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Calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure using the Mifflin-St Jeor formula. Find out how many calories you burn per day based on your age, weight, height, and activity level.
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total number of calories your body burns every day. It includes three components: your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the energy needed for basic body functions at rest. The thermic effect of food (TEF), which is the energy used to digest meals. And physical activity, including both structured exercise and non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) like walking, fidgeting, and daily movement.
For most people, BMR accounts for 60-70% of total daily calorie burn, NEAT accounts for 15-30%, TEF accounts for about 10%, and structured exercise adds the remainder. This is why increasing daily movement often has a bigger impact on total calories burned than adding an extra gym session.
This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, published in 1990 and validated as the most accurate predictive BMR formula for healthy adults. It uses weight, height, age, and gender to estimate resting metabolic rate. The formula is then multiplied by an activity factor to estimate total daily calorie needs.
The Formula:
Men: BMR = (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) - (5 x age) + 5
Women: BMR = (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) - (5 x age) - 161
For a more body-composition-aware estimate, our body fat calculator uses the Katch-McArdle formula, which factors in lean mass for higher accuracy if you know your body fat percentage.
Choosing the right activity level is the most important factor for TDEE accuracy. Most people overestimate their activity. If unsure, start with one level lower than you think and adjust after tracking results for 2-3 weeks.
Sedentary (x1.2)
Office job, little or no exercise
Lightly Active (x1.375)
Light exercise 1-3 days/week
Moderately Active (x1.55)
Moderate exercise 3-5 days/week
Very Active (x1.725)
Hard exercise 6-7 days/week
Extra Active (x1.9)
Very hard exercise, physical job, or training 2x/day
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It is the total number of calories your body burns in a day, including your basal metabolic rate (BMR), physical activity, and the thermic effect of food. Knowing your TDEE is essential for weight management: eat below it to lose fat, at it to maintain, or above it to gain muscle.
This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which research shows is the most accurate predictive BMR formula for most people (+/- 10%). Your actual TDEE depends on factors like genetics, NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis), and body composition that formulas cannot capture. Use this as a starting point and adjust based on real-world results over 2-3 weeks.
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the number of calories your body needs at complete rest, just to keep your organs functioning. TDEE includes BMR plus all additional calories burned through daily movement, exercise, and digesting food. TDEE is always higher than BMR. For most people, BMR accounts for 60-70% of total daily calorie burn.
The most effective ways to increase your TDEE: (1) Build muscle through resistance training, since muscle tissue burns more calories at rest. (2) Increase daily movement (walking, standing desk, taking stairs) to boost NEAT. (3) Exercise more frequently or at higher intensity. (4) Eat adequate protein, which has a higher thermic effect than fats or carbs.
Recalculate every 10-15 pounds of weight change, or every 8-12 weeks during a cut or bulk. As you lose weight, your TDEE decreases because your body has less mass to maintain. As you gain muscle, your BMR increases slightly. Seasonal changes in activity level also warrant recalculation.
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