TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is the total number of calories you burn in a day: your basal metabolic rate plus the energy used for movement, exercise and digesting food. Eat at your TDEE to maintain weight, below it to lose and above it to gain. Calculators estimate it; your weight trend reveals the real number.
- What is TDEE?The four parts of daily calorie burn, the formula and a worked example.
- TDEE vs BMRHow BMR, RMR, TDEE and maintenance calories differ and which one to eat.
- TDEE accuracyTypical error of TDEE equations and watches, and how to calibrate with your weight trend.
- TDEE for weight lossChoose a deficit percentage, get your daily target and keep it accurate as you lose.
- BMR formulas comparedThe five BMR equations written out, compared on four example people.
- Adaptive TDEE explainedWhy static formulas drift and how a weight trend reveals your actual maintenance.
Where to start
Start with what TDEE is, then see how it compares with BMR and RMR. If you want the math, BMR formulas compared shows every equation side by side. If you’ve already used a calculator and the numbers don’t match your scale, read about how accurate TDEE calculators are and adaptive TDEE.
TDEE in one example
A 35-year-old woman who is 5′5″ and 165 lb has a BMR of about 1,444 kcal/day. Her TDEE depends almost entirely on how active she is:
| Activity level | Multiplier | TDEE (kcal/day) |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | ×1.2 | 1,733 |
| Light | ×1.375 | 1,986 |
| Moderate | ×1.55 | 2,239 |
| Active | ×1.725 | 2,491 |
| Athlete | ×1.9 | 2,744 |
That 1,000-calorie spread is why choosing the right activity level matters more than choosing the right formula. It also changes as you change: at 145 lb her moderate-activity TDEE falls to about 2,098 kcal. Read how to use TDEE to lose weight to turn the number into a plan, or run your own numbers with the TDEE calculator.