TDEE Calculator: How Many Calories Do You Actually Burn Per Day?

Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the number of calories your body burns in a day, accounting for your activity level. It is the single most important number for anyone managing their weight, because no diet or eating pattern overrides basic energy balance — consume less than your TDEE to lose weight, more to gain, and the same amount to maintain. The formula used here is the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which research has shown to be more accurate than the older Harris-Benedict formula for most people.

TDEE is an estimate, not a measurement. Individual metabolic rates vary by 10–15% even among people with identical stats. The most reliable way to calibrate your real number is to track your actual weight change over two to three weeks at a known calorie intake, then adjust the target up or down based on what the scale actually does.

How to Use Your TDEE

• Maintenance: eat at TDEE: weight stays stable over time; a useful baseline to establish before cutting or building muscle
• Moderate deficit: 250–500 cal below TDEE: roughly 0.5–1 lb of fat loss per week; sustainable without significant muscle loss or hormonal disruption
• Aggressive cut: 500–750 cal below TDEE: 1–1.5 lbs per week; workable short-term but requires high protein intake to protect muscle mass
• Deficit over 1,000 cal/day: not recommended long-term; leads to muscle loss, metabolic adaptation, and is difficult to sustain for most people

Tips

• Weigh yourself at the same time daily — morning, after using the bathroom — and use the weekly average rather than daily readings to see the real trend past water fluctuations.
• Protein intake at 0.7–1g per pound of bodyweight preserves muscle during a caloric deficit and keeps hunger more manageable than lower-protein approaches.
• Activity factor is where most people err — 'moderately active' means structured exercise three to five days per week, not a job where you occasionally walk around the office.
• TDEE drops as you lose weight — recalculate every 10–15 lbs lost; the number that started your deficit will not remain accurate as your body mass changes.
• A diet break — eating at maintenance for one to two weeks after a long deficit — can reset hormonal adaptation and improve long-term fat loss results significantly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why am I not losing weight if I am eating below my TDEE?

The three most common reasons: underestimating calorie intake (portion sizes are almost universally larger than people think), overestimating the activity multiplier in the calculation, or water retention masking actual fat loss. Track accurately for three full weeks before concluding the number is wrong.

Should I eat back calories burned during exercise?

If you used the sedentary or lightly active multiplier and then exercised, adding back some of those calories is appropriate. If you used a higher activity multiplier that already accounts for your exercise schedule, adding them back will push you above maintenance.

How accurate is the Navy body fat method used in this calculator?

Accurate within 3–4% for most people when measurements are taken carefully. It is a practical field estimate, not a DEXA scan. Consistency in how you take measurements matters more than any individual reading — the trend over time is what you are tracking.