TDEE Calculator: Calculate Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (2024)

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Updated: Jan 9, 2024, 6:26am

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TDEE Calculator: Calculate Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (1)

Table of Contents

  • TDEE Calculator Methodology
  • What Is Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)?
  • How Is TDEE Calculated?
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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If you’re looking for an accurate estimate of how many calories your body burns daily, consider calculating your total daily energy expenditure, or TDEE. Using science-backed calculation methods, TDEE estimates the amount of energy (or number of calories) your body burns over a 24-hour period, factoring in how much energy it uses while at rest, your typical level of physical activity and the thermic effect of food metabolism.

You can get an accurate estimate of your TDEE by using the Forbes Health TDEE Calculator below, which was created under the guidance of Forbes Health Advisory Board members. Select the gender that most closely matches your hormonal makeup and enter your age, height, weight and activity level to see an estimate of how calories your body burns daily.

TDEE Calculator Methodology

The Forbes Health TDEE Calculator estimates the number of calories your body burns daily based on your basal metabolic rate (BMR)and an activity multiplier that reflects how much you exercise in a given week and the thermic effect of food. It utilizes the Mifflin-St Jeor equation to provide these calculations, as the American Council on Exercise (ACE) suggests it’s the most accurate method for estimating basal metabolic activity.

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What Is Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)?

Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) estimates how many calories your body burns daily by accounting for three major contributing factors: your basal metabolic rate (BMR), your activity level and the thermic effect of food metabolism.

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

Basal metabolic rate (BMR) estimates the number of calories your body burns over a 24-hour period while at rest. For your body to be truly “at rest,” your digestive system must be inactive, which typically requires a 12-hour fasting period, and your external environment needs to be a neutral temperature. BMR comprises the largest portion of most people’s TDEE.

Activity Level

The more you move your body on a regular basis, the more energy it consumes to maintain its baseline. People who exercise regularly or maintain a very active job or lifestyle generally burn more calories daily than someone who exercises less often and maintains a fairly sedentary job or lifestyle.

The Forbes Health TDEE calculator uses the following ranges to help determine the appropriate activity multiplier for you:

  • Sedentary: Little or no exercise
  • Lightly active: Exercise one to three days a week
  • Moderately active: Exercise three to five days a week
  • Active: Exercise six to seven days a week
  • Very active: Hard exercise six to seven days a week

Thermic Effect of Food

The thermic effect of food is the amount of energy your body uses to metabolize the food you eat. The Mifflin-St Jeor equation used in the calculator above accounts for this estimated contribution to your body’s daily calorie burn.

How Is TDEE Calculated?

There are several equations you can use to calculate your TDEE, but the Forbes Health TDEE Calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation because experts from the American Council on Exercise (ACE) consider it to be the most accurate. It first estimates your basal metabolic rate (BMR) based on your gender, age, height and weight inputs. Then, it determines the appropriate activity multiplier based on your activity level input, providing an estimate of your TDEE.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the best TDEE calculator?

There are multiple formulas commonly used to calculate BMR, including (but not limited to) the revised Harris-Benedict equation, the Katch-McArdle equation and the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. Activity multipliers are then used to determine TDEE. Today, experts consider the Mifflin-St Jeor equation to be the most accurate, which is why we use it in our calculator tool above.

Should I eat my TDEE to lose weight?

No, your TDEE is the amount of energy your body burns on a daily basis and therefore the amount of energy you must consume to maintain your current weight. If your goal is to lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories (or less energy) than your TDEE. Use our free calorie calculator to determine a safe and sustainable way to reach your weight goal.

Is it necessary to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure?

TDEE can be a helpful tool for anyone looking to estimate how many calories their body burns on a daily basis so they can approach their health and wellness goals effectively. Regardless of whether you’re looking to gain weight, lose weight or maintain your current weight, understanding your body’s baseline is a vital starting point.

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Alena HallEditor

Alena is a professional writer, editor and manager with a lifelong passion for helping others live well. She is also a registered yoga teacher (RYT-200) and a functional medicine certified health coach. She brings more than a decade of media experience to Forbes Health, with a keen focus on building content strategy, ensuring top content quality and empowering readers to make the best health and wellness decisions for themselves.

Jessica DiGiacintoEditor

Jessica is a writer and editor with over a decade of experience in both lifestyle and clinical health topics. Before Forbes Health, Jessica was an editor for Healthline Media, WW and PopSugar, as well as numerous health-related startups. When she isn't writing or editing, Jessica can be found at the gym, listening to a health or true crime podcast, or spending time outside. She also really enjoys bread (even though she's not supposed to eat it).

TDEE Calculator: Calculate Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (2024)

FAQs

How to calculate daily energy expenditure? ›

Calculating TDEE using the formula TDEE = BMR x Activity Factor involves two steps:
  1. Step 1: Calculate your BMR using the following formula. BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) - 5 x age (years) + 5. ...
  2. Step 2: Multiply your BMR by your activity factor to calculate your TDEE.

What is the most accurate TDEE calculator? ›

There are several equations you can use to calculate your TDEE, but the Forbes Health TDEE Calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation because experts from the American Council on Exercise (ACE) consider it to be the most accurate.

What is the formula for total energy expenditure? ›

For men: 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) + 5 (kcal / day) For women: 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) -161 (kcal / day)

How accurate is the TDEE calculator? ›

In numbers, the calorie estimations should be within ~10% IF you are honest about your activity level. If someone needs about 2,300 calories per day, the calculator could be off by 230ish calories. Over the course of 1 month, this is equal to ~7,000 calories (2lbs).

How to use TDEE to lose weight? ›

Your TDEE represents the number of calories required to maintain your current weight. To lose weight, you typically aim for a calorie intake that's 10-20% lower than your TDEE. This ensures a gradual and sustainable rate of weight loss, generally recommended at about 0.5 to 1 kilogram (1 to 2 pounds) per week.

What is the 2 2 2 method metabolism? ›

Rizzo's is not the only 2-2-2 method — Dr. Ian Smith created a 2-2-2 metabolism plan that involves eating carb-heavy, protein-filled meals for two weeks and then alternating between keto and carb-loading for four weeks.

Does walking count as exercise in TDEE? ›

That activity can be exercise in the form of workouts at the gym, yoga, pilates, or running. That activity can also be walking, cleaning, or playing with your kids in the park. The TDEE requires you to include your activity level - and that activity can be anything that requires you to move around.

Should I use BMR or TDEE to lose weight? ›

BMR is a component of your TDEE, but it is NOT the amount of calories you should eat to lose weight. BMR is the amount of calories your body needs to "keep the lights on" and ensure you live to fight another day. To lose weight, you need to eat about 15-20% less than your TDEE.

How many calories do 10,000 steps burn? ›

What is 10000 Steps Equal To? “But,” continues Jamie, “if you walk briskly for 30 minutes and include enough activity throughout the day to reach the combined total of 10,000 steps, you're burning about 400 to 500 calories a day, which means you're losing one pound each week.”

What is total energy expenditure for weight loss? ›

Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) declines with weight loss due to decreases in both resting energy expenditure (REE) and physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) that result primarily from the reduction in body mass (1).

How do I calculate my resting energy expenditure? ›

The Mifflin-St Jeor equation, created in the 1990s, provided an alternative and more valid estimate of RMR (3). The equations for males and females are: Men: (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age in years) + 5. Women: (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age in years) - 161.

What is the total energy expenditure in a day? ›

Your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is the number of calories you burn throughout a 24-hour period. These calories come from the work your body does to keep you alive, including your brain functions, breathing, digestion, and so on as well as all of your physical activity.

What is the best formula for TDEE? ›

A much more accurate method for determining TDEE is to determine your basal metabolic rate (BMR) using multiple factors, including height, weight, age, and sex, then multiply the BMR by an activity factor to calculate TDEE.

How many calories do you burn in a day without exercising? ›

That calorie blaze might resemble a five-alarm fire at certain times of the day, like when you're exercising, but the flame is always lit. Over the course of a day, your body's natural calorie burn without any activity can range from 1,300 to more than 2,000, depending on your age and sex.

How often should I recalculate TDEE? ›

Whenever there are notable changes to body weight. Not every fluctuation in weight means that figures should be recalculated, but significant changes of 5-10% will likely influence TDEE.

How do you calculate energy cost per day? ›

Once you have your data, calculate the cost of use with this formula:
  1. Multiply the device's wattage by the number of hours the appliance is used per day.
  2. Divide by 1000.
  3. Multiply by your kWh rate.
Nov 30, 2023

How is total daily energy expenditure determined? ›

TDEE is calculated by adding four numbers together: basal metabolic rate, thermic effect of feeding, exercise energy expenditure, and non-exercise activity thermogenesis.

What is the formula for energy consumption per day? ›

E = P*(t/1000); where E = energy measured in Joules or kilowatt-hours (kWh), P = power units in watts, and t = time over which the power or energy was consumed.

How do you measure energy expenditure? ›

Energy expenditure can be estimated by measuring macronutrient or oxygen consumption, or heat production or carbon dioxide production. Most measurement approaches in use today involve the measurement of oxygen consumption and/or production of carbon dioxide via indirect calorimetry.

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