TDEE Calculator: Total Daily Energy Explained
Calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure to find your maintenance calories for weight management.
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Tags: TDEE calculator, total daily energy expenditure, maintenance calories calculator
TDEE Calculator: Total Daily Energy Explained Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total calories your body burns per day — resting metabolism plus activity. Your TDEE is your maintenance calorie intake: eat at TDEE and weight stays stable; eat below it to lose weight; eat above it to gain. A TDEE calculator computes this from your BMR multiplied by an activity factor. The Mifflin-St Jeor equation (1990) is the most validated BMR formula, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics provides guidance on energy requirements. --- See our complete guide to health calculators for the full toolkit. What Makes Up Your TDEE? TDEE has four components: 1. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) — 60–70% of TDEE Energy burned at complete rest to maintain breathing, circulation, cell maintenance, and…
Frequently Asked Questions
What is TDEE?
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total number of calories your body burns in 24 hours. It includes your resting metabolism (BMR), the energy cost of digesting food (thermic effect of food, ~10% of intake), and all physical activity including exercise and daily movement (NEAT).
How is TDEE different from BMR?
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is calories burned at complete rest — no movement, no eating. TDEE adds everything on top: exercise, walking, fidgeting, and digestion. A sedentary person's TDEE is roughly BMR × 1.2; an active person's TDEE can be 1.7–1.9× their BMR.
What activity multiplier should I use for TDEE?
Most people overestimate their activity level. Sedentary (desk work, minimal exercise): 1.2. Light activity (walking + 1–3 workouts/week): 1.375. Moderate activity (3–5 workouts/week): 1.55. Very active (physical job or 6–7 hard workouts): 1.725. Extra active (athlete or hard labor): 1.9.
How often should I recalculate my TDEE?
Recalculate every 4–6 weeks or after every 5 kg of weight change. As you lose weight, your BMR decreases, so your TDEE decreases proportionally. Failing to recalculate leads to a progressively smaller deficit as weight drops — a common reason weight loss stalls after the first few months.
Does TDEE change as I lose weight?
Yes, in two ways. First, a lighter body has lower BMR (less mass to maintain). Second, metabolic adaptation — the body slightly downregulates metabolism beyond what weight loss alone predicts. Studies suggest adaptation accounts for about 100–200 kcal/day reduction over extended deficits, in addition to the ~10 kcal/day reduction per kg lost.
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