TDEE: Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total number of calories your body burns in a 24-hour period — everything from keeping your organs running at rest to digesting food to exercising. It is the number you should use when setting calorie targets, not BMR.
Components of TDEE
- BMR (60–75%): Basal Metabolic Rate — calories burned at complete rest
- NEAT (15–30%): Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis — all movement outside formal exercise (walking, fidgeting, posture)
- TEF (8–10%): Thermic Effect of Food — calories burned digesting food
- EAT (0–20%): Exercise Activity Thermogenesis — formal training sessions
Calculating TDEE
TDEE = BMR × Activity Multiplier
Sedentary (desk job, no exercise): × 1.2
Lightly active (1–3 workouts/week): × 1.375
Moderately active (3–5 workouts/week): × 1.55
Very active (6–7 hard workouts/week): × 1.725
Extra active (physical job + training): × 1.9Example
Male, 30 years, 80 kg, 178 cm, moderately active:
BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor) = (10×80) + (6.25×178) − (5×30) + 5 = 1,832 kcal
TDEE = 1,832 × 1.55 = 2,840 kcal/day
Setting Calorie Targets from TDEE
- Maintain weight: Eat at TDEE (2,840 kcal)
- Lose ~0.5 kg/week: TDEE − 500 kcal (2,340 kcal)
- Lose ~0.25 kg/week: TDEE − 250 kcal (2,590 kcal)
- Lean bulk: TDEE + 200–300 kcal (3,040–3,140 kcal)
Why TDEE Changes
TDEE is not fixed. It drops during a prolonged calorie deficit (metabolic adaptation) and rises during a bulk. Recalculate every 4–6 weeks as your body weight changes, and adjust intake accordingly.
Calculate your daily calorie needs: Free Calorie Calculator