BMR & TDEE Calculator

Find your Basal Metabolic Rate and Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

BMR & TDEE Calculator

Male

Female

Age

Height (cm)

Weight (kg)

Daily Activity Level

Your Daily Calories

Enter your biological stats to instantly calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate and caloric requirements.

How to Use

Enter sex, age, height, and weight

Provide your biological sex and current measurements for an accurate metabolic calculation.

Select your activity level

Choose the category that best matches your typical weekly physical activity.

Review BMR result

See how many calories your body burns at complete rest — this is your absolute minimum daily intake floor.

Use TDEE as your daily calorie target

Eat at TDEE to maintain weight. Create a deficit (typically 500 cal/day) to lose; surplus to gain.

What is BMR and TDEE?

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the total number of calories your body needs to perform basic, life-sustaining functions like breathing and pumping blood. Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) multiplies your BMR by your daily activity level (using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation) to estimate exactly how many calories you burn per day in total.

Real-World Examples & Use Cases

Setting a Science-Based Weight Loss Calorie Target

The most effective weight loss approach is creating a caloric deficit based on your actual TDEE — not following generic 1,200 or 1,500 calorie diets. A 35-year-old woman, 165 cm, 78 kg, moderately active has a TDEE of approximately 2,150 calories. A 500 calorie/day deficit (target: 1,650 calories) produces about 0.5 kg/week of fat loss — a clinically sustainable rate that preserves lean muscle. Without knowing your real TDEE, calorie targets are guesses that are often too aggressive or too conservative for your specific metabolism.

Calorie Needs for Muscle Building (Bulking)

Building muscle requires a caloric surplus to provide energy for protein synthesis and training recovery. Knowing your TDEE allows you to calculate a lean bulk target: typically TDEE + 200-500 calories per day. This controlled surplus minimizes fat gain while supporting muscle growth. A 28-year-old male, 180 cm, 80 kg, very active has a TDEE around 3,100 calories — a lean bulk target would be 3,300-3,600 calories with adequate protein (1.6-2.2 g/kg body weight). Tracking intake against TDEE is more productive than estimating.

Adjusting Calories After Weight Changes

As you lose or gain weight, your BMR and TDEE change — which is why weight loss often plateaus. A person who has lost 10 kg has a lower metabolic rate than when they started, meaning their original calorie deficit is now smaller or eliminated. Recalculating TDEE every 4-6 weeks with updated weight ensures your calorie target stays effective. This dynamic adjustment explains why successful long-term weight management requires periodic recalibration rather than sticking to the same intake indefinitely.

Pre-Competition Nutrition Planning for Athletes

Competitive athletes in weight-class sports (boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, swimming) and aesthetic sports (bodybuilding, physique competitions) use TDEE calculations to plan their cut or peak phase with precision. Setting an exact daily calorie deficit while tracking macronutrients, knowing which activity multiplier applies at current training load, and adjusting intake as training volume changes during peaking all require accurate TDEE as the foundation. Sports nutritionists build individualized meal plans starting from TDEE-based calorie budgets.

How It Works

Mifflin-St Jeor BMR Equations (most accurate for general population): Male: BMR = (10 × weight_kg) + (6.25 × height_cm) − (5 × age) + 5 Female: BMR = (10 × weight_kg) + (6.25 × height_cm) − (5 × age) − 161 Example (Male, 30 years, 175 cm, 80 kg): BMR = (10 × 80) + (6.25 × 175) − (5 × 30) + 5 = 800 + 1,093.75 − 150 + 5 = 1,748.75 calories/day TDEE = BMR × Activity Multiplier: Sedentary (little/no exercise): BMR × 1.2 Lightly active (1-3 days/wk): BMR × 1.375 Moderately active (3-5 days/wk): BMR × 1.55 Very active (6-7 days/wk): BMR × 1.725 Extremely active (physical job + training): BMR × 1.9 For this example (moderately active): TDEE = 1,748.75 × 1.55 = 2,711 calories/day Alternative formula: Harris-Benedict (1919, revised 1984) Generally less accurate than Mifflin-St Jeor for modern populations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?▼

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the number of calories your body burns at complete rest — essentially the energy cost of being alive (breathing, circulation, organ function, cell repair). TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is your BMR multiplied by an activity factor representing all movements throughout the day — exercise, walking, fidgeting, and daily tasks. TDEE is what you actually need to eat to maintain your current weight with your current activity level.

Why does BMR decrease when I lose weight?▼

BMR is primarily determined by lean body mass (muscle). As you lose weight, you lose some fat and some muscle, so your metabolism slows. Additionally, adaptive thermogenesis — the body's response to prolonged caloric restriction — further reduces metabolic rate by 100-300 calories below what the formula predicts. This metabolic adaptation is a survival mechanism. It explains weight loss plateaus and why successfully maintaining weight loss long-term requires permanent dietary and activity habits rather than temporary dieting.

How accurate is the TDEE activity multiplier?▼

Activity multipliers are estimates with significant individual variation. The multipliers assume average energy expenditure for each activity level. Athletes with unusual training volumes, people with non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) differences, and people with metabolic conditions may burn substantially more or less than calculated. The best approach is to use TDEE as a starting point, track actual weight change over 2-3 weeks, and adjust calorie intake based on observed results rather than assuming the formula is exactly correct.

How much of a calorie deficit is safe for weight loss?▼

A deficit of 500-750 calories per day is generally considered the safe and effective range, producing approximately 0.5-0.7 kg (1-1.5 lbs) of fat loss per week. Deficits below 1,200 calories/day for women or 1,500 calories/day for men risk nutrient deficiencies, muscle loss, and metabolic adaptation. Aggressive deficits produce faster initial results but are difficult to sustain, increase muscle loss relative to fat loss, and often result in rebound weight gain after the diet ends.

Should I eat back calories burned in exercise?▼

If you use a TDEE calculator that already includes your exercise via the activity multiplier, you should NOT add exercise calories back — they are already incorporated. If you use only your BMR as your base, then yes, you add estimated exercise calories to find your maintenance level. The choice of which approach to use depends on whether your exercise routine is consistent enough to average into a daily number (variable exercisers may prefer tracking each session separately).

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