TDEE Calculator
Estimate total daily energy expenditure as a range, using the FAO/WHO/UNU physical activity level bands.
Result
Enter age, height and weight to see the result.
https://calcgallery.com/nutrition-energy/tdee-calculator/
How to use the TDEE Calculator
- Choose which published equation to apply, then enter your age, height and weight.
- Pick the activity band that describes your typical week, using the descriptions below.
- Read the range, not just the midpoint. The band is what the source publishes.
- Treat the whole range as the answer and adjust from it based on what actually happens.
How it is calculated
Total daily energy expenditure is your basal metabolic rate multiplied by a physical activity level:
TDEE = BMR × PALThe basal rate here comes from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. The activity level comes from the FAO/WHO/UNU report Human Energy Requirements, which defines physical activity level as total energy expenditure divided by basal energy expenditure over a full day, and publishes three lifestyle bands:
| Band | PAL range | What the report describes |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary or light activity | 1.40 to 1.69 | Occupations with little physical demand and little discretionary activity |
| Active or moderately active | 1.70 to 1.99 | Physically demanding work, or sedentary work with regular exercise or an active commute |
| Vigorously active | 2.00 to 2.40 | Heavy manual work, or sustained daily athletic training |
Because each band is a range, the honest output is a range. The calculator reports the expenditure at the bottom of the band, at the top, and at the midpoint. The midpoint is taken on the activity level and multiplied through once, rather than being an average of two separately computed figures.
Why this page shows a range
Nearly every other calculator multiplies the basal rate by 1.2, 1.375, 1.55, 1.725 or 1.9. Those five numbers have no published origin that could be traced. Following the citation trail leads from calculator to calculator and never to a study, a report or a standards body. They are folk values that have been copied for long enough to look official.
This site does not ship a constant it cannot cite. The FAO/WHO/UNU bands are the published figures that the ladder appears to be an approximation of, and they come as ranges, so that is what is shown. A range is less satisfying than a single number and it is a better description of what is actually known.
If a future revision is tempted to add the ladder back, this is the reason not to. It would be an invented constant wearing the costume of a precise one.
Practical tips
Use the whole range. The bottom and the top of the band are both consistent with the activity level you chose. Anchoring on the midpoint and treating it as your requirement gives a false sense of precision.
Your job matters more than your workouts. Physical activity level covers the entire day. Three hours of exercise a week moves a 168-hour average less than eight hours a day on your feet does.
The errors compound. Ten percent uncertainty on the basal rate, multiplied by a band spanning twenty percent, gives a realistic spread of several hundred kilocalories. No amount of decimal places changes that.
Adjust from observation. Eat at a consistent intake for four to six weeks and watch your weight. What actually happens is worth more than any equation, and it is the only way to find your own number.
When in doubt, choose the lower band. People consistently overestimate their own activity, which is one reason expenditure calculators tend to run high in practice.
With your numbers
- A sedentary lifestyle is PAL 1.55 at the midpoint of its published band
- Across the whole band that is 1,915 kcal to 2,311 kcal a day
- 1,368 kcal basal × 1.55 = 2,113 kcal
Quick reference
A range, because the source publishes activity level as a band. Any calculator giving one figure has picked a point inside a range without telling you.
| Example | Daily energy need, midpoint |
|---|---|
| Male, 30, 5 ft 10 in, 175 lb, sedentary | 2,722 kcal |
| Male, 30, 5 ft 10 in, 175 lb, active | 3,250 kcal |
| Female, 30, 5 ft 4 in, 140 lb, sedentary | 2,073 kcal |
| Female, 30, 5 ft 4 in, 140 lb, active | 2,476 kcal |
| Male, 35, 178 cm, 80 kg, active | 3,219 kcal |
| Male, 35, 178 cm, 80 kg, vigorous | 3,838 kcal |
| Female, 28, 165 cm, 63.5 kg, sedentary | 2,112 kcal |
| Female, 45, 170 cm, 70 kg, active | 2,545 kcal |
Where the numbers come from
The fixed figures this calculator relies on, and the published source each one was checked against. How the calculators are built and checked
1 source
FAO/WHO/UNU, Human Energy Requirements (2004), chapter 5, section 5.3.1, Table 5.3, https://www.fao.org/4/y5686e/y5686e07.htm: sedentary or light 1.40-1.69, active or moderately active 1.70-1.99, vigorous 2.00-2.40.
Used for
- Lower bound of sedentary or light activity.
- Upper bound of sedentary or light activity.
- Lower bound of active or moderately active lifestyle.
- Upper bound of active or moderately active lifestyle.
- Lower bound of vigorous or vigorously active lifestyle.
- Upper bound of vigorous or vigorously active lifestyle.
Common questions about the TDEE Calculator
- Why is my number a range when other sites give one figure?
- Because the source publishes a range. FAO/WHO/UNU defines a sedentary lifestyle as physical activity level 1.40 to 1.69, not as a single value, and the same is true of the other two bands. Collapsing that to one number does not make the estimate more accurate; it hides how imprecise it already is. Sites that show one figure have picked a point inside a band without telling you which, or are using the unsourced multiplier ladder described below.
- Where did the 1.2, 1.375, 1.55, 1.725, 1.9 numbers go?
- They are not used here because no primary source for them could be found. That ladder appears on hundreds of calculators, always without a citation, and tracing it back leads to other calculators rather than to any published research. This site does not ship a constant it cannot cite, so the FAO/WHO/UNU bands are used instead. They are the published figures the ladder appears to be a garbled version of.
- Which band am I in if I train three times a week?
- Probably the active band, but the honest answer is that it depends on the other hundred and sixty-five hours of your week far more than on the three. Physical activity level is total daily energy divided by basal energy across the whole day, so a desk job with three gym sessions often lands lower than people expect. The band descriptions in the report describe occupational activity as much as exercise.
- Does a desk job with daily walking count as active?
- It can. FAO describes the active band as covering people whose occupation is sedentary but who take regular exercise or have an active commute, as well as people in physically demanding jobs. If you walk a meaningful distance every day on top of a desk job, the active band is a reasonable choice; if you drive to a desk and back, the sedentary band probably fits better.
- How far off can this be?
- Further than most people assume. The basal rate carries roughly ten percent error before activity is applied, and the activity band itself spans about twenty percent from bottom to top. Combined, the realistic uncertainty on a daily expenditure figure is several hundred kilocalories. The number is a starting point; what your weight does over four to six weeks at a known intake is the actual measurement.