TDEE Calculator: Find Your Maintenance Calories

What is TDEE?

TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure: every calorie your body spends in 24 hours. It's the honest answer to "how many calories a day does your body naturally burn?", and it has three parts, the same three petals you see in the calculator:

• Basal metabolic rate (BMR). The energy to keep your heart beating, lungs breathing and cells repairing while you rest. For most people it's the largest share of the day.
• Movement. Workouts, but also walking to the car, cooking, fidgeting and standing. This is the part that changes most from person to person.
• Digesting food. Breaking down and storing what you eat costs energy too. A 2004 review in Nutrition & Metabolism puts it at 5 to 15% of daily energy use on a mixed diet; we use 10% in the drawing.

Because eating about your TDEE keeps your weight steady, the same number goes by another name: your maintenance calories. A maintenance calories calculator and a TDEE calculator answer the same question.

How do I calculate my TDEE?

If you want to know how to figure out your TDEE by hand, it takes two steps. First estimate your BMR, then multiply it by an activity factor. Here's the arithmetic the calculator runs, so you can check it or redo it on paper.

Step 1: estimate your BMR

We use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, published in 1990 from measurements of 498 healthy adults aged 19 to 78. A 2005 systematic review for the American Dietetic Association found it was more likely than the older equations to land within 10% of measured resting metabolism.

Women: 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age − 161
Men: 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age + 5

If you know your body fat percentage, the Katch-McArdle formula can be a better fit, especially for very muscular people: 370 + 21.6 × lean mass in kg. Tick the body fat box in the calculator to switch.

Step 2: multiply by your activity level

The step ranges come from a widely used research scale for daily steps, so you can use this as a TDEE calculator with steps if you wear a tracker. Be honest here: most people overestimate their activity. If you're unsure between two levels, pick the lower one and adjust later.

A worked example

Take a 35-year-old woman who is 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm) and 154 pounds (70 kg), with a light activity level. Her BMR is 10 × 70 + 6.25 × 168 − 5 × 35 − 161 = 1,414 calories. Multiply by 1.375 and her TDEE is about 1,944 calories a day. That's how to find your TDEE in practice, and it's exactly what the calculator does in a blink.

How many calories should I eat per day?

So how many calories should I have? The best answer starts with your own number, not an average. Still, it helps to know where most people land. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans estimate daily needs by age, sex and activity:

You may also see 2,000 calories quoted as the average calories per day. That figure is a reference point: the FDA uses 2,000 calories a day as a general guide on Nutrition Facts labels, while noting that your own needs may be higher or lower. So when you wonder how many calories you should eat daily, treat 2,000 as a label convention and your TDEE as your real starting point.

Average American calorie intake

What people actually eat is a different question from what they need. USDA's What We Eat in America survey, run with the national NHANES health survey, found that adults 20 and older reported eating about 2,155 calories a day in 2017–2018. Those numbers come from people recalling what they ate the day before, and research consistently finds that recalls tend to come in low, so real intake is probably a bit higher.

How many calories per day should a woman eat?

Most adult women need somewhere between 1,600 and 2,400 calories a day, with younger and more active women at the top of that range and older, sedentary women near the bottom. How much a woman should eat in calories each day comes down to her size and how much she moves, and how much energy a woman should consume a day can differ by 800 calories between two friends of the same age.

What's the average calorie intake for a woman? The guidelines above are the closest official estimate of what women need. And how many calories for weight loss does a woman need? A healthy calorie intake for women who are losing weight is usually a few hundred calories under their own TDEE, not a fixed number like 1,200. That's how many calories to lose weight as a female, in plain terms. That's also the honest answer to "what should be my calorie intake to lose weight": start from your TDEE, then subtract, and let the weight loss simulator show the timeline. Pregnancy and breastfeeding raise needs; use the breastfeeding calorie calculator or the pregnancy option in the macro calculator.

How many calories does a male need a day?

For most adult men, the guidelines put daily needs between 2,000 and 3,000 calories. Height and muscle make a big difference: a 6-foot-2 man who lifts weights can need several hundred calories more than a shorter, sedentary man of the same age.

What about kids?

This is an adult calculator, so it isn't a calorie calculator for kids. Children's needs change quickly with growth. For reference, the Dietary Guidelines estimate about 1,000 to 1,600 calories a day for ages 2 to 4 and 1,200 to 2,000 for ages 5 to 8, depending on sex and activity. A pediatrician is the right person to ask about a specific child.

What raises or lowers your TDEE

Two people with the same height and weight can have noticeably different daily needs. The biggest levers are:

• Body size. A larger body costs more energy to run and to move, which is why your TDEE drops as you lose weight.
• Muscle. Lean tissue uses more energy at rest than fat tissue, so two people of the same weight can have different BMRs. That's the reason the body fat option exists.
• Age. Resting needs drift down over the decades; the equation takes off 5 calories a year.
• Everyday movement. Walking, standing, chores and fidgeting add up. For many people this moves their total more than formal exercise does.
• Exercise. Planned workouts add on top, but often less than fitness trackers suggest, which is one more reason to start with a conservative activity level.

If you want to raise your TDEE, the reliable routes are the boring ones: walk more during the day, add strength training to keep or build muscle, and stay consistent. Supplements that promise to boost metabolism don't change the picture in a meaningful way; see what really speeds up your metabolism.

TDEE vs BMR vs RMR

The three terms get mixed up, so here's the difference in one place. BMR, basal metabolic rate, is the energy you'd burn lying completely still after a night's sleep and a fast, measured under strict lab conditions. RMR, resting metabolic rate, is a slightly looser measurement taken at rest without all the lab rules; it's usually a little higher than BMR, and in practice the two are close enough that calculators treat them as one. TDEE is the whole day: resting needs plus movement plus digestion. Your BMR tells you the floor your body needs to function, while your TDEE tells you how much to eat.

Calories to lose weight

To lose weight you eat fewer calories than your TDEE. That gap is your calorie deficit. The calculator's "Lose" setting turns your pace into a daily target, and the levels list shows a few options side by side, which makes it a simple TDEE weight loss calculator as well.

How big should the deficit be?

The classic starting point is about 500 calories a day for roughly a pound a week. The CDC notes that people who lose weight gradually, about 1 to 2 pounds a week, are more likely to keep it off than people who lose it fast. A 600-calorie deficit sits inside that range for most adults and is a reasonable, steady choice; a 1,000-calorie deficit is the upper end and usually only fits people with a high TDEE. Our step-by-step weight loss plan shows how to turn the deficit into meals, activity and tracking.

If you want to figure out your calorie deficit for a specific target, subtract your goal intake from your TDEE. That's the simplest way to work out how many calories to consume to lose weight. For example, eating 1600 calories with a TDEE of 2,200 is a 600-calorie deficit. Is 1600 calories a deficit for you? Only if your TDEE is higher, which it is for most men and active women.

Is losing 600 calories a day good? For most adults, yes: it's a caloric deficit to lose weight at roughly a pound a week, without the hunger of a crash diet. The ideal calories for weight loss are the ones you can keep eating week after week, so a slightly smaller deficit you stick to beats a big one you abandon.

Why the scale slows down

The popular "3,500 calories equals a pound" rule is a useful sketch, but research from the NIH's Kevin Hall shows it overestimates weight loss over time. As you lose weight, your body gets smaller and burns a little less, so the same deficit produces slower results. That's why the NIH built a dynamic Body Weight Planner, and why we suggest rechecking your numbers every few weeks.

How long should a calorie deficit last?

There's no single rule. Many people run a deficit for a few months at a time, then eat at maintenance for a while before continuing, which can make the process easier to sustain. Rerun the calculator every 5 to 10 pounds, because your TDEE drops as your weight does.

Calorie deficit for women and men

The math is the same for everyone; what changes is the starting TDEE. That's why our calorie deficit calculator for women and men starts from your own body rather than a generic number. Women often have lower TDEEs, so the same 500-calorie cut is a bigger share of their day. Men usually have more room: how many calories a man can eat and still lose weight is often 2,000 or more.

A note on abs

People often ask about a calorie deficit for abs. Visible abs depend on low body fat, which takes a steady deficit over weeks or months plus training; no single calorie number guarantees them, and you can't burn fat from one spot.

Is 1300 calories enough? 1400, 1600 and more

These are some of the most searched numbers, and the honest answer is "it depends on your TDEE." Here's how they compare with typical needs:

So is 1300 calories good for weight loss? For a short, older, sedentary person, it may be a workable target. For most adults it's a steep cut, and is 1300 calories a day enough to cover protein, fiber and vitamins? Only with careful food choices. Is 1400 calories enough? It's a little easier to build balanced meals on, but it's still under most women's maintenance. Is 1600 calories enough to lose weight? For most men and many active women, yes, and many men lose steadily on 1,800; see our 1800 calorie meal plan. Is 1700 calories good for weight loss? For many people, yes, because it's a moderate deficit. For a ready-made week at 1,500 calories, with every meal counted, see our 7-day diet plan for weight loss. A week at 1,700 is in our 1700 calorie meal plan. For a full week at that level, see the 1300 calorie diet plan.

Is there a minimum?

There's no official minimum calories for male or female adults on a general diet. The calculator won't suggest going below 1,200 calories for women or 1,500 for men; that's our own safety floor, not an official limit. The NIH has described very low calorie diets, about 800 calories a day, as tools used only under medical supervision. If your target lands near the floor, choose a slower pace rather than eating less. A week at 1,600 calories is laid out in our 1600 calorie meal plan.

Is 3,000 calories a day too much?

Not if your TDEE is close to it. A tall, active man can easily burn 3,000 calories a day. For a smaller or less active person, it's a surplus that will lead to weight gain. If you're trying to gain, start 250 to 500 calories above your TDEE. If you're wondering how to eat 3000 calories a day without feeling stuffed, add a fourth meal, use calorie-dense foods like nuts, olive oil, whole milk, oats and dark chocolate, and drink some of your calories in smoothies. For a full week of meals at that level, see the 3000 calories diet plan.

How many calories per meal?

There's no rule for how many calories your lunch should be, or how many calories you should eat at dinner, but splitting your day helps you plan. For reference, a regular turkey or ham sandwich has about 215 calories. The calculator shows one example: about 25% at breakfast, 35% at lunch, 30% at dinner and 10% for snacks. On a 2,000-calorie day that's roughly 500, 700, 600 and 200. If you prefer a bigger dinner, move calories around; the daily total matters more than the split.

How accurate is a TDEE calculator?

Any calorie calculator TDEE estimate is a starting point, not a measurement. The BMR equation is usually within about 10%, and the activity factor adds more uncertainty. The best way to fine-tune is simple: eat your target for two to four weeks, track your weight, and adjust by 100 to 200 calories if it moves differently than you expected. That's how to figure out maintenance calories for real.

What to do with your TDEE

Your TDEE is the starting number for most of our other tools:

• See your resting burn on its own, from three equations, with the BMR calculator.
• Split your calories into protein, carbs and fat with the macro calculator.
• Find out how much a workout adds with the calories burned calculator, the walking calorie calculator or steps to calories.
• Lifting while you lose? The body recomposition calculator cycles calories between training and rest days.
• Prefer an eating window? The intermittent fasting calculator pairs your TDEE with a 16:8 or 18:6 schedule.
• Curious how your body compares with others your age? Check your metabolic age.
• Track a day against your target in the free calorie counter.

TDEE calculator FAQ