What is TDEE?
TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure: all the calories your body uses in 24 hours. Eat about your TDEE and your weight stays roughly stable, which is why it is also called your maintenance calories.
Knowing it is the foundation for any goal. Fat loss means eating a bit below it, muscle gain a bit above it. If you want those targets worked out for you, the calorie calculator does it in one step.
The four parts of TDEE
| Part | What it is | Typical share |
|---|---|---|
| BMR | Energy to keep you alive at complete rest | About 60–70% |
| TEF (digestion) | Energy used to digest and absorb food | About 10% |
| NEAT | Walking, chores, standing, fidgeting | Highly variable |
| Exercise | Planned workouts and sport | Often 5–10% |
The surprise for most people is NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). Research by James Levine found it can differ by hundreds of calories a day between people of similar size. A shop-floor job, walking to work or chasing children can outweigh an hour in the gym. That is why step count matters so much for fat loss — see does walking help you lose weight?
Activity levels explained
Choosing the right activity level matters more than any other input. Most people overestimate it. Use your whole day, not just your workouts:
| Level | Multiplier | Looks like | TDEE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | × 1.2 | Desk job, under ~5,000 steps, no training | 2,069 |
| Lightly active | × 1.375 | Desk job + 1–3 workouts or daily walks | 2,371 |
| Moderately active | × 1.55 | 3–5 workouts a week or an on-your-feet job | 2,672 |
| Very active | × 1.725 | Hard training most days or physical labour | 2,974 |
Between two levels? Pick the lower one. It is easier to add calories when progress is faster than planned than to find out weeks later that you have been eating at maintenance.
TDEE vs BMR
BMR is the floor: what you would burn lying in bed all day. TDEE is the real-life number that includes moving, eating and training. You should almost never eat below your BMR for long periods without medical supervision — it leaves little room for protein and micronutrients and tends to backfire.
If you just want your resting number, use the BMR calculator.
Why your TDEE changes when you lose weight
A smaller body needs less energy to run and to move, so TDEE falls as you lose weight. Many people also move a little less without noticing when they eat less — fewer steps, less fidgeting. Together, these explain why weight loss slows over time even when you stick to the plan.
The practical fix: recalculate every 4–5 kg, keep your steps up, keep protein high and keep strength training so more of what you lose is fat rather than muscle.
Worked example: Priya
Priya is a 28-year-old woman, 60 kg and 160 cm, with a desk job and regular evening walks.
- BMR = 10 × 60 + 6.25 × 160 − 5 × 28 − 161 = 1,299 kcal
- Lightly active: 1,299 × 1.375 = 1,786 kcal/day
- A steady fat-loss start (−20%) would be about 1,429 kcal; a lean gain (+10%) about 1,965 kcal.
If Priya added three strength sessions a week and moved up to “moderately active”, her estimate would rise to about 2,013 kcal.
How this calculator works
We estimate BMR with the Mifflin–St Jeor equation (10 × weight in kg + 6.25 × height in cm − 5 × age, +5 for men, −161 for women) and multiply it by the activity factor you choose: 1.2, 1.375, 1.55 or 1.725. The fat-loss and gain cards show −20% and +10% of TDEE as simple starting points.
These are population equations. They are most accurate for healthy adults and less accurate for very muscular people, people with obesity, older adults and some ethnic groups. Your weight trend over a few weeks is the best test of your real TDEE.
Sources
- Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr, 1990.
- Frankenfield D, et al. Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults: a systematic review. J Am Diet Assoc, 2005.
- Levine JA. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2002.
- Westerterp KR. Diet induced thermogenesis. Nutr Metab (Lond), 2004.
- ICMR–National Institute of Nutrition. Nutrient Requirements for Indians (2020): recommendation on energy requirement.
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers about this calculator. Educational only — not medical advice.
There is no good or bad TDEE — it simply reflects your size and how much you move. Larger and more active people have a higher TDEE. Adding daily steps and strength training is the most reliable way to raise it.
Yes. TDEE is the estimate of calories you burn per day, so eating about that amount should keep your weight roughly stable.
Wearables are useful for tracking trends in steps and activity, but their calorie estimates can be off by a wide margin. Use them to compare your own days, not as an exact TDEE.
Keep it simple: use one average daily target. The activity factor already averages training and rest days across the week.
Eat a consistent, tracked amount for 2–3 weeks. If your average weight stays flat, that intake is your real maintenance. If it drops or rises, adjust your estimate up or down accordingly.
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This calculator provides an estimate and isn't a substitute for individualised medical or dietary advice. Read our medical disclaimer and editorial policy.