What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?

BMR is the calories you would burn at complete rest just to keep your body running. TDEE adds the energy used for daily movement and exercise by multiplying BMR by an activity factor, so TDEE is always the larger number.

How do I use TDEE to lose or gain weight?

Eat below your TDEE to lose and above it to gain. A deficit or surplus of about 500 calories a day corresponds to roughly one pound of change per week.

Which activity level should I pick?

Be honest and slightly conservative: Sedentary is a desk job with little exercise, Moderate is training 3–5 days a week, and Very Active is hard daily training or a physical job. People commonly overestimate, which inflates TDEE.

Why use Mifflin-St Jeor instead of Harris-Benedict?

Mifflin-St Jeor, published in 1990, has been shown to predict resting energy expenditure more accurately for most modern adults, which is why this calculator uses it as the basis for TDEE.

TDEE Calculator

Gender

Age30 years

Height

Weight

lbs

Activity Level

Total Daily Energy Expenditure2,763 cal/day

Basal Metabolic Rate1,783 cal/day

Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the number of calories your body burns in a typical day once activity is factored in — the figure your eating should orbit around to maintain, gain, or lose weight. This calculator first finds your resting burn with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then multiplies it by an activity factor from 1.2 for a desk-bound day up to 1.9 for very heavy training. The output is your maintenance calorie level, the anchor for any diet plan.

Formula

TDEE = BMR × activityFactor; BMR(male) = 10w + 6.25h − 5a + 5

w: Weight in kilograms
h: Height in centimetres
a: Age in years (female BMR ends with −161 instead of +5)
activityFactor: Sedentary 1.2, Light 1.375, Moderate 1.55, Active 1.725, Very Active 1.9

How it works

Enter your sex, age, height, and weight, then select an activity level from Sedentary through Very Active.
Height and weight are converted to centimetres and kilograms and fed into the Mifflin-St Jeor formula to estimate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).
Your BMR is multiplied by the activity multiplier (1.2, 1.375, 1.55, 1.725, or 1.9) to give TDEE; both BMR and TDEE are displayed.

Worked example

A 30-year-old man, 5 ft 10 in (177.8 cm), 180 lb (81.65 kg), with a Moderate activity level.

BMR: 10 × 81.65 + 6.25 × 177.8 − 5 × 30 + 5 = 816.5 + 1111.25 − 150 + 5 = 1782.7 cal.
Moderate multiplier: 1.55.
TDEE: 1782.7 × 1.55 = 2763.2 cal.

BMR ≈ 1,783 cal/day and TDEE ≈ 2,763 cal/day to maintain weight.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?: BMR is the calories you would burn at complete rest just to keep your body running. TDEE adds the energy used for daily movement and exercise by multiplying BMR by an activity factor, so TDEE is always the larger number.
How do I use TDEE to lose or gain weight?: Eat below your TDEE to lose and above it to gain. A deficit or surplus of about 500 calories a day corresponds to roughly one pound of change per week.
Which activity level should I pick?: Be honest and slightly conservative: Sedentary is a desk job with little exercise, Moderate is training 3–5 days a week, and Very Active is hard daily training or a physical job. People commonly overestimate, which inflates TDEE.
Why use Mifflin-St Jeor instead of Harris-Benedict?: Mifflin-St Jeor, published in 1990, has been shown to predict resting energy expenditure more accurately for most modern adults, which is why this calculator uses it as the basis for TDEE.

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