Health · 4 min read
Daily Calories and TDEE, Explained
The difference between BMR and TDEE, how activity multipliers work, and how to set calories for losing or gaining weight.
Try the calorie / tdee calculatorPut these numbers to workOpen →Two numbers describe your daily energy needs. BMR (basal metabolic rate) is what your body burns at complete rest just to stay alive. TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is BMR plus everything else you do — moving, working, exercising.
Estimating BMR
Mifflin-St Jeor — Men: 10·kg + 6.25·cm − 5·age + 5. Women: 10·kg + 6.25·cm − 5·age − 161.
From BMR to TDEE
Multiply BMR by an activity factor to estimate TDEE:
- •Sedentary (little exercise) — ×1.2
- •Lightly active (1–3 days/week) — ×1.375
- •Moderately active (3–5 days) — ×1.55
- •Very active (6–7 days) — ×1.725
- •Extra active (physical job or training) — ×1.9
Losing or gaining weight
Eat around your TDEE to maintain. A deficit of about 500 calories a day is roughly one pound of weight loss per week; a similar surplus supports gradual gain. Large, sudden changes are hard to sustain, so small consistent adjustments usually win.
These are estimates. Real needs vary with body composition, genetics and NEAT (everyday non-exercise movement).
- 1Enter your age, sex, height and weight.
- 2Pick the activity level that matches a typical week.
- 3Use the maintenance number as your baseline, then adjust for your goal.