TDEE Calculator
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is how many calories you burn per day. Use this to set cut, maintain, or bulk targets.
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Understanding Your TDEE Results
TDEE — Total Daily Energy Expenditure — is the total number of calories your body burns in a day. It combines your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) with everything on top: digesting food, walking, training, and non-exercise activity. Knowing your TDEE gives you the baseline to build a calorie target from.
BMR vs. TDEE
Your BMR is what you'd burn lying completely still all day — the minimum energy needed to keep your organs running. TDEE multiplies that baseline by an activity factor to account for your actual life. The three formulas shown (Mifflin-St Jeor, Harris-Benedict, and Katch-McArdle) each estimate BMR slightly differently. Mifflin-St Jeor is generally considered the most accurate for the general population. If you've entered your body fat percentage, Katch-McArdle uses lean body mass directly, which can be more accurate for leaner athletes whose fat mass would otherwise skew the other formulas.
The activity multiplier problem
The most common TDEE mistake is selecting too high an activity level. "Very Active" (1.725×) is meant for people with physically demanding jobs and structured training — think construction workers who also lift. Most recreational lifters with desk jobs should start at Moderate (1.55×) or even Light (1.375×) even if they train four days per week, because 23 hours of low-activity sitting outweighs 1 hour of lifting when averaged across the day.
Using the cut / maintain / bulk targets
A moderate calorie deficit of 250–500 kcal below maintenance produces roughly 0.5–1 lb of fat loss per week without crushing training performance. A moderate surplus of 200–350 kcal supports muscle growth while limiting fat accumulation. Start mild and track actual body weight daily for two weeks — if the scale isn't trending in the right direction, adjust by 100–150 kcal and reassess.
For a deeper breakdown of energy expenditure, see the Understanding Your TDEE guide.