Fitness · 5 min read
How to Calculate Daily Calories (TDEE)
BMR times an activity factor — and what the number is not
Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) estimates the calories you use in a typical day: resting metabolism scaled by how active you are. This tutorial walks through Mifflin–St Jeor BMR, the activity multipliers used on this site, and a 70 kg / 175 cm / age 30 worked example. TDEE is a planning estimate, not a meal plan or a medical assessment.
Written by the My Calculator Stack editorial team. About our methods
TDEE is a screening estimate of daily energy use, not a diagnosis, diet prescription, or medical advice. Activity multipliers are coarse. Talk to a qualified clinician or registered dietitian before changing how you eat.
1.What TDEE is
TDEE is an estimate of calories burned across a whole day — rest plus the cost of moving around. It starts from basal metabolic rate (BMR), then multiplies by an activity factor. It is not a guaranteed weight-change rate, a macronutrient split, or medical advice. Lose/gain offsets on the calorie calculator sit on top of TDEE; they are conventional planning shifts, not a diagnosis. If you want the resting piece by itself, see the BMR tutorial first.
2.The formula
This site computes BMR with Mifflin–St Jeor (1990), then TDEE = BMR × activity. Weight w is in kilograms, height h in centimeters, and age a in years. Male BMR: 10w + 6.25h − 5a + 5. Female BMR: 10w + 6.25h − 5a − 161. Activity factors: sedentary 1.2, light 1.375, moderate 1.55, active 1.725, very active 1.9. US customary inputs convert first: pounds × 0.45359237 → kg, and inches × 2.54 → cm. After that conversion the same formulas apply.
\[ \begin{aligned}\mathrm{BMR}_{\mathrm{male}} &= 10w + 6.25h - 5a + 5 \\\mathrm{TDEE} &= \mathrm{BMR} \times f\end{aligned} \]
3.Worked example
Take a metric male, 70 kg, 175 cm, age 30, moderate activity — the same defaults as the calorie calculator. BMR = 10×70 + 6.25×175 − 5×30 + 5 = 700 + 1093.75 − 150 + 5 = 1648.75 kcal/day. Moderate uses 1.55, so TDEE = 1648.75 × 1.55 = 2555.5625 ≈ 2556 kcal/day to maintain. A lose-weight goal on the calculator subtracts about 500 kcal/day from that TDEE; that offset is a planning shift, not a guaranteed rate of loss.
\[ \mathrm{TDEE}=1648.75 \times 1.55=2555.5625 \approx 2556 \]
4.Activity-factor ladder
Switch Metric/US and male/female, then move weight, height, and age to see BMR update. Pick an activity rung to multiply that BMR. The ladder shows all five factors at once; the band marks TDEE for the rung you chose. This is a teaching widget — no favorites, no full calculator chrome. Open the calorie calculator when you want goal offsets and the standalone tool.
Inline playground
Activity factor
TDEE (maintain)
2556 kcal/day
BMR 1648.75 kcal/day
1648.75 × 1.55 = 2555.56
Screening aid only — TDEE is an estimate of daily energy, not a diet prescription or medical advice.
5.Open the full calculator
The calorie calculator uses the same Mifflin–St Jeor BMR, the same activity factors, and the same 70 kg / 175 cm / age 30 example, with How it works, FAQ, and related fitness tools on one page. Browse other fitness calculators if you need BMR, BMI, or body-fat estimates next.
Try it yourself
Open the related calculator and put these formulas to work.