Total Daily Energy Expenditure
Your real maintenance calories — BMR plus everything else (work, exercise, fidgeting). The number you'd eat to neither gain nor lose weight.
Your TDEE
2635 kcal/day
Eat this much to maintain weight. Eat less to lose, more to gain.
Cut (-500)
2135
kcal/day
Maintain
2635
kcal/day
Bulk (+250)
2885
kcal/day
AskCalories
Track meals with editable AI estimates
Use a photo, type what you ate, or dictate into chat. Review the estimated portions, calories, protein, carbs, fat, and fiber before saving.
What's TDEE?
Total Daily Energy Expenditure = BMR × activity multiplier. It's your actual maintenance number — what you burn including everything from walking to the kitchen to lifting weights.
Activity multipliers explained
- 1.2 — Sedentary: desk job, no formal exercise, minimal walking
- 1.375 — Light: 1-3 sessions/week of moderate activity
- 1.55 — Moderate: 3-5 sessions/week, decent training intensity
- 1.725 — Very active: 6-7 sessions/week, physical job
- 1.9 — Athlete: 2-a-day training, professional/hard physical labor
Most people overestimate by one tier. Be honest — choose the lower one if uncertain.
TDEE estimates aren't perfect
±10-15% is normal between individuals at the same height/weight. After 4 weeks of tracking, you'll know your real number better than any calculator. Use the calculator as a starting estimate; adjust based on actual weight trend.