How to Calculate TDEE: Formula, Multipliers and Example

Learning how to calculate TDEE is the simplest way to turn a vague diet goal into a daily calorie target you can actually follow. TDEE, or Total Daily Energy Expenditure, is the total number of calories your body burns in a day, including the energy needed just to stay alive and the energy used for movement, exercise, and digestion. Once you know that number, you can eat around it to maintain your weight, eat a little less to lose weight, or eat a little more to gain weight, instead of guessing.

The calculation is not complicated once you separate it into two parts: first find your basal metabolic rate, then adjust it for how active you are. This guide explains both parts, works through a full example, and points out the mistakes that most often distort the result. To check your own number in seconds, use our free TDEE Calculator.

The Formula

TDEE is found in two stages. First, calculate basal metabolic rate (BMR), the calories your body needs at complete rest. Then multiply BMR by an activity factor that reflects how much you move during a normal week. The full formula is therefore: TDEE = BMR x activity factor.

The tool uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the formula most commonly used for this purpose. For men, BMR = 10 x weight in kilograms + 6.25 x height in centimetres – 5 x age in years + 5. For women, BMR = 10 x weight in kilograms + 6.25 x height in centimetres – 5 x age in years – 161. The result is in kilocalories per day.

Each term has a clear meaning. Weight is your main driver of resting energy use, because a larger body needs more energy to maintain itself. Height adds a smaller amount for body size. Age is subtracted because resting energy needs generally fall as we get older. The final number, plus 5 for men or minus 161 for women, adjusts the equation for the average difference in body composition between the sexes.

• Sedentary, desk job with little exercise: 1.2
• Light, exercise 1 to 3 days a week: 1.375
• Moderate, exercise 3 to 5 days a week: 1.55
• Active, exercise 6 to 7 days a week: 1.725
• Athlete, hard training twice a day: 1.9

Choose the factor for a typical week, not your busiest day. A single hard workout does not turn a mostly seated week into an active one, and overstating activity is the most common reason a TDEE result looks too high.

How to Calculate TDEE Step by Step

1. Write down your sex, age, weight in kilograms, and height in centimetres. Check the units first, because pounds or inches will give a wrong answer unless you convert them.
2. Calculate BMR with the Mifflin-St Jeor formula for your sex, working through one term at a time so a single slip is easy to spot.
3. Pick the activity factor that best describes your average week, using the list above, and be honest about desk time, walking, and training.
4. Multiply BMR by the activity factor. The result is your TDEE, your estimated maintenance calories per day.
5. Adjust for your goal. As a common starting point, subtract about 500 calories a day for gradual weight loss or add about 300 calories a day for gradual weight gain, then review the result after two to four weeks.

Keep your notes, because the same BMR is useful for other goals too. If your weight or activity changes, repeat the calculation rather than reusing an old TDEE for months.

Worked Example

Take a man aged 30, weighing 70 kg, measuring 175 cm, with a moderate activity level. First, work out BMR: 10 x 70 = 700, plus 6.25 x 175 = 1,093.75, minus 5 x 30 = 150, plus 5. That gives 700 + 1,093.75 – 150 + 5 = 1,648.75, which rounds to 1,649 kcal per day at rest.

Moderate activity uses a factor of 1.55, so TDEE = 1,649 x 1.55 = 2,556 kcal per day, using the rounded BMR shown on the tool page. This is the maintenance estimate: eating around 2,556 calories a day should broadly hold weight steady, while a modest deficit or surplus moves weight slowly in the chosen direction.

For comparison, the same man at a sedentary factor of 1.2 would have a TDEE of about 1,979 kcal, and at an active factor of 1.725 it would be about 2,844 kcal. That spread shows why the activity choice matters as much as the BMR calculation itself.

Common Mistakes / Good to Know

• Mixing up BMR and TDEE: BMR is rest only, so eating at BMR while active usually creates a deficit. TDEE is the maintenance figure.
• Overstating activity: counting occasional walks as an active lifestyle inflates the result and can stall weight loss.
• Using the wrong units: the formula needs kilograms and centimetres. Convert pounds and inches first if your measurements are imperial.
• Treating the result as exact: TDEE is an estimate, typically within about 10 percent, so adjust it from real weight changes over a few weeks rather than chasing a single number.

It also helps to recalculate after a large weight change, because a smaller body needs fewer calories at rest. Think of TDEE as a starting target to test, not a permanent prescription.

Frequently Asked Questions

Once you have your TDEE, the next step is to understand the number behind it. Start with your resting baseline using our BMR Calculator.

For the full resting-rate method worked out step by step, read BMR Formula: How to Calculate BMR Manually with Example.