fitness-oriented reference is informed by research on protein and resistance training; it is not an individual protein prescription. The tool does not calculate a full carbohydrate, fat, and protein split.
Can this calculate TDEE from my calorie intake and weight changes?
No. This is a formula-based estimate using your current body stats and selected activity level. It does not collect food or weight logs. An adaptive TDEE calculator uses those records to update an estimate over time; you can use the record-checking steps above to review this estimate separately.
Who this calculator is for
This tool is intended for adults 18 and older. It is not intended for pregnancy, breastfeeding, or planning a child’s calorie intake. If you have a medical condition or a history of eating disorders, get individual advice from a qualified professional before using calorie targets.
For additional background on calorie and activity planning, see the NIDDK Body Weight Planner. Its planning model and activity scale differ from the formula and five multipliers used here.
Find your daily calorie starting point.
Estimate maintenance calories, then compare a weight-loss or weight-gain target using your usual activity.
Calculate my TDEE
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