TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is an estimate of the calories you burn in a day: your basal metabolic rate multiplied by your activity level. It's the starting point for setting up a cut, maintenance or a bulk.

Which formula does this calculator use?

Mifflin-St Jeor, considered the most accurate for the general population: 10×weight + 6.25×height − 5×age, +5 for men and −161 for women. The result is then multiplied by an activity factor.

How many calories should I cut to lose fat?

A sustainable deficit is 10-20% of your TDEE: you lose fat while preserving muscle and performance. More aggressive cuts speed up the scale but cost you lean mass, energy and adherence.

Is the calculated TDEE exact?

It's a starting estimate with a margin of ±10%. The scale tells the truth over time: track your weight for 2-3 weeks and adjust by 100-200 kcal if it isn't moving in the direction you want.

Free tool

TDEE calculator.

How many calories you really burn in a day, and how many to eat for your goal. The Mifflin-St Jeor formula and recommended macros: the same rules the DAWT AI coach follows.

Sex

Age

Weight (kg)

Height (cm)

Weekly activity

Goal

–Basal metabolic rate

–TDEE · kcal/day

–Target calories

Protein

–

Carbs

–

Fat

–

An estimate with a ±10% margin: start here, then let the scale speak for 2-3 weeks. Protein at 1.9-2.2 g/kg depending on the goal, fat around 0.9 g/kg, the rest goes to carbs.

What TDEE is and how it's calculated

Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total energy cost of your day: what your body burns just to exist (basal metabolic rate), plus movement, workouts and digestion. It's the number every physique goal revolves around: eat below your TDEE and you lose fat, above it and you build (fat too, if you overdo it), at it and you maintain.

This calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor formula, the most accurate for the general population according to the American Dietetic Association: 10×weight(kg) + 6.25×height(cm) − 5×age, +5 for men and −161 for women. The result is your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which gets multiplied by an activity factor:

Lifestyle	Description	Factor
Sedentary	Desk job, no sport	×1.2
Light	1-2 workouts a week	×1.375
Moderate	3-4 workouts a week	×1.55
Intense	5-6 workouts a week	×1.725
Athlete	Two-a-days or physical labour	×1.9

From TDEE to the calories for your goal

Fat loss: −20% off your TDEE. A deeper deficit moves the scale faster, but you pay in muscle, energy in the gym and hunger that wins sooner or later. Recomposition: −10%, the compromise for losing fat slowly while you build. Muscle gain: +12%, enough to grow without gaining fat at random. Protein stays high in every scenario (1.9-2.2 g per kg of body weight): it's the building block, the rest is energy.

The perfect number doesn't exist: there's a starting number, then adjustments based on real data. That's exactly what the DAWT AI coach does with your training: it starts from the estimate and recalibrates on what actually happens, session after session.

Calories are half the job. The other half is the plan.

DAWT builds your training around you, adjusts your loads based on your real effort and recalculates TDEE and macros as your body changes. Download the app and start free.