TDEE calculator
How many calories you burn a day. Mifflin-St Jeor BMR times your activity level.
How it works
Zefro works out your basal metabolic rate with Mifflin-St Jeor (10 × kg + 6.25 × cm − 5 × age + 5 for men, −161 for women), then multiplies it by your activity level: 1.2, 1.375, 1.55, 1.725 or 1.9.
How to read your result
This number estimates the calories you burn in a whole day: at rest, digesting food and moving. Eat about this much and your weight should stay roughly steady. Eat less to lose weight, more to gain. The macro calculator on this site starts from it and subtracts 550 kcal a day for its lose goal or adds 275 for gain, and the Zefro app starts your daily calorie target from the same number, adjusted for the weekly rate you choose.
Treat it as a good estimate, not a measurement. The resting part comes from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, built from 498 healthy adults aged 19 to 78 whose resting energy use was measured in a lab. A review of the evidence found it more likely than the other common equations to land within 10% of the measured value, but it also reports noteworthy errors for individuals. Resting energy typically makes up 60 to 70% of what you burn and digesting food about 10%. Activity is the most variable part, 15 to 50% of the total. Here it is just one fixed multiplier you choose, so it is the least certain step.
Choose the level that matches a normal week, not your best one. In the example below, each level up adds about 310 kcal a day. In one study, obese adults overstated their physical activity by 51% on average, so if you are unsure, pick the lower level. Then eat near the result for a few weeks, watch your weight and adjust. For an exact figure, resting metabolic rate can be measured in a lab. For medical questions, ask a doctor or dietitian.
A worked example
A man, 30 years old, 80 kg (about 176 lb), 180 cm (about 71 in), Moderate activity. BMR = 10 × 80 + 6.25 × 180 − 5 × 30 + 5 = 800 + 1,125 − 150 + 5 = 1,780 kcal. TDEE = 1,780 × 1.55 = 2,759 kcal a day. A 10% miss in the resting step alone would put the true figure between 2,483 and 3,035 kcal.
A woman, 28 years old, 65 kg (about 143 lb), 168 cm (about 66 in), Light activity. BMR = 10 × 65 + 6.25 × 168 − 5 × 28 − 161 = 650 + 1,050 − 140 − 161 = 1,399 kcal. TDEE = 1,399 × 1.375 = 1,924 kcal a day (1,923.6 before rounding).
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is the calories your body uses at complete rest. TDEE adds digesting food and all movement on top, so it is always higher. This calculator gets TDEE by multiplying BMR by a number from 1.2 to 1.9.
How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
An evidence review found the Mifflin-St Jeor equation is more likely than other common equations to estimate resting metabolic rate within 10% of the measured value, but it notes noteworthy errors for some individuals. The activity multiplier adds more uncertainty on top. Another report describes high variability in resting energy use between people.
Which activity level should I pick?
Pick the one that looks like your normal week: Sedentary 1.2, Light 1.375, Moderate 1.55, Very active 1.725, Athlete 1.9. People tend to overstate their activity (by 51% on average in one study of obese adults). If you sit between two levels, start with the lower one and adjust from your results.
Why does another calculator give me a different number?
It may use another equation or other multipliers. For example, the Harris-Benedict equations from 1919 overestimated measured resting energy use by 5% in the study that produced the Mifflin-St Jeor equation.