TDEE Calculator (Daily Calorie Needs)

This TDEE calculator works out your daily calorie needs from your BMR and activity level. TDEE is the single most useful number for changing your weight: eat below it to lose, above it to gain, at it to maintain. This calculator works out your BMR with Mifflin-St Jeor, multiplies it by an activity factor, and gives you maintenance calories plus a full table of cut and bulk targets.

How it is calculated

BMR  = Mifflin-St Jeor(sex, weight, height, age)
TDEE = BMR × activity factor

Activity factors run from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (extra active). Choosing honestly matters more than any other input.

Turning TDEE into a goal

About 3,500 kcal equals roughly 0.45 kg (1 lb). So a 500 kcal daily deficit trends toward ~0.5 kg a week of loss, and the same surplus toward gain. The table gives the exact numbers for each pace — slower changes are usually easier to keep and preserve muscle.

Worked example

Take the BMR of 1,780 kcal from above and apply each activity factor:

sedentary          × 1.2  = 2,136 kcal
moderately active  × 1.55 = 2,759 kcal
extra active       × 1.9  = 3,382 kcal

The spread between the lowest and highest setting is 1,246 kcal a day. That is larger than almost any deficit or surplus people deliberately aim for, which makes one thing clear: the activity level you choose matters more than any other input on this page. Guessing high because you intend to start training next month is the standard way to stall before you begin.

Choosing your activity level honestly

The categories describe your whole week, not your workouts. A desk job with three gym sessions is usually lightly active or moderately active rather than very active — the other 165 hours are still spent sitting. A tradesperson on their feet all day is very active even without formal exercise.

The test that works is empirical rather than introspective. Pick a level, eat exactly that many calories for two to three weeks, and weigh yourself each morning. If your weight is stable the estimate was right; if it moved, adjust by 200–300 kcal and repeat. Two weeks of measurement beats any amount of guessing about how hard you train, and it is the only way to calibrate a published equation to your own metabolism.

Turning the number into a goal

The cut and bulk rows apply the familiar rule of 3,500 kcal per 0.45 kg (1 lb): a 500 kcal daily deficit trends toward roughly half a kilogram of loss a week, and the same surplus toward gain. Use it as a planning heuristic and nothing stronger.

The rule assumes the energy cost of a kilogram of tissue is constant, and it is not. Loss slows as you get lighter because your BMR falls with your mass, adherence drifts, and the body adapts. Expect the first fortnight to overstate the trend — some of that early drop is water and stored glycogen rather than fat. A pace of 0.25–0.5 kg a week is what most people can sustain while preserving muscle, and Macro Calculator is the next step once you have a target, since protein intake is what protects lean mass in a deficit.

Private and precise

This calculator produces estimates from published formulas and is not medical advice. For anything about your health, talk to a doctor or a registered dietitian.