Two proven formulas
Mifflin-St Jeor by default, and Katch-McArdle automatically when you enter a body fat percentage, because lean mass predicts metabolism better than total weight.
TDEE Calculator – Total Daily Energy Expenditure
Work out how many calories you burn in a day, then see exactly what to eat to lose, maintain or gain weight. This TDEE calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor and Katch-McArdle formulas, shows your BMR, BMI and six calorie targets side by side, and gives you a protein, carb and fat split for the goal you pick.
Metric & imperialBody-fat awareMacro split includedWeekly weight projectionNothing is uploaded
Height (ft / in)
Your total daily energy expenditure
0calories per day
Daily calories by goal
Macros for the selected goal
These figures are statistical estimates, not a prescription. Real energy needs vary by 10-15% between people of identical size, so track your weight for two to three weeks and adjust by 100-200 calories if the trend is not what you want. Speak to a doctor or registered dietitian before starting any aggressive plan.
What makes this TDEE calculator different
Most calorie calculators hand you one number and leave you to guess what to do with it. This one shows the whole picture: the formula used, how each goal changes your intake, and what that means on the plate.
Six targets, not one
Mild, standard and faster loss, maintenance, lean gain and bulk are shown together with the weekly weight change each one implies.
Macros that follow your goal
Pick a goal and the protein, carb and fat grams update instantly in three styles, with protein anchored to your body weight rather than a flat percentage.
Sensible floors
If a target falls below a safe intake the tool tells you plainly instead of quietly showing a number that no one should eat for long.
Instant and unit-flexible
Switch between kilograms and pounds, centimetres and feet, and every figure recalculates as you type. No page reloads, no adverts in the way.
Completely private
Your age, weight and body composition are processed in your browser and never sent anywhere. No account, no tracking of your inputs.
How to use the TDEE calculator
Choose your units and sex
Metric or imperial, then female or male. Sex changes the constant in the formula, so it matters more than most people expect.
Enter age, height and weight
Use your current weight rather than a goal weight. If you know your body fat percentage, add it and the calculator switches to the Katch-McArdle formula.
Pick an honest activity level
This is where most estimates go wrong. Count structured training, not a busy day. If you sit at a desk and train three times a week, that is moderately active, not very active.
Read your TDEE and pick a goal
Tap any goal row to select it. The bar shows how it compares with maintenance and the label shows the weekly weight change it should produce.
Set your macros
Choose balanced, high protein or lower carb and use the gram targets as your daily framework.
Re-check every few weeks
Your TDEE falls as you lose weight and rises as you gain. Recalculate after every 4-5 kg of change, or whenever progress stalls for three weeks.
Activity multipliers explained
Your TDEE is your BMR multiplied by one of these factors. Choosing one level too high is the single most common reason a calorie target fails.
Sedentary ×1.2Desk work, driving, minimal walking and no structured exercise.
Lightly active ×1.375Light training one to three days a week, or a job with some walking.
Moderately active ×1.55Moderate training three to five days a week, roughly 45-60 minutes a session.
Very active ×1.725Hard training six or seven days a week, or a physically demanding job.
Extra active ×1.9Manual labour plus training, or two sessions a day for an athlete.
Not sure? Round downIf you are between two levels, take the lower one and adjust after two weeks of weight data.
What you can do with your TDEE
- Set a calorie target for fat loss that is aggressive enough to work but slow enough to keep muscle.
- Find a lean bulk number that adds weight without adding excess body fat.
- Understand why weight loss stalls once you are smaller and your maintenance calories drop.
- Give a food tracking app a starting goal that is based on your body rather than a default.
- Compare formulas to see how much a body fat estimate changes the result.
- Plan protein intake around your body weight for training or recovery.
- Sanity-check a coach or app target before committing to it for months.
TDEE calculator FAQ
TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure: every calorie your body uses in twenty-four hours. It combines your basal metabolic rate, the energy spent digesting food, deliberate exercise and all the incidental movement of daily life. Eating at your TDEE keeps weight stable, eating below it creates a deficit and eating above it creates a surplus.
BMR is what you would burn lying completely still for a full day, keeping only your organs, breathing and body temperature running. TDEE is that figure multiplied by an activity factor to account for everything else you do. BMR is typically 60-70% of TDEE for most people, which is why activity level has such a large effect on the final number.
Predictive equations land within roughly 10% of measured energy expenditure for most people, and Mifflin-St Jeor is the most reliable of the common formulas. Individual variation in metabolism, non-exercise movement and how accurately you estimate activity all add error. Treat the result as a starting point, then use two to three weeks of weight data to confirm or adjust it.
Use Mifflin-St Jeor if you do not know your body fat percentage; it only needs age, sex, height and weight. Katch-McArdle works from lean body mass instead, so it is the better choice for lean or very muscular people whose weight does not reflect their composition, provided your body fat estimate is reasonably accurate.
A deficit of 10-20% below TDEE suits most people, producing roughly 0.25-0.5 kg of loss a week. Larger deficits speed things up but make hunger, training quality and muscle retention harder to manage. If a target falls below about 1,200 calories for women or 1,500 for men, choose a smaller deficit and speak to a healthcare professional first.
Day-to-day scale weight moves with water, salt, carbohydrate intake, digestion and hormonal cycles, and can swing by a kilogram or more without any change in body fat. Compare weekly averages rather than single mornings, and give any new calorie target at least two to three weeks before judging it.
Recalculate after every four or five kilograms of weight change, when your training volume changes noticeably, or whenever progress has been flat for three weeks. A smaller body burns fewer calories, so the number that worked at the start of a diet will be too high later on.
No. Every calculation runs in JavaScript in your own browser, so your age, weight, height and body fat percentage are never uploaded, logged or saved. Refreshing the page clears everything, and the tool keeps working offline once it has loaded.
Get your number, then get a plan
See your BMR, TDEE, six calorie targets and a macro split in one screen. Free, unlimited and completely private.