TDEE Calculator
Find your maintenance calories — the foundation of any nutrition plan.
Maintenance (TDEE)
2,759kcal
- BMR1,780 kcal
- Mild cut (−500)2,259 kcal
- Lean bulk (+300)3,059 kcal
Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is how many calories you burn in a day. It's your maintenance number: eat at it to stay the same, below it to lose fat, above it to gain. It starts from your BMR (resting burn) scaled by activity.
How it's calculated
Enter your stats and activity level. Mifflin-St Jeor is the modern default; Harris-Benedict is the classic; Katch-McArdle uses your body-fat % (most accurate if you know it). Your BMR is multiplied by an activity factor from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (very active).
Mifflin-St Jeor: BMR = 10×kg + 6.25×cm − 5×age + (male +5 / female −161) TDEE = BMR × activity factor
How to read your result
Maintenance is a starting estimate, not a fixed truth — track weight for 2–3 weeks and adjust. The result also shows a ~500 kcal deficit (mild fat loss) and a ~300 kcal surplus (lean gain). Feed your target into the macro calculator to split it.
Frequently asked questions
- BMR vs TDEE — what's the difference?
- BMR is what you burn at complete rest. TDEE is BMR plus activity, digestion and movement — your real daily maintenance calories.
- Which formula should I pick?
- Mifflin-St Jeor for most people. Use Katch-McArdle if you have a reliable body-fat measurement, since it accounts for lean mass.
- Why isn't my weight matching the estimate?
- Formulas are population averages. Use the number as a starting point, then nudge calories based on 2–3 weeks of real scale data.