TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) Calculator

Use our total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) calculator to learn how many calories your body burns every day based on your basal metabolic rate and activity level. You can use this figure to help you manage your weight, whether your goal is to lose, gain, or maintain your current weight.

Total Daily Energy Expenditure, or TDEE for short, is the total number of calories your body burns in a day based on your age, sex, height, weight, and activity level.

Understanding your TDEE is important for weight management, whether you want to lose, gain or maintain your weight. For example, if you want to:

• lose weight, you will need to eat fewer calories than your TDEE to put you in a calorie deficit
• maintain weight you’ll need to consume the number of calories, or close to, calculated by the TDEE calculator
• gain weight, you’ll need to be in a calorie surplus, which means consistently eating more than your TDEE calculation

Your TDEE is calculated based on 3 important factors: your basal metabolic rate (BMR), activity level, and the thermic effect of food.

Basal metabolic rate

BMR accounts for 60 to 75% of the total calories your body burns each day. It is the minimum number of calories your body needs to maintain essential processes that keep you alive, such as breathing, circulation, and cellular processes.

To be fully at rest, your digestive system must be inactive, so for a true BMR calculation, this usually means not eating (fasting) for 10 to 12 hours.

Activity level

The amount of regular exercise you do reflects your activity level. Anyone who exercises regularly or has a very active job or lifestyle will burn more calories in a day than someone who has a more sedentary job or lifestyle. However, activity level also includes everyday activities such as walking, gardening, cleaning, and general movement.

Thermic effect of food

The thermic effect of food (TEF) is the amount of energy or calories it takes for your body to digest, absorb and metabolise the food you eat. Some evidence suggests that TEF is increased by eating larger meals, consuming more carbohydrates and protein, and following low-fat plant-based diets. It’s thought to account for 3 to 10% of your TDEE.

Whether you’re looking to lose, gain, or maintain your weight, calculating your TDEE is an important starting point because it tells you the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight. You can then use this to help you reach a calorie deficit, surplus, or maintain your current calorie intake, depending on your weight goals.

TDEE for weight loss

For safe weight loss, you’ll need to aim to eat 10 to 25% fewer calories than your TDEE, which is around 300 to 600 calories per day. However, it is important that women avoid eating fewer than 1200 calories per day and men fewer than 1500 calories per day, as this can affect metabolism and lead to nutritional deficiencies, making it more difficult to maintain weight loss.

If you’re unsure about how many calories you should be eating for safe and sustainable weight loss, use our calorie deficit calculator.

TDEE for weight gain

Calculating your TDEE can help you gain weight by moving you into a calorie surplus. Ideally, you should increase your calorie intake moderately by 250 to 500 calories per day according to your TDEE. Recommended rates of weight gain are between 0.25 and 0.5% body mass each week.

You should monitor your progress and adjust your calorie intake as needed. The aim is to gain lean mass while minimising fat gain.

TDEE for weight maintenance

If you’re happy with your current weight and want to maintain it, you’ll need to consume your TDEE calories every day, or as close to it as you can. Although your weight may fluctuate at times, your long-term average should be maintained.

Several factors can affect your TDEE, including your age, sex, lifestyle, and even your hormones. By understanding how these factors can affect your TDEE, you’ll be able to interpret your results more accurately and make relevant adjustments over time based on your overall goals.

Age

As you get older, your metabolism naturally slows down due to muscle loss (sarcopenia) and reduced activity levels. This means that someone who is 20 will have a different TDEE compared to someone who is 60 and the same weight.

Sex

Men tend to have a higher TDEE compared to women because they have more muscle and less body fat. Research shows that, on average, TDEE is 20% higher in men than in women.

Body composition

Muscle burns more calories than fat, even at rest. So, someone who has more lean muscle will have a higher BMR and TDEE. Regular resistance or strength training increases the number of calories you need to maintain your weight, so as your fitness improves, your TDEE may go up.

Hormones

Hormones, particularly thyroid and reproductive hormones, can influence your metabolism and your TDEE. For example, in people with an overactive thyroid gland, where thyroid hormonal levels are increased, both BMR and TDEE dramatically increase, often resulting in weight loss. In people with an underactive thyroid, where thyroid hormones are reduced, BMR and TDEE are reduced, often resulting in a slower metabolism and weight gain.

Hormone changes during menopause can also result in a reduced TDEE due to a lower resting metabolic rate, reduced physical activity, and loss of muscle mass. Studies also show that in women, exercise increases ghrelin and lowers insulin levels, which stimulates energy or calorie intake, a response that is lower in men.

Lifestyle

The amount of activity or exercise you do every day can influence your TDEE. For example, if you have a manual job or you do a lot of standing, walking, or housework during the day, you’re likely to have a higher TDEE than someone who is sedentary. Even the types of activities that may seem small or irrelevant contribute to your Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) and can add up.

NEAT ranges can vary widely, by up to 2000 calories per day, even in people of similar height and weight, simply because of their lifestyle, including their job, hobbies, and the food they eat. Overall, this means that people who are similar physiologically can have different TDEE’s based on their activity levels and diet.

Your TDEE is not a fixed value and can change with changes in your weight, activity level, or muscle mass. It can also be influenced by certain life stages, such as menopause. You should recalculate your TDEE every 6 to 8 weeks or earlier if you:

• have lost or gained 5% or more of your starting body weight
• feel unusually tired, hungry, or if your weight loss has stalled
• have increased or decreased your activity or exercise levels
• have changed jobs (from an active to a sedentary job or vice versa)

If you have hit a weight loss plateau, you should speak to a doctor to rule out any underlying medical conditions. At Superdrug Online Doctor, our doctors can help you kickstart your weight loss journey with clinically effective and safe treatments to help you meet your goals.