TDEE Calculator

How this TDEE calculator works

The page estimates resting energy expenditure with the simplified Mifflin-St Jeor equations, then multiplies by an activity factor you choose. Resting energy is the calories associated with staying alive at rest. It is not the calories from a workout, and it is not a measurement from a metabolic cart. Total daily energy expenditure, TDEE, on this page means resting energy times the factor. Maintenance means that TDEE before the optional offset. The offset is a number you type. A negative offset is below the maintenance figure. A positive offset is above it. The page does not suggest a deficit size.

The 1990 paper published one regression and then a simplified pair that the authors said did not change the predictive value. This page runs the simplified pair only. For the male equation, BMR = 10 × kilograms + 6.25 × centimeters − 5 × age in years + 5. For the female equation, BMR = 10 × kilograms + 6.25 × centimeters − 5 × age in years − 161. Weight and height are converted before those formulas run. US pounds become kilograms by dividing by 2.20462, the same pounds-per-kilogram factor used on the water and weight tools. Inches become centimeters by multiplying by 2.54. Feet and inches become total inches as feet × 12 + inches, then centimeters. The equation menu selects which constant is added. It is the split in the paper, not a medical history.

Activity factors on the menu are 1.2, 1.375, 1.55, 1.725, and 1.9. Labels next to them (sedentary, light, moderate, very, extra) are the usual names that travel with this set. They are a common convention. They are not in the Mifflin paper, and this page cites no government source for them because none was used. If you pick 1.55, TDEE = BMR × 1.55. Change the factor and the maintenance number changes by that ratio. The words on the menu are not a definition of how many steps "moderate" is.

Headlines round to the nearest 10 kcal. The breakdown keeps the unrounded product to 2 decimal places, and the macro link sends the unrounded adjusted calories, the unrounded BMR, and weight in kilograms. Rounding is for reading. It is not a claim that true expenditure sits inside 10 kcal. The page warns when age is outside 19 to 78, the range of the sample the equation was fit on, and it still shows the number. It warns when the adjusted target is below BMR. It also warns when the adjusted target is not below BMR but, after both figures are rounded to the nearest 10 kcal, the target is not above BMR. That second warning is this page's display rule. It is not an official calorie floor.

Worked examples

Example 1: Male equation, metric, moderate factor

Age 30, 80 kg, 180 cm, male equation, activity 1.55, offset 0. BMR = 10 × 80 + 6.25 × 180 − 5 × 30 + 5 = 800 + 1,125 − 150 + 5 = 1,780. That value is already a multiple of 10, so the headline BMR is 1,780 kcal. TDEE = 1,780 × 1.55 = 2,759 kcal before rounding. The headline maintenance figure is 2,760 kcal. The macro link sends 2759, the unrounded product, not 2760.

Example 2: Female equation, light factor

Age 35, 65 kg, 165 cm, female equation, activity 1.375, offset 0. BMR = 10 × 65 + 6.25 × 165 − 5 × 35 − 161 = 650 + 1,031.25 − 175 − 161 = 1,345.25 kcal. The breakdown shows 1,345.25. Nearest 10 is 1,350. TDEE = 1,345.25 × 1.375 = 1,849.71875 kcal. The breakdown shows 1,849.72. Nearest 10 is 1,850. Two pages that both claim "about 1,850" can still be using different equations. Read the factor before you compare them.

Example 3: The same male inputs in pounds and inches

Age 30, 180 lb, 5 feet 10 inches, male equation. Total height is 5 × 12 + 10 = 70 inches, and 70 × 2.54 = 177.8 cm. Weight is 180 / 2.20462 = 81.647 kg at 3 decimals. BMR uses the full quotient, not the rounded kilograms. The breakdown shows 1,782.72 kcal, and the nearest-10 headline is 1,780. A page that rounds the kilograms first, then multiplies, can differ by a fraction of a kilocalorie. This page divides by 2.20462 and then applies 10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age + 5.

Example 4: A 500 kcal offset that sits on the BMR line

Start from example 2 and type an offset of −500. Unrounded TDEE is 1,849.72 in the breakdown (the product is 1,849.71875). Subtract 500 and the adjusted figure is 1,349.71875, shown as 1,349.72. Nearest 10 is 1,350. BMR nearest 10 is also 1,350. The adjusted value is not below the unrounded BMR of 1,345.25, so the strict "below BMR" case does not fire. The display rule does: after rounding to the nearest 10, the target is not above BMR. The page shows the arithmetic and tells you it will not treat that number as a target. That is the point of the example. A round 500 kcal cut from this maintenance estimate lands essentially on resting energy.

When to use this

Use it when you want a written starting estimate of maintenance calories from age, weight, height, and a rough activity label, and you are prepared to check it against what actually happens on the scale. It is a reasonable first number to carry into the macro calculator if you want grams of protein, fat, and carbohydrate from that calorie figure. It is a poor tool if you need measured resting metabolism, a clinical diet, or a promise about the rate of weight change. Pair the weight and height with the BMI calculator if you also want the screening index. BMI does not produce calories. This page does not produce a body-fat percent. The body-fat tool is the Navy tape method, and its result is not an input here.

The activity menu is the weakest input. Someone with a physical job and someone who sits all day should not share 1.2 just because both left the menu on the first row. If you already track intake and have a stable weight, your log is a better maintenance estimate than any factor on this list. Use the page to see what the equation says, then let the log correct it. The protein intake calculator is the next stop if the question is grams per kilogram rather than total calories.

Common mistakes

• Typing pounds into the kilogram field. 180 in the metric weight box is 180 kg, not 180 lb. Switch units, or convert with the weight converter first. The US path on this page divides by 2.20462 for you.
• Typing 5.10 for five feet ten inches. The US path wants feet and inches in separate fields. 5 feet and 10 inches is 70 inches. 5.10 feet is a different height.
• Reading the activity label as a step count. "Moderate, 1.55" is a menu name for the factor 1.55. It is not a measured step total and not a MET table.
• Treating the offset as advice. The box starts empty, which the page reads as zero. A number you type is your number. The page does not fill in −500 for you.
• Comparing a nearest-10 headline with another site's unrounded product. Example 1 prints 2,760 on the headline and 2,759 in the breakdown. Both belong to the same multiplication.
• Using the result for a child or a pregnancy. The warning is there because the sample was ages 19 to 78. The equation still runs so you can see it. It is not a clearance to use it.

Limitations

Two equations, five conventional factors, nearest-10 headlines, and an offset you supply. No body-fat term, no step count, no hormone term, and no pregnancy adjustment. The 1990 sample was 498 healthy adults, 247 female and 251 male, ages 19 to 78, with resting energy measured by indirect calorimetry. The published regression had an R2 of 0.71. In that sample the Harris-Benedict equations from 1919 overestimated measured resting energy by 5 percent. Those sentences are about that paper. They are not a guarantee for the next person who uses this form. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030, say the calories you need depend on age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity. This page uses those kinds of inputs, and then it uses a convention for activity instead of a measured log.

The page will not turn a calorie offset into pounds. A fixed 3,500 calories per pound ignores the way expenditure changes as weight changes. NIDDK's Body Weight Planner is the public tool that discusses that problem. This calculator stops at BMR, TDEE, and the adjusted target. If the adjusted target is below BMR, or if nearest-10 rounding leaves it no higher than nearest-10 BMR, the result stays on screen as arithmetic and the warning says it is not a target. There is no hidden minimum calorie number coded as a health rule.

FAQ

What is the difference between BMR, TDEE, and maintenance?

BMR on this page is the Mifflin-St Jeor estimate of resting energy expenditure. TDEE is that number times the activity factor you pick. Maintenance, here, means the TDEE before any calorie offset you type. The offset is your own adjustment. It is not a recommended deficit.

Why do two calculators give different calorie numbers?

They often use a different equation, a different activity factor, or different rounding. This page runs only the simplified Mifflin-St Jeor equations from the 1990 paper and multiplies by 1.2, 1.375, 1.55, 1.725, or 1.9. Those five factors are a common convention. They are not in the Mifflin paper and they are not an official standard. A calculator that uses another equation or another factor will not match.

Is the Mifflin-St Jeor equation the most accurate?

This page does not say that. The 1990 paper reported that, in its sample of 498 adults, the Harris-Benedict equations from 1919 overestimated measured resting energy expenditure by 5 percent. The regression they published had an R2 of 0.71. That is a description of that study, not a ranking of every equation in use today.

How can I check this estimate?

Weigh yourself under the same conditions for a few weeks and average the week. If weight is steady, your intake is near maintenance for that period, whatever this page printed. If you change intake, change it by a small step and wait. This page does not predict how many pounds you will lose.

Why is a 3,500-calorie rule a weak plan for weight change?

A fixed 3,500 calories per pound has been used for a long time to turn a daily deficit into a weekly weight change. NIDDK researcher Kevin Hall has explained that the body offsets a calorie deficit over time, so weight loss slows and the loss is smaller than that rule promises. NIDDK Body Weight Planner is a separate tool built to model that. This page does not run that model, and it does not convert a calorie offset into pounds.

What if I am under 19, over 78, or pregnant?

The equation was derived on healthy adults ages 19 to 78. Outside that range the page still runs the arithmetic and shows a warning. It is not a pediatric tool. Pregnancy and breastfeeding are not inputs. Get individual guidance for those situations, and for any medical condition, eating disorder, or prescribed diet.

Does the link to the macro calculator store my numbers?

No. The link puts the unrounded BMR, weight in kilograms, and adjusted calories into the address bar so the macro page can fill its fields. Nothing is sent to a CalcHive server, and this page does not use local storage.

Related calculators

• Macro Calculator for grams from the calorie figure
• Weekly Meal Planner to add meals you type against a calorie target
• Protein Intake Calculator for grams per kilogram
• Grocery List Generator once you are shopping for a recipe
• Meal Prep Portion Calculator to divide a cooked batch
• BMI Calculator
• Body Fat Percentage, a tape estimate, not an input here
• Daily Water Intake
• Weight Converter

Sources

Checked September 30, 2026. Activity factors are not given a source, because they are labeled here as a common convention.

• Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, Scott BJ, Daugherty SA, Koh YO. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51(2):241-247. Abstract read from the NCBI record for PMID 2305711, which includes DOI 10.1093/ajcn/51.2.241. PubMed 2305711.
• Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030. The line that calories depend on age, sex, height, weight, and physical activity was read in the PDF. DGA PDF.
• Hall K. NIH Body Weight Planner. NIDDK, July 11, 2018. The transcript's description of the 3,500 calorie per pound rule was read on the page. NIDDK page. The planner itself: About the Body Weight Planner.