TDEE Calculator
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What is TDEE?
Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is an estimate of the total number of calories you burn in a single day. This includes all the energy your body uses daily — from keeping your heart beating and lungs breathing to processing food and moving through your day.
TDEE is made up of three main components: basal metabolic rate (BMR), activity level, and thermic effect of food (TEF).
60–75%
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Calories burned at rest to maintain vital functions breathing, circulation, temperature regulation.
15–30%
Activity Level (EAT + NEAT)
Calories burned through intentional exercise and everyday movement like walking, typing, and fidgeting.
8–15%
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)
Calories burned during digestion, absorption, and metabolism of the food you eat.
1. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
BMR is the amount of energy your body needs at rest to maintain vital functions like breathing and blood circulation. It’s shaped by factors such as your age, sex, and body composition (height and weight). BMR accounts for approximately 60–75% of your TDEE meaning even before any movement or food, your body is already burning the majority of its daily calories.
2. Activity Level
Activity level refers to all the energy you burn through movement whether structured exercise or everyday activities. Your activity contribution can be broken into two parts:
Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT): Calories burned during intentional exercise like running, weightlifting, or cycling. EAT generally contributes 5–15% of TDEE, depending on frequency and intensity.
Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): Calories burned during non-exercise activities walking, typing, household chores, even fidgeting. NEAT can account for 15–30%+ of TDEE and varies widely based on lifestyle and occupation.
3. Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)
TEF describes the calories burned during digestion, absorption, and metabolism of food. It accounts for about 8–15% of TDEE, and varies depending on the macronutrients you eat:
Protein: Burns 20–30% of the calories it contains during digestion by far the highest of any macronutrient.
Carbohydrates: Burns about 5–10% of the calories it contains during digestion.
Fat: Burns only 0–3% of the calories it contains — the lowest TEF of any macronutrient.
How to calculate TDEE
Step 1 — Estimate your BMR
For females: (10 × weight [kg]) + (6.25 × height [cm]) – (5 × age) – 161
For males: (10 × weight [kg]) + (6.25 × height [cm]) – (5 × age) + 5
Step 2 — Determine your activity level
When selecting your multiplier, think about how much you move throughout the entire day at work, at home, and during planned exercise:
| Activity Level | Description | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | Desk job, little to no exercise | × 1.2 |
| Lightly Active | Seated job, light exercise 1–3 days/week | × 1.375 |
| Moderately Active | Some movement at work, exercise 3–5 days/week | × 1.55 |
| Very Active | Standing or physical job, hard exercise most days | × 1.725 |
| Extra Active | Strenuous physical job, highly active daily | × 1.9 |
Step 3 — Multiply BMR × Activity Level
Example Calculation
Let’s say your BMR is 1,410 calories (close to the average for adult females) and you’re moderately active. Your TDEE would be:
1,410 × 1.55 = 2,186 calories per day
This means you’d need to consume approximately 2,186 calories per day to maintain your current weight. To lose weight, you’d aim to eat below that number.
How is TDEE related to weight?
Your TDEE is the number of calories your body burns each day to maintain your current weight. This makes it the most practical number for planning a weight loss strategy because it tells you exactly what you’re working with.
To lose weight, your body needs to burn more calories than you take in a calorie deficit. Your TDEE defines what that baseline looks like. Here’s how the math works in practice:
- To maintain weight: Eat approximately your TDEE in calories each day.
- To lose ~1 lb per week: Eat roughly 500 calories below your TDEE each day (a 3,500-calorie weekly deficit).
- To lose ~2 lbs per week: Eat roughly 1,000 calories below your TDEE — the upper recommended limit for safe weight loss.
However, focusing solely on calorie restriction isn’t always practical or sustainable long-term. That’s why it helps to look at ways to both reduce intake and increase your TDEE through movement and, in some cases, medical support like GLP-1 medications.
How to increase TDEE for weight loss
- Exercise regularly. Increasing EAT reduces the number of calories you need to cut through diet alone. Strength training in particular builds muscle mass, which raises your BMR — meaning you burn more calories even at rest.
- Move more throughout the day. Even small increases in NEAT add up. Take the stairs, park farther away, stand during calls — these simple habits can meaningfully boost your daily calorie burn without structured exercise.
- Prioritize protein. Protein has the highest thermic effect of any macronutrient — up to 30% of its calories are burned during digestion. Eating more protein also supports muscle retention and growth, which further boosts BMR over time.
- Stay hydrated. Drinking cold water may temporarily increase your BMR and TEF, slightly raising TDEE. It also promotes satiety, helping you consume fewer calories naturally throughout the day.
- Consider medical support. For many people, lifestyle changes alone aren't enough to achieve meaningful weight loss. GLP-1 medications like compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide work alongside diet and exercise to support significant, sustained weight loss. Glo can help you find out if you qualify.
TDEE vs. BMI
| Feature | TDEE | BMI |
|---|---|---|
| What it measures | Calories burned per day based on activity | Body weight relative to height |
| Inputs required | Age, sex, weight, height, activity level | Height and weight only |
| What it tells you | How many calories to eat to lose, maintain, or gain weight | General weight category (underweight to obese) |
| Accounts for activity? | Yes — core part of the calculation | No |
| Accounts for muscle? | Partially (via BMR) | No |
| Best used for | Daily calorie planning and weight loss strategy | General health risk screening |
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TDEE Calculator
Enter your details to estimate your daily calorie burn.