Know your numbers
TDEE calculator
Total daily energy expenditure is how many calories you burn in a day: your basal metabolic rate plus everything you do on top of it. It is the anchor for every bulk, cut and maintenance phase.
Your numbers
Training 3–5 days a week with a normal daily step count
Adds Katch–McArdle, which accounts for muscle mass.
Your maintenance calories appear here
Enter age, height and weight, then pick the activity level that honestly describes your week.
How it’s calculated
BMR
Mifflin–St Jeor (1990), the most accurate of the standard equations in validation studies: 10W + 6.25H − 5A + 5 (men) or − 161 (women). If you give a body-fat estimate we switch to Katch–McArdle (370 + 21.6 × lean mass), which accounts for muscle directly.
Activity
BMR is multiplied by an activity factor from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (extremely active). Most people who train 3–5 days a week with a desk job are best described as “moderately active” (1.55). Overestimating activity is the most common reason a diet “doesn’t work”.
Make it yours
Every equation is an average with an error of roughly ±10%. Eat at the estimate for two to three weeks, track your weight daily, and adjust: if the trend is flat, that intake is your TDEE.
Full sources and limitations are on the methodology page. Estimates are for healthy adults and are not medical advice.
Questions
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is what you burn at complete rest. TDEE adds digestion, daily movement and exercise. For most people TDEE is 1.4–1.8× BMR.
Should I eat back my exercise calories?
Not separately — the activity multiplier already includes your training. Adding tracker estimates on top double-counts it.