Calorie & TDEE Calculator
Your body burns calories just by existing. Breathing counts. You're doing great.
Your Daily Calories (TDEE)
2124
calories/day to maintain weight
BMR
1370
at rest
Weight Loss
1624
-500 cal/day
Weight Gain
2624
+500 cal/day
About This Calculator
How It Works
TDEE — Total Daily Energy Expenditure — is how many calories your body burns in a day, accounting for both basic biological functions and your activity level. This calculator first computes your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which factors in weight, height, age, and sex. It then multiplies by an activity factor — from sedentary to very active — to estimate actual daily burn. That number is your maintenance calories: eat at that level and your weight stays stable.
The Formula
Mifflin-St Jeor BMR × Activity Factor = TDEE. Men: (10×kg) + (6.25×cm) - (5×age) + 5. Women: (10×kg) + (6.25×cm) - (5×age) - 161.
When to Use This
TDEE is the foundation for any intentional change in body composition. If you want to lose weight, you eat below it; if you want to gain muscle, you eat above it; if you want to maintain, you match it. It's also useful for understanding why weight changes stall — as you lose weight, your TDEE drops, which means the same calorie deficit produces slower results over time. Recalculating every few weeks keeps your targets accurate.
Limitations
The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is the most accurate BMR formula currently available, but it's still an estimate — individual metabolic rates vary by up to 15% from predictions. Activity multipliers are broad categories and almost everyone overestimates their activity level. TDEE also doesn't account for adaptive thermogenesis (your metabolism adjusting during dieting) or specific medical conditions that affect metabolism. Use it as a starting point and adjust based on real results over 2-4 weeks.
Example
A 30-year-old woman, 165cm, 65kg, moderately active has a TDEE of about 2,100 calories/day. That's what she burns just living her life. Food is fuel.
Did You Know?
Your brain alone uses about 20% of your total caloric intake, despite being only 2% of your body weight. Thinking is literally burning calories. You're welcome.
Related Calculators
Your TDEE Tells You the Target — This Tells You If You're Hitting It
Knowing your Total Daily Energy Expenditure is the first step. The second step — the one most people skip — is actually measuring what you eat.
Here's the problem: portion sizes are notoriously hard to eyeball. Studies consistently show that people underestimate their calorie intake by 20-40% when guessing, even people who think they're experienced at it. A handful of almonds that "looks like" 150 calories is often closer to 280. A cup of pasta that "seems right" can easily be two servings.
A food scale eliminates the guessing entirely. It takes five seconds per ingredient, costs almost nothing, and is the single most effective tool for anyone who wants their calorie tracking to actually work.
Our pick: the Etekcity Food Kitchen Scale
The Etekcity Food Scale is the #1 bestselling kitchen scale on Amazon — and for good reason. It measures in grams, ounces, millilitres, and pounds, works for everything from coffee to chicken breast to baking ingredients, and has a tare function so you can measure directly into your bowl or plate without doing any math. Over 100,000 reviews, consistently rated 4.6 stars, and priced under $15. It's the kind of tool you buy once and use every single day.
If you've calculated your TDEE and want to actually hit your calorie target rather than guess at it — this is the missing piece.
CalculatorMate earns a small commission if you purchase through this link — at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we'd genuinely suggest to a friend.