Calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure to find out how many calories you burn per day. Use this to plan your diet for weight loss, muscle gain, or maintenance.
If provided, we'll use the more accurate Katch-McArdle formula
Now that you know your TDEE, hit your daily calorie goals with BiteKit. Just speak or type what you ate - AI handles the rest.
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total number of calories your body burns in a day. It includes your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) - the calories you burn at rest - plus all the energy you expend through physical activity, digestion, and daily movements.
Understanding your TDEE is crucial for effective weight management:
The calories your body burns at complete rest, just to maintain basic functions like breathing, circulation, and cell production. Think of it as the energy cost of simply being alive.
Your BMR plus all additional calories burned through daily activities, exercise, and digestion. This is the total energy you actually use each day.
Our TDEE calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which is considered one of the most accurate formulas for estimating metabolic rate. Here's how it works:
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
TDEE = BMR x Activity Multiplier
If you know your body fat percentage, our calculator can also use the Katch-McArdle formula, which may be more accurate for people with higher or lower than average muscle mass.
Choosing the right activity level is crucial for an accurate TDEE calculation. Here's how to determine yours:
Desk job, minimal walking, no exercise. Example: office worker who drives to work.
Light exercise 1-3 days per week. Example: occasional gym visits or regular walking.
Moderate exercise 3-5 days per week. Example: regular gym sessions or active commuting.
Hard exercise 6-7 days per week. Example: daily intense workouts or athletic training.
Very hard exercise plus physical job. Example: professional athletes or construction workers who also train.
Eat 500 calories below your TDEE for steady weight loss of about 1 pound per week. Never go below 1,200 calories (women) or 1,500 calories (men).
Eat at your TDEE to maintain your current weight. This is also called eating at maintenance calories.
Eat 300-500 calories above your TDEE while strength training to build muscle with minimal fat gain.
Once you know your TDEE, you can plan your macronutrient distribution. A common balanced approach is:
30%
Protein
4 calories per gram
40%
Carbohydrates
4 calories per gram
30%
Fat
9 calories per gram
These ratios can be adjusted based on your specific goals. For example, athletes may need more protein, while those on low-carb diets will adjust carbohydrate intake.
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It represents the total number of calories your body burns in a day, including your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) plus all physical activities. Knowing your TDEE is essential for weight management.
Our calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, considered one of the most accurate formulas. However, TDEE calculations are estimates. Use your results as a starting point and adjust based on real-world progress.
Recalculate whenever significant changes occur in your weight (every 10-15 pounds), activity level, or age. During active weight loss or gain, recalculating every 4-6 weeks is recommended.
BMR is the calories your body burns at complete rest. TDEE includes your BMR plus all additional calories burned through activities and exercise. TDEE is always higher than BMR.
First ensure you're accurately tracking calories. If tracking is accurate, adjust by 100-200 calories per day and monitor for 2-3 weeks. Factors like water retention or inaccurate activity level selection can affect results.
Yes, TDEE typically decreases with age due to declining muscle mass and often reduced activity levels. The Mifflin-St Jeor formula accounts for age in its calculation.
BiteKit makes tracking as easy as talking. Log meals with your voice or text and let AI calculate the nutrition for you.
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