How many calories do I burn a day? Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) explained

What is TDEE?

TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure: all the energy your body uses in a day, in kilocalories. People say calories for the same unit. It is larger than the energy you burn at rest, because it adds digesting food and moving around.

A review in Frontiers in Physiology by Westerterp says total energy expenditure consists of four components: the sleeping metabolic rate, the energy cost of arousal, the thermic effect of food (which the review also calls diet-induced energy expenditure) and the energy cost of physical activity.¹ Sometimes the first two are grouped as basal metabolic rate, or BMR, which is usually the main component of the total.¹

This page is about the total. For the resting part and the equation behind it, read how to calculate BMR first. This page uses the BMR estimates worked out there.

Activity multipliers: what the review says

To compare people of different sizes, researchers divide total energy expenditure by resting energy expenditure. The result has no unit and is called the physical activity level, or PAL.¹ The review says PAL for sustainable lifestyles ranges from a minimum of 1.1 to 1.2, for a person with no physical activity, to a maximum of 2.0 to 2.5.¹

The review also reports three bands defined by a 2004 expert consultation of the FAO, WHO and United Nations University: 1.40 to 1.69 for sedentary and light activity lifestyles, 1.70 to 1.99 for moderately active or active lifestyles, and 2.00 to 2.40 for vigorously active ones.¹ Average PAL rises from 1.4 at age 1 to 1.7 to 1.8 at reproductive age, then falls back to 1.4 at age 90.¹

Online calculators may use a different list of multipliers and different names for the levels. Check which list yours uses before you compare results from two tools.

Worked examples in pounds

The people below are made up to show the arithmetic. Their BMR values come from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation worked out in the BMR guide: 1,758 kilocalories for a 35-year-old man at 180 lb and 70 in, 1,341 for a 42-year-old woman at 150 lb and 65 in, and 1,667 for a 65-year-old man at 200 lb and 68 in.² The equation was derived from 498 healthy adults aged 19 to 78.²

Example 1: the 35-year-old man, BMR 1,758

At PAL 1.40: 1,758 × 1.40 = 2,461. At PAL 1.70: 1,758 × 1.70 = 2,989. At PAL 2.00: 1,758 × 2.00 = 3,516. The same man could be anywhere from about 2,460 to 3,520 kilocalories a day depending on how active he really is.

Example 2: the 42-year-old woman, BMR 1,341

At PAL 1.40: 1,341 × 1.40 = 1,877. At PAL 1.70: 1,341 × 1.70 = 2,280. At PAL 2.00: 1,341 × 2.00 = 2,682.

Example 3: the 65-year-old man, BMR 1,667

At PAL 1.40: 1,667 × 1.40 = 2,334. At PAL 1.70: 1,667 × 1.70 = 2,834. At PAL 2.00: 1,667 × 2.00 = 3,334.

How the shares of the day shift with PAL

The review gives two simple relations: PAL equals total divided by resting energy, and the thermic effect of food is assumed to be 10% of the total.¹ If you treat resting and basal as the same, the BMR share of the day is 1 divided by PAL, and activity is what is left after BMR and the 10%. At PAL 1.4, BMR is 1 ÷ 1.4 = 71% and activity is 100 − 71 − 10 = 19%. At PAL 1.7, BMR is 59% and activity 31%. At PAL 2.0, BMR is 50% and activity 40%. This is our arithmetic from the review’s relations, not a figure the review reports.

How wrong can an estimate be?

Two guesses are multiplied together: the resting estimate and the activity level. Both carry error.

A systematic review of equations for resting metabolic rate in non-obese and obese adults found that Mifflin-St Jeor was the most reliable of four common equations, predicting within 10% of measured in more people than any other and with the narrowest error range. It also warned of noteworthy errors for individuals and said older adults and some US ethnic groups were underrepresented in the validation work.³

Here is what 10% does to Example 1, using made-up figures. A resting estimate of 1,758 could be 10% lower, 1,758 × 0.9 = 1,582, or 10% higher, 1,758 × 1.1 = 1,934. At PAL 1.70 that spreads to 1,582 × 1.7 = 2,689 and 1,934 × 1.7 = 3,288. The range is about 600 kilocalories wide before you have mis-picked the activity band. The review does not say every person falls inside 10%: it says more people do with this equation than with the others.³

Practical reading: treat the answer as a starting range. Your own food diary and your weight trend over several weeks say more about your real needs than any equation.

How does this compare with the reference tables?

Cleveland Clinic lists daily calorie needs by age, sex and activity from U.S. Department of Agriculture figures. It notes the recommendations are for people at a normal weight and that needs depend on age, weight, sex, height and activity level.⁶

The figures sit in the same range without matching. That is expected, because the examples are single made-up people and the table covers a group. If your result lands far outside the table for your age and sex, recheck your inputs before you trust it.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025 to 2030, make the same point in words: the calories you need depend on your age, sex, height, weight and level of physical activity.⁴ For older adults the guidelines add that some need fewer calories but still need equal or greater amounts of key nutrients such as protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D and calcium.⁴

Protein and the Dietary Guidelines

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025 to 2030, list a protein serving goal of 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, adjusted for individual caloric requirements.⁴ Converting to pounds: 1.2 divided by 2.2046 is about 0.54 grams per pound, and 1.6 divided by 2.2046 is about 0.73.

For the 180-lb man in Example 1 (81.65 kg), that works out to 81.65 × 1.2 = 98 grams and 81.65 × 1.6 = 131 grams a day. The guidelines also say that if you have a chronic disease, you should talk with your health care professional about whether to adapt them.⁵

What TDEE does not tell you

TDEE is half of an energy balance. The CDC says people who are physically active can still gain weight if they take in more calories than they use.⁷ It also says that most weight loss occurs from decreasing calories and that regular physical activity is key to maintaining weight loss.⁸ None of this guarantees a result for any person, and this page does not promise one.

1. Get your resting estimate. Use the BMR guide with your weight in pounds, height in inches and age.
2. Pick a range, not a point. Multiply by 1.40 and by 1.70, or by the bands that match your week.
3. Compare with a table. Check the result against reference figures for your age and sex.
4. Watch real life. Weigh at the same time each day, look at the weekly average and adjust your range from what you see.

Muscle also matters. In the equation study, fat-free mass was the best single predictor of resting energy expenditure.² Measuring your muscle is covered in the muscle mass guide, and a rough age-based number is the topic of metabolic age.

Frequently asked questions