TDEE Calculator (Daily Calories & Cut/Bulk Targets)
BMR via Mifflin-St Jeor, activity multiplier, and maintenance calories — then cut or bulk targets with weekly change projections and a safe-floor check.
TDEE — interactive calculator, computed instantly in your browser.
TDEE Explained: BMR, Activity Multipliers, and the Calories You Actually Burn
Where 2,500 Daily Calories Actually Go
TDEE — Total Daily Energy Expenditure — is how many calories your body burns across a full day: resting metabolism plus digestion, daily movement, and exercise. It is the single number every diet and bulk hangs on: eat below it and you lose weight, above it and you gain. The calculator estimates BMR with Mifflin-St Jeor, applies your activity level, and converts the result into cut, maintain, or gain targets.
1. BMR: The Resting Burn (Mifflin-St Jeor)
- Mifflin-St Jeor is the most accurate general-population equation — it beats the older Harris-Benedict formula in validation studies
- Example: 70 kg, 172 cm, 28-year-old male → 700 + 1075 − 140 + 5 = 1,640 kcal at rest
- BMR is 60–70% of TDEE for most people — the multiplier step matters more than equation tweaks
- Enter pounds and feet in the calculator; it converts internally before the formula runs
2. Activity Multipliers
- 1.2 Sedentary — desk job, under 5,000 steps, no training
- 1.375 Light — 1–3 sessions per week or a walking commute
- 1.55 Moderate — 3–5 sessions per week, some on-your-feet work
- 1.725 Active — 6–7 sessions, or a physical job plus training
- 1.9 Very active — double days, manual labor, or endurance blocks
3. Cut, Maintain, or Bulk
- −500 kcal/day ≈ 0.45 kg (1 lb) per week loss — the classic sustainable rate
- +250 to +350 kcal/day lean bulk limits fat gain while powering training
- The calculator projects weekly kg and lb change from your selected deficit or surplus
- Reassess every 4–8 weeks: weight change and adherence reveal whether the estimate matched reality
4. The Safe-Floor Rule
Aggressive deficits backfire — below roughly 1,200 kcal for women and 1,500 kcal for men daily, nutrient density and training performance collapse, and metabolic adaptation accelerates the rebound. If your calculated target falls under those floors, hold at the floor and add movement instead of more restriction. Plateaus are normal: as weight drops, TDEE falls with it, so re-run the calculator every few weeks with current numbers.
🔗 Energy Balance Cross-References
TDEE is the burn side of the ledger — the 💪 Health Hub tools cover the intake and body-metric side.
Maintenance calories set the stage; macro split and hydration decide what the calories are made of once the target is fixed.
Frequently Asked Questions (TDEE)
Estimate BMR with Mifflin-St Jeor (10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age + sex constant), then multiply by an activity factor between 1.2 and 1.9. A 70 kg, 172 cm, 28-year-old male with BMR 1,640 doing moderate training gets 1,640 × 1.55 ≈ 2,540 kcal maintenance.
Start at TDEE minus 500 kcal/day for about 0.45 kg (1 lb) of weekly loss, but never drop below 1,200 kcal (women) or 1,500 kcal (men) without medical supervision. Slower 250 kcal deficits preserve muscle and training quality better if you are already lean.
BMR is what your body burns at complete rest — breathing, circulation, cell repair. TDEE adds digestion (TEF), everyday movement (NEAT), and exercise on top of BMR. TDEE is typically 1.2 to 1.9 times BMR depending on activity level.
Weight loss lowers BMR slightly (smaller body burns less), and prolonged deficits cause adaptive thermogenesis — the body becomes more efficient, cutting NEAT and exercise burn by a few hundred calories. Diet breaks at maintenance and a re-run of the calculator with current weight usually restore the estimate.