How to Calculate Your TDEE (Step by Step)

Short answer: your TDEE is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) multiplied by an activity factor between 1.2 and 1.9. Calculate BMR with the Mifflin–St Jeor equation, multiply by how active you are, and you have the calories that keep your weight stable.

What TDEE actually is

Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is every calorie you burn in a day: your resting metabolism, digesting food, and all movement from fidgeting to training. Eat at your TDEE and your weight holds. Eat below it and you lose; above it and you gain. Every calorie goal starts here.

Step 1 — Calculate your BMR

The most accurate general equation in peer-reviewed comparisons is Mifflin–St Jeor (1990):

• Men: 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age + 5
• Women: 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age − 161

Worked example — a 30-year-old woman, 68 kg, 168 cm: 10×68 + 6.25×168 − 5×30 − 161 = 680 + 1050 − 150 − 161 = 1,419 kcal.

Step 2 — Multiply by your activity factor

Our example woman, training 3–5 days/week: 1,419 × 1.55 ≈ 2,200 kcal — that’s her TDEE.

Be honest here: most people overestimate. If the scale doesn’t match the prediction after 2–3 weeks, trust the scale and adjust.

Step 3 — Turn TDEE into a goal

• Fat loss: eat ~15–20% below TDEE. See the calorie deficit calculator for a safe target and weekly projection.
• Maintenance: eat at TDEE.
• Lean gain: eat ~10% above TDEE with progressive training.

Then split it into protein, carbs and fat with the macro calculator.

Skip the maths

The TDEE calculator does all of the above instantly — BMR, TDEE, cut/maintain/bulk targets and a macro split — entirely in your browser, no signup.

How accurate is it?

Mifflin–St Jeor is typically within ~10% of measured values for the general population. It is an estimate, not a measurement: use it as a starting point and refine against real weight change over 2–3 weeks.

Source: Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51(2):241–247. Educational use only, not medical advice.