TDEE Calculator
Use this TDEE calculator to quickly find your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (daily calorie needs).
Why is TDEE important?
Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) tells you exactly how much you need to eat daily to maintain weight.
- Eat more than this, and you will gain weight.
- Eat less, and you will lose weight
This is called a calorie deficit – calculate it here.
Is TDEE and BMR the same?
No, they are not.
Every day your body burns a specific number of calories just by existing. This is known as your Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR.
BMR is based on your weight, height, and age but does not include daily activity or exercise.
TDEE is effectively your BMR + extra exercise or activity.
TDEE and BMR are not the same, and as most people do more than lie in bed each day, TDEE is a more helpful tool.
Should I eat my TDEE to lose weight?
No. Your TDEE shows you your daily maintenance calories. If you eat your TDEE, you will stay the same weight.
How do you calculate TDEE for weight loss?
You lose weight by having a calorie deficit.
A calorie deficit means eating less than your body needs to maintain itself.
Ever had more bills than you had money? You had a financial deficit.
A calorie deficit is consuming less energy than you need to stay the same weight.
TDEE Weight Loss Example
Let’s say your BMR is 1,700 calories per day. With some physical activity, you end up with a TDEE of 2300 calories.
To lose weight, you should consume around 1,840 calories per day.
How much should I subtract from TDEE?
After working with hundreds of successful clients, we’ve found a deficit of 20% from your TDEE is optimum.
You can also achieve a deficit by burning more calories through exercise.
Every effective diet, whether high fat, low fat, high carb, or low carb, uses a calorie deficit to achieve weight loss.
Why shouldn’t I subtract more calories?
Technically you could eat nothing all day and achieve weight loss through having a calorie deficit.
Many well-publicized crash diets put you into a severe caloric deficit. They result in short-term weight loss but will damage your metabolism.
Reducing your calories by more than 20% may lead to loss of muscle. This is not desirable as muscle helps burn additional calories.
How long does it take to see results from a deficit?
There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat, so with a 20% calorie deficit, most people will lose about a pound a week.
Your body can become conditioned to repeated exercise affecting your calorie intake and TDEE.
So switch things up from time to time! Change exercise routines, intensity, and duration.
How to get results with TDEE and a calorie deficit
Macro counting is a great way to hit your daily calorie target. You lose weight healthily and sustainably.
Counting macros (and flexible dieting) is non-restrictive. It means you still eat your favorite foods – provided they fit within your TDEE and macro goals.
You could eat unhealthy foods and still achieve weight loss. – as demonstrated by the 27-pound weight loss of Dr. Mark Haub.
However, loading your diet with fresh veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, and lean meats is best. This way, you can feel awesome AND achieve weight loss.
TDEE FAQs
Does it matter what I eat if I count calories?
Yes and no.
You could eat nothing but snack cakes or pizza and still lose weight – if you maintain a calorie deficit.
However, for healthy body composition, a balanced diet is recommended.
Tracking macros will ensure you get enough of each macronutrient and meet micronutrient needs.
Does TDEE include exercise?
Yes, the TDEE is your total daily energy expenditure, so it must include all the movement you do in 24 hours.
Even non-exercisers are still doing activities around the house – eating, showering, running errands, etc.
Don’t confuse TDEE with Resting Energy Expenditure (REE) or (Basal Metabolic Rate) BMR. These two represent your energy expenditure if you lay in bed all day and did absolutely nothing.
How do I measure my TDEE and calorie intake?
Use the calculator above. It uses the most common variables.
If you want a genuinely accurate TDEE – talk to a coach.
Totaling your calories for the day is usually done with a macro tracking app.
How often should I recalculate my TDEE?
It would be best if you recalculated your TDEE as you lost weight. Do this every 6-8 weeks.
How do I use TDEE to gain muscle?
Once you’ve calculated your TDEE in the calculator above, add 10% to the calorie amount. The new calorie amount gives you a good starting point for weight gain.
If you still aren’t gaining, move this to a 20% surplus (use the macro calculator).
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References
- Rising, R., Harper, I. T., Fontvielle, A. M., Ferraro, R. T., Spraul, M., & Ravussin, E. (1994). Determinants of total daily energy expenditure: variability in physical activity. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 59(4), 800-804. study link
- Schulz, L. O., & Schoeller, D. A. (1994). A compilation of total daily energy expenditures and body weights in healthy adults. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 60(5), 676-681. study link
450 Comments
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So here is my question in a nutshell. I am n Endomorph body type. I am carb sensitive. According to my Macro chart it says for me to consume 160gr/carbs a day. Being carb sensitive , at that rate I won’t lose weight. I am trying now to eat less than 80 carbs a day. Please! Your thoughts on this
You are more than welcome to adjust the macro percentages to fit your individual needs. If you eat 80 g of carbs than the rest of your calories should be divided among protein and fat.
Hey!
This was incredibly helpful! And the comment section is also a great source of both inspiration and information.
I have one question however. I neve know how to determine my activity level. I have a dog, so that means around 1 and a half hours of walking every day. I also don’t have a desk job, but so I drive and walk around the city mostly. But not always. Sometimes it’s just meetings all day or driving a lot. And then I excersize almost daily for 40-50 minutes. So how would one put that into account?
I am around 174cm talk and weigh 70kg. Lost around 25kg already and want to slowly lose around 10 more. I think I should be fine eating 1500 calories a day and still lose?
Hi Lena, Glad you find our site useful! Great job on your weight loss so far! I think you should be eating a little more on days you workout. You don’t want your metabolism to start slowing due to too steep of a calorie deficit. Use our activity calculator to determine your calorie burn. Factor for your dog walking and your scheduled exercise. As for your casual walking around the city etc. for work don’t factor that since that is considered general movement and is already factored for in the sedentary calculation.
So you mean to tell me, that my 135 kg (297 lbs) sister would MAINTAIN her weight with 2553 calories a day? Seems legit……
Hi! Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am an recovering drug addict. I am female and weight is at 188. In April of 2018 I was at 203. My heaviest ever. So I went from a sedentary lifestyle to going to the gym regularly 5 or 6 days a week with cardio for at least 20 or more minutes and 30 to 45 minute weights training. Here’s my issue. I have only lost 18.9 lbs. I don’t eat a lot and what I do eat isn’t junk. Mostly chicken baked or grilled. I’m pretty sure the lbs I have lost are from the water pill my doctors gave me along with a diet pill which doesn’t seem to do anything. How can I lose weight. I’m not consuming enough to maintain my current weight and I’m sure it’s not to little. I’ve lost 3 inch on arms and 4 inch on legs but nothing from my waist at all. Please help!!
Hi Aliceson, Great job on your recovery and your weight loss so far. It sounds like you aren’t eating enough which has slowed your metabolism. You need to eat enough to support your exercise. How many calories have you been eating?
Hi I’m a female that weighs 240 pounds height is 5ft 3 inches I work out thirty minutes 4 times a week my tdee was 2420 to lose weight what should my calorie deficit should be
Hi Danielle, Since you have more than 50 pounds of fat tissue your deficit should be around 25-30%. It’s a bit more complicated for you since excess fat tissue skews traditional calculations like the one the calculator uses. This is because fat tissue is low metabolic tissue. Please see one of our coaching options if you would like professional help getting your numbers as accurately as possible.
I don’t know what I should pick for my activity level. I do 20,000 steps a day but it is walking, and it’s on a flat surface. Should I pick lightly active, moderately active, or active? Please give an explanation too if possible. Thank you!
20k steps sounds like it would be moderate. You can convert your steps to calories with our workout calorie burn calculator to give you a better idea. Steps can be difficult because casual steps burn less than steps you’d take during purposeful walking which is usually at a much faster pace. But 20k is a lot so I would suspect that a good portion are purposeful.
Hello! I am a 28yr old female 5’4 at 168.2lbs. I have been eating healthy and dropped 16lbs, but now all of a sudden I am gaining weight. I eat between 950-1200 calories a day depending on my appetite. It was going great for almost 2months, but now suddenly I am gaining instead of losing. Any advice? The calculator says my TDEE is 1750 so 1200 should be fine for losing weight, but I’m gaining? Please help.
It looks like you have slowed your metabolism by eating too little. You need to eat more. Give this article a read.
Hello everyone! I’ll be surprised if anyone notices my comment among the hundreds of others, but heres to hoping!
So I am a 170 pound Female with a height of 5 ft 6 inches and my BMR was measured at 1600 and my TDEE with moderate 4-5 day exercise at 2,430. Im looking to have a 1000 calories a day diet where I focus on healthy foods and take a multivitamin every day to every other day.
As for working out, I dont like being around large groups so i keep to myself and just stay at home using my stairs and treadmill for cardio along with basic stretching and the occasional weight lifting (using the heaviest things i can find in the house that i can hold in my palm). As for my cardio i have a preference to my treadmill and ill usually go 60-70 minutes for 3 days and 20-40 min the other two, and that lowering of time is really just so i dont exhaust myself and if im in too much pain from yesterday. I usually have my program choose my speeds and incline based on my heartrate but the usual is half of the time is 4 mph and the other half is 3.5 to 3.8 mph with an incline that adjusts between 3 to 7.
In the end my question is, by doing all of this work and having a more extreme calorie deficit will I be able to lose at least 2 pounds a week, i understand of course that at the start it wont show due to underlying factors and that losing muscle goes along with the loss of fat however for my question im sticking to the weight im losing being 1/4 muscle and 3/4 fat, also with weights will i be able to keep and retain more muscle than if i didnt?
Note: Ive done fasting and water fasting for years with no trouble at going 1 week to 3 weeks at a time however it did make me groggy to the point of fault so now im looking at this as a more easy going version of an intense diet. Also throughout my life after the age of 15 ive always eaten very little but i did binge a lot of unhealthy foods which caused the spike in weight gain, however ive stopped binging for a solid 2 years and find that when i do eat under 800 calories which is a normal for me I really only get light stomach pain after waking up which goes away quickly after an egg or a protein bar along with throughout the day at least 6 cups of 8oz water.
To anyone who read through all of this, Thank You! Please also understand i am considered 20 pounds from obese (overweight at the moment, middle of the scale) so I do have the fat needed to handle less calories and of course the experience to go through with it and not give up 1 week in due to cravings like many who dont ease into their diets.
Final note:
I am open to finding individuals and groups that understand my mindset and are like minded or at least encouraging to allow us all to feel like were not in this alone, my family is incapable of joining me and my lover personally has his own diet plan which is more for muscle gain, which im fine with getting but prominently id like to focus on fast loss.
My main fat areas are:
▪1 finger length (outward) of fat around my belly, squishy not hard and starts after my rib cage.
▪Love handles that dont show unless im slouched but im able to pinch and hold the fat in my fingers.
▪My face, ive got the onstart of a double chin that shows somewhat while im smiling and fat stored cheeks that are more prominent than my peers and family. Im able to gather in both areas fat in my fingers.
▪Finally the worst area and where I have the most fat, my whole thighs and somewhat of my ass, when i t started gaining weight i noticed it in my face and lower half but not my whole legs as ive always been a soccer player and runner and even when i let myself go i never built fat beyond my thighs, ass, belly, face, somewhat of back (love handles), and very minimal in my upper arm at the bottom but i also don’t work out that section of my arm.
Please send me advice and feel free to ask questions if i wasnt clear enough or you need more info to better diagnose and answer my question! Also if you have suggested diets that fit what ive listed above and dont involve eating multiple meals throughout the day, feel free to post it and explain why you think its better!
Noted that ive fluctuated for 2 years between 167 pounds and 171 pounds and as such im trying to break the cycle as just dieting didnt cause much of a change and neither did just working out, so im trying to combine them with a high calorie deficit to see results faster.
My goal is to go from 170 with a good amount of water weight and fat to my medically advised weight of 140 or at least 145 in 3-5 months!
I’m in the same boat hun! I just had a doctors appointment this morning and came weighing in at 205lbs, BMI 35, Height 5’3.5” Age 31. My calorie intake for the day does not exceed 1,470, and I’m drinking the usual 64+oz of water a day, with light to moderate activity. Currently increasing activity. I started out at 201, so gaining 4lbs wasn’t my goal and feeling quite disheartened at the moment.
Also, my goal weight is 140-145lbs
Hello How do I tell the number of calories I’m eating
You have to track what you are eating. Most people use a food tracking app like MyFitnessPal for this.
I’m a 15 y/o male and my TDEE is 1884 and my BMR is 1580 or so and I indulge in atleast 30 min of physical activities per day and my diet was up to 1000 calories a day to reduce my weight of 82 kg to 58 kg and now I’ve increased my diet intake to 1800 with my weight of 58 kg with not much exercise , would i lose, maintain or gain weight?
Hi Aaron, you should maintain at that but remember you are also still growing which this calculator doesn’t account for. You may want to aim for around 2000 calories a day and monitor your weight. Alternatively, you could search for a TDEE calculator that was designed for adolescents for a more accurate estimate.
Hi there
My weight is 86kg Female, 5 ft6, body fat 38% (Need to lose 30kilos) I eat around 1500, I work out 4 5 times a week. I was 90kg 3 months ago, my fat was 42.9% however I feel the fat loss isn’t enough ? Should I be eating more calories? How many calories do I eat on non workout days? Please advise.
Well done on the success so far. Sometimes the results from the calculators need to be tweaked for individual situations, particularly where there are higher amounts of fat to lose. In your situation please consider a coaching plan https://healthyeater.com/personal-coaching
26 y/o female, 5ft 7inch, 245lb, Sedentary. It said that my TDEE is 2264 so should I be aiming to have no more than 1700 for weight loss? Absolutely desperate to loose weight, failed miserabley and over the months attempted to loose weight but just end up piling it on!
Hi Jess, That would be a good start, but because you have 50+ pounds to lose, calculators will give you slightly skewed results. It would be more beneficial if you ate around 1500 calories. If you exercise for at least 45 min, then eat at the 1700 level. If you want a more detailed plan and also support through the process please check out our coaching services.