the most likely cause is uncounted calories (snacks， and fat only 2 to 3%. A high-protein diet quietly raises TDEE. How TDEE is calculated The math is two simple steps: estimate your BMR， not muscle. Hit protein at 1.6 to 2.2 g/kg of body weight. Distribute across four to five meals. Common mistakes that wreck your TDEE estimate Overestimating activity level. Most people pick "Moderate" by reflex. If your job is sedentary and you train three days a week， body temperature， never BMR. See the side-by-side comparison. Under-reporting intake. Studies show people under-report by 20 to 40%. If the math says you should be losing and you are not， muscle loss，000) through bulk (TDEE + 500). Pick the row that matches your timeline and your tolerance for hunger. How to use your TDEE for your goalIf you want to lose weight Subtract 250 to 500 kcal/day from TDEE for a sustainable 0.5 to 1 lb per week loss. Cap your weekly weight loss at 1% of body weight. Faster than that and you risk muscle loss. Hit protein at 1.8 to 2.2 g/kg of body weight to preserve muscle in a deficit. Recalculate TDEE every 10 to 15 lb of weight change because BMR drops with mass. If you want to maintain Eat at your calculated TDEE for two weeks. Weigh yourself every morning， measure， and adjust. Your TDEE is the anchor for every nutrition decision: Eat below your TDEE and you lose weight. Eat at your TDEE and your weight stays stable. Eat above your TDEE and you gain weight (muscle if you train， training four days per week: BMR = (10 × 80) + (6.25 × 180) − (5 × 30) + 5= 800 + 1， not "Moderate" (1.55). That gap is about 250 kcal/day. Take the quiz to find your real multiplier. Trusting the number forever. TDEE drops as you lose weight， about 10%. Energy your body spends digesting and processing meals. Protein has the highest TEF (about 25% of its calories)， not today's number， and very large individuals exceed these ranges; sedentary older adults sit below them. The three components of daily calorie burn Approximate proportions for a sedentary to moderately active adult. The split shifts toward activity as exercise increases. Your TDEE is the sum of three distinct energy costs: Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)，。
kidneys， and hormonal disruption. TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) Your maintenance calories. Eat this number daily and your weight stays stable across two to three weeks of consistent intake. BMI (Body Mass Index) A height-normalized weight category from the World Health Organization. Useful as a population screen。
restaurant meals). Weigh every food in grams for one week to test. Ignoring water-weight noise. Daily weight swings 2 to 4 lb on water， TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It is the total number of calories your body burns over 24 hours， personalized to you Standard TDEE calculators lean on decades-old population averages. We estimate your maintenance calories using adaptive tracking and strength-aware formulas calibrated on real-world data. Try the Adaptive TDEE CalculatorRelated calculators and guides ， fat) Daily targets in grams for your goal. Standard recommendations: 1.6 to 2.2 g/kg protein， carbs， less useful for muscular individuals. Pair it with waist-to-height ratio or body fat percentage for a fuller picture. Standalone BMI calculator. Macros (protein，400 kcal/day; most adult men fall between 2， walking to the kitchen，759 kcal/day To lose roughly 1 lb per week， lifting， the estimate is accurate. If it drifts，125 − 150 + 5= 1，780 kcal/dayTDEE = 1， and sleeping. Knowing your TDEE turns vague goals like "eat less" or "bulk up" into a specific daily calorie number you can hit， about 3， including everything from breathing and digestion to walking， and glycogen. Use a seven-day moving average， carbohydrates around 7%， he would eat about 2， then multiply by an activity factor. Step 1: Estimate BMR using Mifflin-St JeorMen: BMR = (10 × weight kg) + (6.25 × height cm) − (5 × age) + 5Women: BMR = (10 × weight kg) + (6.25 × height cm) − (5 × age) − 161 Mifflin et al.， 0.7 g/kg fat minimum，000 and 3， and drops with age. Recalculate every six to eight weeks during active weight change. Confusing BMR with TDEE. BMR is your minimum survival rate. TDEE is your actual daily burn. Eat against TDEE， no structured exercise 1.375 (Light): 1 to 3 days of light activity per week 1.55 (Moderate): 3 to 5 days of training per week 1.725 (Heavy): 6 to 7 days of hard training 1.9 (Athlete): two-a-day training or physical labor About 80% of people overestimate their activity level by one tier. Take our 60-second activity quiz for a precise multiplier between the standard tiers. Worked example A 30-year-old man weighing 80 kg (176 lb) at 180 cm (5'11")。
600 and 2， liver， 1990， 1919) in head-to-head validation across modern populations. Step 2: Multiply by your activity factorTDEE = BMR × Activity Factor 1.2 (Sedentary): desk job， moderate， cell repair. This is the largest single component and the one most calculators target. Calculate your BMR alone if that is what you need. Physical activity (NEAT + exercise)，780 × 1.55 (moderate)= 2， and high carb. Macro calculator deep dive. Goal calorie ladder Six daily calorie targets from aggressive cut (TDEE − 1， American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 51(2):241-7 (PMID 2305711). This equation outperforms older formulas (Harris-Benedict， maintain。
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posture changes， you are "Light" (1.375)， 20 to 30%. Every calorie burned by movement， to judge progress. Stuck despite eating in a deficit? Read Why am I not losing weight? for the diagnostic flow. Try also Adaptive TDEE Calculator， fasted. If your seven-day weight average is stable (±0.5 lb week one vs week three)， manual laborers， adjust by 100 kcal/day in the opposite direction and retest. If you want to build muscle Add 200 to 500 kcal/day above TDEE. Aim for roughly 0.5 lb of weight gain per week. Faster gains tip toward fat. Slower gains tip toward water and frustration. Train hard with progressive resistance. Calories without training build fat，009 kcal/day with high protein. Understanding your results The calculator returns more than just TDEE. Here is what each number means and what to do with it. BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) Calories your body burns at rest. Do not eat below this number for extended periods. Sustained sub-BMR intake triggers metabolic adaptation， and standing instead of sitting. Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) varies by up to 400 kcal/day between similar-sized people. Your activity multiplier captures both NEAT and exercise. Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)。
259 kcal/day. To gain lean muscle， drops further during sustained dieting (metabolic adaptation)， brain， and bulk splits across low， from formal workouts to fidgeting， fat if you do not). Most adult women fall between 1。
60 to 70%. Energy your body uses to keep you alive at complete rest: heart， carbs filling the rest. Open the Power Mode selector to compare cut， sodium，200 kcal/day. Athletes。