TDEE Calculator
Age
Gender
Height
ft
inch
Weight
Lifestyle
Result
Your TDEE is
2800
Kcal/day
More calculators
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)
The Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) calculator estimates the daily amount of calories burned by the body. It is based on the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the amount of calories burned per day when a person is at rest. People are rarely completely 'at rest', however. That is why, to calculate the TDEE, the BMR is multiplied by a value representing some physical activity level. This gives a more realistic estimate of how many calories are burned per day and thus, how many are needed for calorie deficit or calorie surplus. Calorie deficit means consuming less calories than the body burns which causes weight loss. Calorie surplus means consuming excess calories which causes weight gain.
We are aware that this tool will be used by people seeking to lose or gain weight. We encourage all behavior leading to a healthier and more fulfilling life, but we realize that it is never easy to change habits for the benefit of the good. Do note that all information presented here is based on research which, almost as a rule, provides averages. Every body is different. If you are serious about gaining or losing weight, always consult your physician for advice tailored to your individual needs.
Estimating TDEE
To estimate the TDEE, the BMR is multiplied by a value representing a physical activity level. To calculate BMR, the Mifflin-St Jeor formula is used based on the work of Mifflin et al. (1990). For more information on this BMR or this formula, visit the BMR page. The Mifflin-St Jeor formula differentiates between men and women and calculates BMR as follows:
For men:
For women:
- W = weight in kilograms.
- H = height in centimeters.
- A = age in years.
The BMR is finally multiplied by a physical activity level (PAL). The formula for caloric needs is:
Which PAL-value to use is presented in the table below:
| Lifestyle | Physical Activity Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | 1.27 | (Almost) no exercise with a sedentary job. Goes to work with a motorized vehicle. Has little to no body displacement throughout the day. |
| Slightly Active | 1.53 | Some exercise with a mostly sedentary job. Has some body displacement throughout the day. |
| Moderately Active | 1.65 | Exercises 2-3 times a week with a somewhat sedentary job. Non-sedentary jobs such as bricklayers and construction personnel that rarely exercise also fall within this category. |
| Active | 1.76 | Non-sedentary jobs that also exercise around 2-3 times a week. Can also be someone with a sedentary job that exercises 4-5 times per week. |
| Vigorous | 2.00 | Exercises every day for around 2 hours or has a profession that requires body displacement for most of the day. |
| Vigorously Active | 2.25 | Has a profession that requires intense constant movement for several hours a day. Examples are lumberjacks, mine workers manually carrying heavy loads uphill and athletes. |
Where the values in the table presented above come from is clarified in the next section.
Physical Activity Level (PAL)
People are rarely completely at rest. Activities such as exercising, commuting, eating and even watching television burns additional calories. To calculate your caloric needs, your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is multiplied by a value that represents how active you are. Almost all calculators, including ours, provide some categories that are linked to some activity level. For example, having a "sedentary" lifestyle, is assumed to burn 1.2 - 1.3 times more calories than when your body is completely at rest. These values are based on a collaborative report of the Food and Agricultural Organization, the World Health Organization and the United Nations University. The report presents a table in which per lifestyle it is listed which activities are performed on a day, and how much energy each activity costs relative to being at rest.
Table 5.1: PAL value per activity per lifestyle relative to basal metabolic rate
| Main Daily Activities | Time Allocation (hours) | Energy Cost (PAR) | Time x Energy Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedentary or Light Activity Lifestyle | |||
| Sleeping | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Personal care (dressing, showering) | 1 | 2.3 | 2.3 |
| Eating | 1 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Cooking | 1 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| Sitting (office work, tending shop) | 8 | 1.5 | 12 |
| General household work | 1 | 2.8 | 2.8 |
| Driving car to/from work | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Walking at varying paces without a load | 1 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
| Light leisure activities (watching TV, chatting) | 2 | 1.4 | 2.8 |
| Total | 24 | 36.7 | |
| Active or Moderately Active Lifestyle | |||
| Sleeping | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Personal care (dressing, showering) | 1 | 2.3 | 2.3 |
| Eating | 1 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Standing, carrying light loads | 8 | 2.2 | 17.6 |
| Commuting to/from work on the bus | 1 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Walking at varying paces without a load | 1 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
| Low-intensity aerobic exercise | 1 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Light leisure activities (watching TV, chatting) | 3 | 1.4 | 4.2 |
| Total | 24 | 42.2 | |
| Vigorous or Vigorously Active Lifestyle | |||
| Sleeping | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Personal care (dressing, bathing) | 1 | 2.3 | 2.3 |
| Eating | 1 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| Cooking | 1 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| Non-mechanized agricultural work | 6 | 4.1 | 24.6 |
| Collecting water/wood | 1 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| Non-mechanized domestic chores | 2 | 2.3 | 4.6 |
| Walking at varying paces without a load | 3 | 3.2 | 9.6 |
| Miscellaneous light leisure activities | 1 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| Total | 24 | 53.9 | |
The first column lists the type of activities performed for some lifestyle per day. The second column lists how much time is spent doing that activity. The third column lists the extra energy relative to the BMR the activity costs. The fourth column multiplies the energy cost of an activity with the time spent doing that activity.
You can also calculate your own custom activity level. As an example, we calculate a custom activity factor for a Sedentary/Lightly active person that:
- Sleeps seven hours
- Spends one hour on personal care
- Spends one hour eating
- Never cooks
- Works nine hours
- Drives one hour and thirty minutes
- Does thirty minutes of household chores
- Walks twenty minutes a day = 0.33 hours
- Spends three hours and forty minutes =3.66 hours on leisure activities
To get the activity factor for this person we have to multiply, for each activity, the time spent doing it with its energy cost. Finally we sum it up and divide it by the number of hours in a day. The activity factor of this person would be:
References
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO) & United Nations University (UNU) (2001). Human Energy Requirements. Retrieved December 6, 2024, from https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/65875dc7-f8c5-4a70-b0e1-f429793860ae/content
- Mifflin, M. D., St Jeor, S. T., Hill, L. A., Scott, B. J., Daugherty, S. A., & Koh, Y. O. (1990). A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 51(2), 241-247. Sabounchi, N. S., Rahmandad, H., & Ammerman, A. (2013).