TDEE Calculator
Find your maintenance calories, BMR, macros, and cut or bulk targets. Add body fat for FitCommit's lean-mass estimate.
Used for Katch-McArdle, lean-mass protein, max fat-loss deficit, and advanced macro guardrails.
Formula selected
Katch-McArdle
FitCommit's preferred lean-mass formula when body fat is known
Compare formulas
Best accuracy: use Daily + Training. It separates your daily activity from your workouts, so a laborer who trains once per week is not treated like a desk worker who trains six days.
Daily movement
Training
Enter your details above to see your TDEE.
Advanced TDEE and Body-Composition Projection
Separate daily movement, lifting, and cardio, then forecast fat and muscle week by week.
Advanced inputsReuses your weight, height, age, sex, and body fat. Add the details below to unlock the projection.
Some walking or errands most days
Standard protein quality multiplier
Typical hypertrophy or strength sessions
Cardio activities
Add each recurring cardio type. FitCommit averages the weekly burn into cal/day.
Cardio 1
Flat walking
Easy conversational effort, like incline walking
Your forecast unlocks here
Fill in the advanced inputs above (body fat, daily movement, lifting, and cardio) to see fat vs muscle over time, your time to goal, and where progress plateaus.
Cut forecast
Recomp forecast
Bulk forecast
What Is TDEE?
TDEE, total daily energy expenditure, is the total number of calories your body burns in a day. It is the single most important number for managing your weight, because it is your maintenance level: eat at your TDEE and your weight holds, eat below it and you lose fat, eat above it and you gain. It is built from four parts.
- •BMR (60 to 70%): calories burned at complete rest to keep you alive.
- •NEAT: non-exercise activity, like walking, standing, and fidgeting.
- •TEF (about 10%): the thermic effect of food, the energy used to digest meals.
- •EAT: exercise activity, the calories burned during deliberate training.
Why the Deep Dive Is Different
Most TDEE calculators multiply BMR by a broad activity level. That is useful for a fast estimate, but it hides the difference between daily movement, lifting, and cardio. The deep dive separates those pieces so a physical job with one workout does not get treated like a desk job with six workouts. Cardio stays visible as a lever, then gets averaged across the week and included in the final food target.
It also uses body fat to estimate lean mass and adjusted FFMI, then adjusts macros by training tier and diet pattern. The deep dive includes an FFMI-based natural muscle potential estimate, protein is based on lean mass, fat follows FitCommit's safety floor, and carbs are the remaining calories. If carbs get very low, the calculator warns you instead of forcing a fake minimum. It also drives the week-by-week body-composition projection.
Why Is FitCommit an Advanced TDEE Calculator?
FitCommit is an advanced TDEE calculator because it includes the standard pieces people expect from alternatives like calculator.net and tdeecalculator.org, then adds the layers most basic calculators compress: body composition and activity. It compares four BMR formulas, separates daily movement from lifting and cardio, supports 13 cardio types with MET or heart-rate inputs, and projects fat versus muscle over time.
| Axis | FitCommit | Basic alternatives | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMR formulas | Mifflin-St Jeor, Katch-McArdle, Cunningham, and Revised Harris-Benedict | Often Mifflin-St Jeor, Harris-Benedict, and sometimes Katch-McArdle | Lets users compare standard estimates against lean-mass equations when body fat is known. |
| Activity model | Standard multiplier, custom multiplier, or Daily + Training split | Usually one broad five-level activity multiplier | Separates daily movement from workouts, which is the biggest practical source of TDEE error. |
| Cardio detail | 13 cardio types, per-activity MET estimates, and optional heart-rate override | Exercise is usually hidden inside the activity multiplier | Keeps cardio visible, averages it across the week, and includes it in the food target. |
| Body composition | Lean mass, fat mass, adjusted FFMI, and natural muscle-potential context | Height, weight, age, sex, and sometimes body fat only | Connects the calorie estimate to the user body that actually burns the calories. |
| Goal projection | Week-by-week cut, recomp, or bulk forecast with fat vs muscle separated | Static maintenance, cut, or bulk calories | Shows how the body may change over time instead of only giving today number. |
| Guardrails | Female life-stage context, calorie floors, carb warnings, diet breaks, and mini-cut cadence | Usually limited safety or context layer | Keeps aggressive targets from looking falsely precise or universally appropriate. |
The result is still an estimate, not a lab measurement. Use it as the starting target, then validate against 2 to 3 weeks of weight trend, adherence, training, hunger, and recovery data.
Methodology and Sources
The calculator separates the problem into three layers: resting energy, activity, and goal target. Resting energy comes from published BMR equations. Activity can be a simple multiplier or a split estimate for daily movement, lifting, and cardio. The body-composition projection is a model built on those inputs, so it should be validated against real trend data rather than treated as a lab measurement.
Reviewed by Andrew Menechian, Head of Fitness, FitCommit
Andrew reviews FitCommit's calorie, macro, and body-composition methodology. His background includes 12+ years in fitness, PN1, PNC 1&2, Poliquin PICP 1&2, bodybuilding, powerlifting, and coaching education.
Mifflin-St Jeor
Men: 10W + 6.25H - 5A + 5. Women: 10W + 6.25H - 5A - 161. Uses kg, cm, and age.
Katch-McArdle
370 + 21.6 * lean mass in kg. Requires a body-fat estimate.
Cunningham
500 + 22 * lean mass in kg. Useful as a lean-mass comparison for athletic bodies.
Revised Harris-Benedict
Included for legacy comparison because many older calculators still expose it.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding adjustments are shown as quick calorie context only. They do not unlock cutting, bulking, or body-composition projection because those targets should be individualized with a clinician.
- Mifflin-St Jeor resting energy equationAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition, PubMed PMID 2305711
- Cunningham lean-mass resting energy equationAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition, PubMed PMID 7435418
- Nutrition during pregnancy calorie guidanceCDC: Pregnancy Weight Gain
- Breastfeeding calorie guidanceCDC: Maternal Diet and Breastfeeding
- Compendium of Physical Activities MET valuesMedicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, PubMed PMID 21681120
Which TDEE Formula Should You Use?
Katch-McArdle when body fat is known
FitCommit prefers this formula when you have a credible body-fat estimate because it works from lean mass directly.
Cunningham for athletic comparison
Use Cunningham when you know body fat and want a second lean-mass formula that often runs a little higher for muscular users.
Mifflin-St Jeor when body fat is unknown
This is the best default when you only know sex, age, height, and weight. It avoids pretending a guessed body-fat number is precise.
Harris-Benedict for legacy comparison
Use this only when you want parity with older calculators that still expose Harris-Benedict.
How to Use Your Number
Your TDEE is a starting estimate, accurate to within about 10%. Eat at the target for your goal for 2 to 3 weeks and watch the scale trend (a weekly average, not day to day). If you are not losing on a deficit, your real TDEE is lower than estimated, so drop 100 to 150 calories. Recalculate every 10 to 15 pounds (4.5 to 7 kg). Keep protein around 0.8 to 1 gram per pound (about 1.8 to 2.2 g per kg) of body weight in any phase to protect muscle.
Worked example: a 30-year-old man, 180 lb (82 kg), 5'10" (178 cm) at about 18% body fat, training 3 to 4 days a week, has a BMR near 1,800 calories and a TDEE around 2,600 per day. To lose roughly 1 pound a week he would eat about 2,100 (a 500 calorie deficit); to lean bulk he would eat about 2,850. Your own numbers appear at the top once you fill in the calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is TDEE?
TDEE is total daily energy expenditure, the total number of calories you burn in a day. It is your BMR (calories burned at rest) plus the thermic effect of food (digestion), non-exercise activity (NEAT, like walking and fidgeting), and exercise. TDEE is your maintenance calorie level, the amount that keeps your weight stable. Every cut or bulk plan starts from this number.
Is TDEE the same as maintenance calories?
Yes. TDEE and maintenance calories are the same number: the calories that keep your weight stable. Eat at your TDEE and you hold your weight, eat below it and you lose fat, eat above it and you gain. Every cut or bulk target is just your TDEE plus or minus a deficit or surplus.
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is what you burn at complete rest, just keeping your organs running. It is roughly 60 to 70 percent of your total burn. TDEE is BMR plus everything else you do in a day: digesting food, moving around, and training. You plan calories off TDEE, never off BMR. Eating at BMR would be a severe deficit for most people.
Which formula is more accurate, Mifflin-St Jeor, Katch-McArdle, Cunningham, or Harris-Benedict?
If you know your body fat percentage, start with Katch-McArdle or Cunningham because both work from lean mass. FitCommit defaults to Katch-McArdle, while Cunningham is useful for comparing athletic or muscular bodies. If you do not know body fat, use Mifflin-St Jeor. Harris-Benedict is included for comparison with older calculators.
How do I pick the right activity level?
Be honest and lean conservative. Most people overestimate. Standard multipliers combine daily movement and training, so a laborer who trains once per week can look the same as a desk worker who trains six days per week. For the best estimate, use Daily + Training or advanced mode so daily movement and workouts are separated.
Should I eat different calories on training days and rest days?
Usually no. Your TDEE target is a weekly average expressed as calories per day, so most people should start by eating the same target daily. Calorie cycling can work for advanced users who want more food around hard sessions, but the weekly average still needs to match the goal.
How often should I recalculate my TDEE?
Recalculate every 10 to 15 pounds (4.5 to 7 kg) of weight change, or every 8 to 12 weeks during an active cut or bulk. Your TDEE falls as you lose weight (a lighter body burns less) and rises as you gain. The calculator gives you a starting estimate; the scale over 2 to 3 weeks tells you the real number.
Why does this calculator give a different number than others?
Most differences come from the activity multiplier and the BMR formula. Many calculators bake daily movement and training into one broad activity factor. FitCommit can separate daily movement, lifting, and cardio, so a physical job with one workout per week does not get treated like a desk job with six workouts. All TDEE numbers are estimates within about 10 percent; treat them as a starting point and adjust from real-world results.
What does advanced mode add?
Advanced mode separates daily movement, lifting, and one or more cardio activities, then uses lean mass, adjusted FFMI, diet pattern, and training tier to build calorie and macro targets. Cardio is averaged across the week and included in your food target, while still staying visible as its own lever.
Why is FitCommit's TDEE calculator more advanced than basic TDEE calculators?
FitCommit is more advanced because it does not rely on one broad activity multiplier. It compares four BMR formulas, uses lean mass when body fat is known, separates daily movement from lifting and cardio, supports 13 cardio types with MET or heart-rate inputs, adds female life-stage context, and projects fat versus muscle week by week.
How do I use my TDEE to lose or gain weight?
To lose fat, eat below your TDEE: a 500 calorie daily deficit is about 1 pound (0.45 kg) per week. To gain muscle, eat above it: a 250 to 500 calorie surplus supports lean gains. Keep protein high (around 0.8 to 1 gram per pound, or about 1.8 to 2.2 grams per kg, of body weight) in either direction. This calculator shows your calorie and macro targets for cutting, maintenance, and bulking.
How many calories should I eat to lose 1 pound a week?
To lose about 1 pound (0.45 kg) of fat per week, eat roughly 500 calories below your TDEE each day. For 2 pounds (0.9 kg) per week, aim for about 1,000 below, though that pace is aggressive and harder to sustain for most people. Multiply your daily deficit by 7 to see the weekly total.
Should I eat back the calories I burn from exercise?
No. Your TDEE already includes your training, so adding exercise calories back on top double-counts them. Eat your TDEE-based target whether or not you trained that day. Apps that log workouts as separate "earned" calories are the ones that ask you to eat them back; this calculator and FitCommit bake training into the number instead.
How accurate is this TDEE calculator?
A TDEE calculator is an estimate accurate to within about 10 percent, and it is only as good as your inputs. The biggest levers are body composition and activity. When you enter body fat, the calculator can use lean-mass formulas instead of only height and weight. FitCommit can estimate body fat from photos in the iOS app, but you should still validate any calorie target with 2 to 3 weeks of scale trend, adherence, and training data.
How long will it take to reach my goal body fat?
A typical man at 22% body fat on a 25% deficit reaches the natural floor of about 5% in roughly 7 to 8 months, losing around 16 kg (35 lb) of fat while protecting muscle with scheduled diet breaks. The exact time depends on how much fat you have to lose, your deficit size, and your training. FitCommit projects this week by week with a muscle-loss-aware model rather than the flat 3,500 calories per pound rule. Fat loss is not linear: it slows as you get leaner, the weekly rate is capped by how much fat your body can spare, and the model stops at the natural body-fat floor (about 5% for men, 13% for women) because going lower is unsustainable and comes out of muscle. Use the projection in advanced mode for your own numbers.
Does the FitCommit app calculate my TDEE automatically?
Yes. The FitCommit iOS app estimates your body fat and lean mass from photos, then calculates your TDEE from lean mass and sets your cut, maintenance, and bulk targets. Start with a free trial. This web calculator runs the same style of math with no signup.
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