TDEE Calculator
Use this calculator to map your Total Daily Energy Expenditure so meal planning and training recovery line up with what you actually burn.
Quick Start Checklist
- Capture current weight, height, and age from the past week instead of relying on memory.
- Select the formula that suits your needs: Mifflin-St Jeor for modern accuracy, Harris-Benedict for comparison with older charts.
- Choose the activity setting that mirrors a typical seven-day stretch, including commutes, chores, and structured training.
What the Numbers Show
BMR: Resting energy output before movement is added.
TDEE: BMR multiplied by your activity pattern, giving the calorie target to maintain weight.
Suggested activity factor: A multiplier you can refine later using wearable or food log data.
When to Recalculate
- Every 4 to 6 weeks during a focused fat loss or muscle gain phase.
- Whenever weekly training time changes by more than 90 minutes.
- If two weeks of weight, strength, or recovery data trend away from your goal.
Health disclaimer
- Education only: Results are estimates and not medical advice or a diagnosis.
- Not a substitute: Does not replace professional evaluation or nutrition counseling.
- Individual variation: Energy needs vary widely by health status, medications, and genetics.
- Consult professionals: For medical or diet decisions, seek qualified healthcare guidance.
Energy Budget Breakdown
Picture your TDEE as a daily budget. Around two thirds keeps vital organs running (BMR), roughly one tenth covers digestion (thermic effect of food), and the remainder is all movement from workouts to casual steps.
- Basal processes: Breathing, circulation, temperature control, and tissue repair.
- Training sessions: Planned strength work, cardio blocks, classes, or sport practice.
- Incidental movement: Non-exercise activity such as walking meetings, chores, yard work, or fidgeting.
Weekly Planning Examples
Use the scenarios below as a sanity check when distributing calories across the week.
- Office schedule, TDEE about 2050 kcal: hold 1850 kcal on sedentary desk days, then return to 2050 kcal on lifting days to support recovery.
- Endurance block, TDEE about 2650 kcal: stay within 100 kcal of TDEE on long run or ride days and trim intake by 10 percent on recovery days.
- Lean bulk, TDEE about 3000 kcal: add 250 to 300 kcal of protein plus carbs via snacks instead of oversizing a single meal.
Adaptive Adjustments
Track weight, performance, sleep, and hunger in a simple weekly log. Recalculate TDEE after every 3 to 4 kilograms of body mass change or a major shift in weekly training volume.
Look at rolling 14 day averages rather than single data points. If progress stalls for two check-ins, adjust calories by five to eight percent and monitor the next two weeks.
Data Collection Tips
Consistency beats perfect measurements: weigh yourself at the same time each morning, log meals even when estimates are rough, and note unusual activity like moving furniture or weekend hikes.
Pair the calculator output with objective measures such as step counts, training volume, or heart rate trends to understand how lifestyle habits shift your true expenditure.