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TDEE Calculator

Estimate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure to understand your daily calorie needs for weight maintenance, loss, or gain.



Your Maintenance Calories

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Calories/day


Calorie Goals for Weight Management

Weight Loss (~1 lb/week)

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Mild Weight Loss (~0.5 lb/week)

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Mild Weight Gain (~0.5 lb/week)

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Weight Gain (~1 lb/week)

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The Ultimate Guide to Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)

Whether your goal is to lose fat, build muscle, or simply maintain your current weight, the foundation of any successful nutrition plan is understanding your body's energy needs. The single most important number in this equation is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). This represents the total number of calories your body burns in a 24-hour period. Our TDEE Calculator is designed to provide you with an accurate estimate of this number, giving you the power to create a precise and effective diet plan.

What is TDEE and Why Does It Matter?

Your TDEE is the sum of all the energy you expend throughout the day. It's composed of three main components:

  1. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): This is the energy your body uses at complete rest to perform vital functions like breathing, circulating blood, and maintaining body temperature. It is the largest portion of your TDEE.
  2. Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): The calories your body burns to digest, absorb, and process the food you eat.
  3. Physical Activity: This includes everything from structured exercise like running or lifting weights to daily non-exercise activities like walking, fidgeting, and doing chores (often called NEAT - Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis).

Your TDEE is your "maintenance calorie" level. If you consistently eat at your TDEE, your weight will remain stable. To lose weight, you must eat fewer calories than your TDEE, and to gain weight, you must eat more.

How to Use the TDEE Calculator

  1. Enter Your Personal Details: Input your age and gender.
  2. Provide Your Measurements: Enter your height and weight. You can use either metric or imperial units.
  3. Select Your Activity Level: This is a critical step. Be honest about your typical weekly activity to get an accurate result.
    • Sedentary: Desk job with little to no formal exercise.
    • Lightly Active: Light exercise or sports 1-3 days per week.
    • Moderately Active: Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days per week.
    • Very Active: Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days per week.
    • Extra Active: Very hard exercise, a physical job, or training twice a day.
  4. View Your Results: The calculator will instantly display your TDEE (maintenance calories) and provide clear calorie targets for weight loss and weight gain.

Using Your TDEE for Your Fitness Goals

For Weight Loss

To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit. This means consuming fewer calories than your TDEE. A healthy and sustainable rate of weight loss is typically 0.5 to 1 pound (about 0.25 to 0.5 kg) per week. This corresponds to a daily calorie deficit of 250-500 calories. Our calculator provides targets for both mild and standard weight loss to help you choose a sustainable path.

For Weight Gain (Muscle Building)

To gain weight, primarily lean muscle, you need to be in a calorie surplus. This means consuming more calories than your TDEE. A small, controlled surplus of 250-500 calories per day is recommended. This provides your body with the extra energy needed to build new muscle tissue while minimizing the amount of fat you gain in the process. This must be combined with a consistent resistance training program.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is TDEE?

Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is an estimation of the total number of calories your body burns in a 24-hour period. It includes the calories burned from your basic metabolic functions (BMR), physical activity, and the digestion of food.

How is TDEE different from BMR?

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories you burn at complete rest. TDEE is your BMR plus all the additional calories you burn through any form of movement and activity. Your TDEE is your 'maintenance calorie' number—the amount you would eat to stay at your current weight.

How do I use my TDEE for weight loss?

To lose weight, you must consume fewer calories than your TDEE. This is called a calorie deficit. A safe and sustainable deficit is typically 300-500 calories below your TDEE maintenance number, which usually results in a loss of about 0.5 to 1 pound per week.