TDEE calculator: how many calories you burn a day
Your TDEE is the total calories you burn in a day. Work it out from your age, height, weight and how much you train.
It's an estimate, not a measurement. It doesn't replace a professional: during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or with an eating disorder, diabetes, kidney disease or weight-loss treatment, the app doesn't calculate targets and suggests seeing a professional.
Put it to use. Mobbe uses this number for your daily calorie target.
How we calculate
TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure. It takes two steps, shown here with a worked example.
- Step 1
Your resting burn (BMR)
What your body burns at rest, with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. In the example (a 30-year-old man, 180 cm and 85 kg) that is 1,830 kcal.
10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age + 5 for men or − 161 for womenMifflin and St Jeor, 1990. The most accurate equation in healthy adults, with and without obesity (Frankenfield, 2005). - Step 2
Your activity level
Your resting burn is multiplied by 1.5 (lightly active), 1.6 (moderately active), 1.75 (very active) or 1.9 (athlete). Training is already part of the level, so it is not added separately. In the example: 1,830 × 1.6, rounded to 2,950 kcal a day.
TDEE = resting burn × activity factorNASEM, 2023: total expenditure measured with doubly labeled water, converted to multiples of Mifflin. Pontzer, 2016.
No sedentary level. The lowest factor is 1.5 because this is built for people who train. If you barely move and do not train, your burn may be lower. The result table also shows the classic factors and revised Harris-Benedict (Roza and Shizgal, 1984).
Sources
- Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, Scott BJ, Daugherty SA, Koh YO. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;51(2):241-247. doi:10.1093/ajcn/51.2.241
- Frankenfield D, Roth-Yousey L, Compher C. Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults: a systematic review. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005;105(5):775-789. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2005.02.005
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2023. doi:10.17226/26818
- Pontzer H, Durazo-Arvizu R, Dugas LR, et al. Constrained total energy expenditure and metabolic adaptation to physical activity in adult humans. Curr Biol. 2016;26(3):410-417. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.046
- Roza AM, Shizgal HM. The Harris Benedict equation reevaluated: resting energy requirements and the body cell mass. Am J Clin Nutr. 1984;40(1):168-182. doi:10.1093/ajcn/40.1.168
Frequently asked questions
What is TDEE?
Total daily energy expenditure: the calories you burn in a day, adding up rest, activity and training. For a 30-year-old man, 180 cm and 85 kg who trains 4 days a week, that is about 2,950 kcal.
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is what you burn at rest, and TDEE adds everything you do on top. In the example, BMR is 1,830 kcal and TDEE is 2,950 kcal.
How do I use my TDEE to lose weight?
Eat below your TDEE. The size of the deficit depends on your pace: Mobbe suggests losing 0.5% to 1% of your weight per week, and the calculator above gives you the target.
How often should I recalculate my TDEE?
When your weight changes by a few kilos or you train more or fewer days, because the calculation starts from those numbers.
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Mobbe builds your plan with these numbers
Download Mobbe and answer a few questions: it uses your daily burn to fit your plan.
