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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My TDEE is 1973, I’m a 26, 5’4 female. My BMR is about 1565. So if I take away 500 cal to create a deficit, I end up with 1390ish cals
Mind you, each time I start a diet 1500/day I feel very very fatigued and cannot function. That’s why I fail each time. The diets I’ve tried were very healthy, just smaller portions and it did not work for me. I get so weak! Why?
Hi Jenna,
Why are you deducting 500? It should be 20%, so from 1973 that would be a deduction of 395 calories. Anytime you diet you have to remember the “set point weight theory” This states that your body wants to remain the weight you currently are so when you start eating less, it tries to preserve itself by feelings of hunger and even fatigue. You really have to push through the first couple of weeks until your body adjusts.
What should I do if the TDEE is 1330…? Taking 500 off that isn’t reasonable and I’m already tired… I’m 71kg, 173cm, goal weight 62kg… and fast losing hope. I’ve been trying to do 1200 calories and that’s nearly impossible already to scrape down to! If my TDEE is really 1330 how do I ever lose the weight??
Have you tried using the calculator https://healthyeater.com/flexible-dieting-calculator
Your calories seem too low.
Hi Ashley, It looks like you entered your numbers wrong. Make sure you select kg. I got a TDEE of 1776 calories for a woman of your height and weight, age 30 (since I didn’t know your age)
Entering it all again, I get 1800… even so, I’m currently supposed to be on 1400 (trying to eat more to be less tired) – and I’m GAINING weight. More than a kg this week alone! I know I fail at hitting 1400 sometimes, but I keep counting even if I fail, and at most I’ve hit 1600/1700… how is this possible???
Depending on how long you have been on quite restricted calories, there can sometimes be a gain of water weight if you begin to eat more. See more about that here
https://healthyeater.com/water-retention-weight-fluctuation
There also a lot of other factors – what and how much you are doing for exercise, what your history is etc… these are all things we take into account when personally coaching clients… Take a look at https://healthyeater.com/personal-coaching
Is counting macros realistic for a vegan who eats very low fat due to heart issues? Think Bob Harper and the diet he’s prescribed now.
As far as I was aware Bob Harper is following the well-regarded Mediterranean Diet – which includes plenty of olive oil and oily fish. It is not a low-fat diet, and would fit perfectly with macros. However the whole idea of macro counting is to allow nutritional flexibility – which absolutely includes a low-fat vegan diet. Note that there is a vegan edition of the macro solution available here https://healthyeater.com/macro-solution – just choose the Basic edition and select the Vegan option.
I am not losing any weight. I’ve been eating about 1600 calories a day for over three weeks. It just won’t budge. I weigh 178, female, 5’3” (I carry most of my weight in my legs and butt). I lift weights 2-3 times a week for ~20 minutes, and swim 2 days a week for 30 minutes.
Any tips or advice? Should I lower my calories more??? Or should I try to increase and reset it? How does that work?
Thank you!
Do you know how many calories you had been eating prior to starting?
Thank you very much for the infomation…….
I’m 5’5 150 pounds im trying to lose 20 pounds and only consume 1800 calories a day I walk 2 miles every morning and train in a boxing gym for two hours a day but I feel like I’m getting weaker and not losing weight is this because I’m not eating enough calories am I to active to only eat 1800 calories?
Yes, you need to eat more. You want to be in no more than a 20% calorie deficit and this is really important for you because you don’t have much weight to lose and are exercising heavily.
sir if drink a nutritional shake with milk mix up(approximately having 240 calories of fat pro and carbs)having all micronutrients ….is it enough for me for fat lose effectively…instead of 240 calories…i eat only 760 calories from my normal diet…i mean i complete 1000 calorie diet ,..although my bmr with lightly active is 2300 calorie….and plz tell me how much i can go on deficit calorie intake..for fat lose…if i m a male and for female .?
I had my BMR tested and it said my BMR is 1710. I do yoga three days a week and HIIT three-4 days a week. But I have a sedentary job and other than my workouts, am pretty sedentary. Should I put light activity level or moderate for my TDEE calculation?
It also depends on the duration of the exercise, so I couldn’t advise based on what you described.
How should I adjust the calories and macros if I am breastfeeding ?
Hi Michelle, Please have a look at this article on the subject.
Hi! I have a doubt regarding level of activity to select. I weight 141 pounds and are 5.4´ and want to go down to 121 pounds. I do weight training 3 times a week and spinning the other 3 days. Is this light or moderate? I´m asking because in light exercise I will have to eat 1350, isn´t this a bit low? Thanks so much for your help!
Hi Carlina, How long is the duration? Here’s a great calculator to use as a reference. https://www.freedieting.com/tools/calories_burned.htm
So my tdee is 1619 calories. I’m 5’5 and weigh 125. I’m trying to lose weight (maybe 7-10 pounds) so should I go 500 under that? 1,119 calories a day? That seems a little low to me so I’m just checking.
I could be wrong but to avoId what I went through don’t go under the magic 1200 calories. I went on about 1000 calories a day (I’m 5’2) to lose 6 kgs and ended up with a low heart rate, didn’t lose any weight, was always tiredwhich ceased my training. Guess what got fat and became anxious.
Hope you get a professional answer here
Hi! I’m 5ft1 and1/2, female, 38yrs and 148lbs. I’ve list 5 lbs over the last 6 weeks by increasing my workouts and decrease calorie intake. So I follow the BMR and use 1.2 for activity because I have a desk job. I exercise 3 days/week, usually only cardio for 45 mins. My TDEE is 1554 and BMR IS 1300 according to my calculations as of current. I know the basic rule says 500 calories times 7 days a week to lose a lb a week. I find it hard to follow this. Weight is slow coming off at this point and I’d like to eventually be down to 135 lbs at least. What should I do? Eat 1300 cals a day and 250 calories burned from exercise? How many calories a day do i eat if I burn 500cals through exercise? What about if I don’t exercise any given day?
Thanks
Hi, I’m a 42yo female, fairly sedentary. Only recently started getting fit (haven’t lead a very healthy life style). My TDEE is 2453 and I’m an Endomorph shape. Also signed up to Myfitnesspal and purchased Jawbone UP. My question is what portion% should my macronutrients be?
Great, glad you are motivated to get into shape. Please see our macro calculator here.
i am using fitness pal.I am a body builder/bikini. I lift 7 days a week and do cardio 4-5. I know how to manually put in my goals for the macro nutrients part. I am just wondering if you know if I should put that I am sedentary on the app since I used your calculator. I am trying to figure out in order to use the device if I should imput my exercise, because when I do this it tell me to eat more calories or allows me to eat more calories. Im just trying to make sure I do it correctly. e.g. according to your calculator and my goals I should consume 1800 calories a day. Is this before subtracting exercise or it this all together what I should course after the exercise expenditure?
If you selected an exercise level then estimated exercise calories have already been added in. You should then turn off exercise tracking in MFP since those calories are already included. Here’s a detailed tutorial