Find your Total Daily Energy Expenditure — the calories you burn each day — plus exact targets to lose, maintain, or gain weight. Uses the Mifflin-St Jeor formula.
| Goal | Calories/day |
|---|---|
| Lose 1 lb/week | — |
| Lose 0.5 lb/week | — |
| Maintain weight | — |
| Gain 0.5 lb/week | — |
| Gain 1 lb/week | — |
Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total number of calories your body burns in a day, including everything from breathing and digestion to walking and workouts. It's the single most important number for managing your weight: eat below it to lose fat, eat above it to gain muscle, and eat at it to maintain.
TDEE is calculated by taking your Basal Metabolic Rate (the calories you'd burn at complete rest) and multiplying it by an activity factor that reflects how active you are.
This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the most accurate BMR formula for the general population, then applies a standard activity multiplier from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (athlete). To lose about one pound of fat per week, you subtract roughly 500 calories from your TDEE; to gain weight, you add a surplus.