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This calculator estimates your TDEE, total daily energy expenditure, in two steps. First it computes your BMR, the calories you burn at complete rest, with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the formula most validated in published research. Then it multiplies BMR by an activity factor (1.2 sedentary up to 1.9 extra active) that represents movement plus the thermic effect of food. From the result you get maintenance calories and simple targets: about 500 kcal below TDEE for steady fat loss, about 500 above for lean muscle gain. Recalculate every 4 to 6 weeks or after every 5 kg of weight change, since TDEE falls as you lose weight. Results are planning estimates, not medical advice.
TDEE = BMR × activity multiplier. Here is how to calculate TDEE manually in two steps. Step one is the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, published in 1990 and validated many times since. Male equation: BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) - 5 × age + 5. Female equation: the same but - 161 instead of + 5. Worked calculation example, a 30-year-old male, 80 kg, 180 cm: 800 + 1,125 - 150 + 5 = 1,780 kcal/day BMR. Step two multiplies by the activity factor. Moderately active, 1.55: 1,780 × 1.55 = 2,759 kcal/day TDEE. That number is maintenance calories: eat it and your weight stays roughly stable.
The multiplier is where most estimates go wrong, because people overestimate how active they are. Sedentary 1.2: desk job, little or no exercise. Lightly active 1.375: light exercise or walking 1 to 3 days a week. Moderately active 1.55: moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week, where most regular gym-goers land. Very active 1.725: hard exercise 6 to 7 days a week or a physical job. Extra active 1.9: twice-daily training or very demanding labor. Each step up changes the result by 200 to 400 kcal a day, so an honest choice matters more than an exact weight. Rule of thumb: a desk job with three gym sessions is lightly active, 1.375, not moderate.
Maintenance: eat your TDEE. Fat loss and cutting: eat 300 to 500 kcal below TDEE for a steady 0.3 to 0.5 kg per week. On the worked example of 2,759 kcal, that means 2,259 to 2,459 kcal/day. Muscle gain and bulking: eat 250 to 500 kcal above TDEE while strength training, so 3,009 to 3,259 on the example, with protein at 1.6 to 2.2 g per kg of body weight. Respect the minimum safe floors: sustained intake below about 1,200 kcal for women or 1,500 for men risks nutrient gaps and should involve a professional. And remember the moving target: TDEE drops about 10 kcal per kg lost, so recalculate every 4 to 6 weeks.
Use these reference ranges as a sanity check on your result. Women 60 to 70 kg: sedentary 1,600 to 1,900; lightly active 1,900 to 2,200; moderately active 2,100 to 2,500; very active 2,400 to 2,900; athlete 2,700 to 3,500+. Men 75 to 90 kg: sedentary 2,100 to 2,500; lightly active 2,400 to 2,900; moderately active 2,700 to 3,200; very active 3,100 to 3,700; athlete 3,500 to 4,500+. As a curiosity, a TDEE of 1,979 kcal/day averages about 82 kcal per hour, or 1.37 kcal per minute, which shows how much of the total is just staying alive.
Three equations compete for the BMR step. Harris-Benedict (revised 1984) is the older classic, still used in clinics. Mifflin-St Jeor (1990) beats it in most validation studies, landing within 10 percent of measured BMR for more subjects, with a typical 50 to 200 kcal difference between the two. Katch-McArdle uses lean body mass instead of total weight, so it is the pick for very muscular or very lean people, but it needs a body fat percentage you may not know. For everyone else, Mifflin-St Jeor is the sensible default, which is why this calculator uses it.
Expect a 10 to 15 percent margin on any TDEE estimate. The equation is a population average: it cannot see your muscle mass, your non-exercise movement, or your metabolic quirks. That is normal and the number is still useful, because the fix is calibration, not a better formula. Track your weight and intake for 10 to 14 days. If your weight is stable, your true maintenance equals what you ate. If it is drifting, adjust your target by the drift. Accuracy is lowest for very muscular people, people with high body fat, older adults and metabolic conditions; for them the calibration step is mandatory, not optional.
Your watch reports active calories, the exercise slice. TDEE includes the resting burn (60 to 70 percent of the total), the thermic effect of food (about 10 percent), and all daily movement. A watch saying 600 with a TDEE of 2,600 is consistent, not a bug. Other mixups: adding workout calories on top of TDEE (double counting, since the multiplier already covers them), and treating TDEE as a fixed number (it falls as you lose weight and rises when training ramps up). Thermic effect of food runs about 10 percent regardless of meal timing, and no food has truly negative calories.
TDEE, total daily energy expenditure, is the total number of calories your body burns in a day: your resting burn (BMR, roughly 60 to 70 percent of the total), the thermic effect of food (about 10 percent), and everything you do, from walking to workouts. It is the number that decides whether you maintain, lose or gain weight.
In two steps. First, the Mifflin-St Jeor equation estimates BMR from weight, height, age and sex: 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) - 5 × age, plus 5 for men or minus 161 for women. Second, BMR is multiplied by an activity multiplier from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (extra active). Example: BMR 1,780 × 1.55 moderate activity = 2,759 kcal/day.
BMR is what you burn at complete rest, just staying alive. TDEE is BMR multiplied by an activity factor, so it includes movement and digestion. BMR is the floor, roughly two thirds of the total; TDEE is the number you should base calorie targets on.
Pick the level that matches your real week, and if in doubt pick one lower, since most people overestimate. Sedentary 1.2 is a desk job with little exercise. Lightly active 1.375 is light exercise 1 to 3 days a week. Moderately active 1.55 is moderate exercise 3 to 5 days. Very active 1.725 is hard exercise 6 to 7 days or a physical job. Extra active 1.9 is twice-daily training or demanding labor. A desk job plus 3 gym sessions is lightly active, 1.375.
A 300 to 500 kcal daily deficit gives steady fat loss of roughly 0.3 to 0.5 kg per week. This calculator shows the 500 kcal option as the fat-loss target. Do not go below about 1,200 kcal/day for women or 1,500 for men without medical supervision.
A surplus of 250 to 500 kcal per day plus strength training supports lean muscle gain. This calculator shows the 500 kcal option. Eat about 1.6 to 2.2 g of protein per kg of body weight per day, and recalculate TDEE as you gain.
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation lands within about 10 percent of a lab-measured BMR for most healthy adults, so expect a margin of roughly 10 to 15 percent on TDEE. Accuracy is lower for very muscular people, people with high body fat, older adults and anyone with a metabolic condition. The practical fix: track your weight for 10 to 14 days and adjust until it matches the prediction.
TDEE already includes exercise through the activity multiplier, so do not add workout calories on top. Adding them is the most common double-counting mistake and makes the estimate too high. The only exception is an unusually hard single day, like a long hike, which you can treat as a separate one-off.
A smaller body needs less energy, so every kilogram you lose lowers your TDEE a little. The Mifflin-St Jeor equation shows it directly: 10 kcal less per kg of body weight. That is why weight loss slows over time and why you should recalculate every 4 to 6 weeks.
Every 4 to 6 weeks, or after every 5 kg of weight change in either direction, or when your activity level changes meaningfully (new job, new training program, injury). Treat TDEE as a moving number, not a one-time answer.
Published validation studies generally favor Mifflin-St Jeor: it lands within 10 percent of measured BMR for more subjects than the older Harris-Benedict equation, and the typical gap between the two is only 50 to 200 kcal/day. The Katch-McArdle formula is an alternative if you know your body fat percentage.
Watches estimate only the exercise portion, using heart rate and motion, and their calorie models are rough. TDEE includes your resting burn, the largest part, plus food digestion. If the watch says 600 active calories and your TDEE is 2,600, that is consistent, not a contradiction.
Only if your goal is to maintain your current weight. Eat below it for fat loss, above it for muscle gain. TDEE is also an average, not a rigid daily quota: eating a bit more on training days and a bit less on rest days averages out fine.
No. It moves with your activity, sleep, stress, temperature and even the day of the week. The calculator gives your average TDEE for a typical week, which is the right number for setting calorie targets.