TDEE calculator
Your TDEE is how many calories you burn on an average day. It is the number every calorie goal is built from. Enter your details and see your maintenance calories, your BMR, and a target for each goal.
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TDEE calculator
Where it goes
What your TDEE is actually made of
Four things burn calories every day. Knowing their sizes explains why a calorie target stops working after a few months.
- Resting (BMR)
- Heart, lungs, brain and organs running while you do nothing at all. Largely set by your size, age and lean mass.
- Everyday movement (NEAT)
- Walking, standing, chores, fidgeting. The most variable part of the day, and the one that quietly shrinks when you diet.
- Digestion (TEF)
- The energy used to break down what you eat. Protein costs the most to digest.
- Exercise
- Deliberate training. Usually a smaller slice than people expect, which is why exercise alone rarely creates a large deficit.
Setting a target
How many calories should you eat a day?
Start from your TDEE, not from a number you read somewhere.
To lose fat, take 15 to 25 percent off. For most people that is a deficit of 300 to 700 calories a day and works out around half a kilogram, or one pound, a week. To build muscle, add roughly 10 to 15 percent and expect the gain to be slow enough that you can keep it lean.
Two things matter more than the exact percentage. A deficit you can hold for three months beats an aggressive one you abandon in three weeks. And your body adjusts: as you lose weight your TDEE falls, and the calories that were a deficit in January can be maintenance by April. Recalculate every 5 kilograms or 10 pounds.
Once you have a target, the work is knowing what you ate. That is what Noxy does on iPhone: type the meal, snap the plate or ask Siri, and confirm the estimate before it lands in your journal.
iPhone. 7-day free trial, then Noxy Pro.
What is TDEE?
TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure: everything you burn in a day, including your resting metabolism, digestion, exercise and general movement. Eating at your TDEE holds your weight steady, eating below it loses weight, and eating above it gains weight.
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is what your body burns at complete rest, keeping your heart, brain and organs running. TDEE is your BMR multiplied by an activity factor, so it accounts for training, walking and everything else you do. TDEE is always the larger number.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
A deficit of roughly 15 to 25 percent below your TDEE is the usual range, which for most people works out to about half a kilogram or one pound of weight loss a week. Bigger deficits are harder to hold and cost more lean mass. This calculator uses a 20 percent deficit and never sets a target below your estimated BMR.
Which activity level should I pick?
Pick based on your whole week, not your best week. Most people who train three or four times but sit at a desk are lightly to moderately active. Overestimating your activity is the most common reason a calorie target stops working.
Why is my real maintenance different from the calculator?
Formulas estimate from height, weight, age and sex, so they cannot see your muscle mass, your daily step count or how much you fidget. Track your weight and your intake for two weeks and take your real maintenance from that data. The calculator just gets you close enough to start.
Does TDEE change as I lose weight?
Yes. A lighter body burns fewer calories doing the same things, so your TDEE drifts down as you lose. Recalculate every 5 kilograms or 10 pounds, or whenever weight loss stalls for two to three weeks at a steady intake.
A little help along the way.
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