TDEE & Daily Calorie Calculator
Calories a day to maintain, lose or gain weight — two methods, kcal or kJ.
Calorie targets
| Goal | Per day | At first, per week |
|---|
Weekly change uses the 7,700 kcal per kg rule, which only holds at the start — loss slows as your needs fall. The calorie deficit planner models that.
How it was calculated
For general information only, not medical advice. Consult a qualified health professional for advice about your situation.
About the TDEE & Daily Calorie Calculator
Your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is the number of calories you burn in a day: your basal metabolic rate plus the energy for digesting food and for everything you do. If you eat about that much, your weight stays steady — so it is the starting point for any plan to lose or gain weight.
This calculator works it out two ways, so you can see how much they agree: BMR × physical activity level (PAL), the method of the FAO/WHO/UNU 2004 report on human energy requirements (also used by ICMR-NIN in India), and the NASEM 2023 equations from the US/Canadian Dietary Reference Intakes, which were fitted to doubly-labelled-water measurements of real energy use. It covers pregnancy and breastfeeding, shows results in kcal or kJ, and gives gentle and moderate targets for losing or gaining weight.
How to use it
- Enter your sex, age (18+), weight and height.
- Choose the activity level that matches a typical week honestly — or type your own PAL. The descriptions come from the FAO/WHO/UNU report.
- If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, choose that option (women only) and enter how many weeks pregnant you are.
- Pick the method for the headline result — BMR × PAL or NASEM 2023 — and read your maintenance calories, the other method for comparison, and the weight-change targets.
Examples
BMR × PAL: 1,780 × 1.55 = 2,759 kcal/day · NASEM 2023 (low active): 2,946 kcal/day · Lose: about 2,259 kcal/day
BMR × PAL: 2,450 + 285 = 2,735 kcal/day · NASEM 2023 pregnancy equation: 2,909 kcal/day
BMR × PAL: 2,046 + 505 = 2,551 kcal/day · NASEM 2023: 2,183 + 400 = 2,583 kcal/day
Choosing your activity level honestly
PAL is your total daily energy use divided by your BMR. The FAO/WHO/UNU report groups lifestyles into three bands:
- Sedentary or light activity — PAL 1.40–1.69: jobs that need little physical effort, little walking, motor transport, no regular exercise, leisure mostly sitting (for example office workers who are rarely active).
- Active or moderately active — 1.70–1.99: work on your feet that is not strenuous, such as construction, or a sedentary job plus regular exercise. About an hour a day of jogging, cycling or sport raises a desk worker from about 1.55 to 1.75.
- Vigorous — 2.00–2.40: several hours of strenuous work or sport every day. Values above 2.40 are hard to keep up for long.
A reality check: in the doubly-labelled-water measurements of about 900 adults (two US studies) that the UK’s scientific advisers used to set their energy reference values, the median PAL was 1.63, with a quarter of people below 1.49 and a quarter above 1.78 (SACN 2011, Table 10). ICMR-NIN uses 1.40 for sedentary Indian adults because Indians spend less energy on the same activities. If you are unsure, start low and adjust after a few weeks of weighing yourself.
The two methods
BMR × PAL (FAO/WHO/UNU 2004): estimate BMR with an equation — Mifflin-St Jeor by default; Henry, Schofield, Harris-Benedict, the ICMR-adjusted Schofield or Katch-McArdle if you prefer — then multiply by your PAL. FAO notes that requirements vary by about ±8–10% around the middle of each PAL band.
NASEM 2023: the National Academies fitted separate equations for men and women aged 19+ in four activity categories — inactive (PAL below 1.53), low active (1.53 to under 1.68), active (1.68 to under 1.85) and very active (1.85 and above) — to a large database of doubly-labelled-water measurements. Example, low-active man: EER = 581.47 − 10.83 × age + 8.30 × height (cm) + 14.94 × weight (kg). The typical error is about 339 kcal/day for men and 246 kcal/day for women. The calculator picks the category from your PAL.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
- FAO/WHO/UNU 2004: about +85, +285 and +475 kcal/day in the first, second and third trimesters (for a weight gain of about 12 kg); +505 kcal/day for exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months (+675 if you gained little weight in pregnancy or are underweight); +460 kcal/day after 6 months.
- NASEM 2023: no addition in the first trimester; from the second trimester a pregnancy equation that includes the week of pregnancy plus energy for tissue growth based on your pre-pregnancy BMI (+300, +200, +150 or −50 kcal/day for underweight, healthy weight, overweight and obesity). Exclusive breastfeeding 0–6 months adds 540 kcal for milk minus 140 kcal from body stores; partial breastfeeding at 7–12 months adds 380 kcal.
- ICMR-NIN 2020 (India): +350 kcal/day in pregnancy, +600 kcal/day for 0–6 months and +520 kcal/day for 7–12 months of breastfeeding.
Trimesters here follow the US Office on Women’s Health: weeks 1–12, 13–28 and 29 onwards. Weight-loss targets are not shown in pregnancy or while breastfeeding — talk to your doctor or midwife.
Calorie targets for weight change
The targets subtract or add 250, 500 or 750 kcal a day. The 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS obesity guideline recommends prescribing 1,200–1,500 kcal/day for women and 1,500–1,800 for men, or a deficit of 500 or 750 kcal/day (its evidence summary also mentions a 30% deficit); the calculator flags targets below 1,200 (women) or 1,500 (men). Very-low-calorie diets under 800 kcal/day should only be followed under medical supervision.
The weekly figure uses the classic 7,700 kcal per kg rule, which only holds at the start: as you lose weight your energy needs fall, so loss slows. For a realistic timeline use the calorie deficit planner, which runs the NIH dynamic body-weight model.
ICMR-NIN reference values for Indian adults
For comparison, ICMR-NIN (2020) gives these daily energy requirements for a reference Indian man of 65 kg and woman of 55 kg:
- Men: sedentary 2,110 kcal · moderate work 2,710 kcal · heavy work 3,470 kcal
- Women: sedentary 1,660 kcal · moderate work 2,130 kcal · heavy work 2,720 kcal
They are lower than the 2010 values — by 210 kcal for a sedentary man and 240 kcal for a sedentary woman — because the 2020 committee found that Indians use less energy for the same activities and that the FAO/WHO/UNU BMR equations overestimate BMR in Indian adults. Adjust for your own weight and activity — that is what this calculator does.
Sources
- FAO/WHO/UNU, Human energy requirements (2004): chapter 5, adults (PAL bands, Table 5.3), section 5.4, chapter 6, pregnancy, chapter 7, lactation
- National Academies, Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Tables S-3 to S-6 and 5-4
- SACN, Dietary Reference Values for Energy
- ICMR-NIN, Brief note on Nutrient Requirements for Indians 2020
- Jensen MD et al., 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS guideline for the management of overweight and obesity in adults
- US Office on Women’s Health, Stages of pregnancy
Limitations
- Both methods predict an average for people like you; your real needs can differ by 10% or more. Weigh yourself regularly and adjust.
- The NASEM adult equations start at age 19, and this calculator is for adults (18+). Children and teenagers have extra needs for growth.
- Not for athletes in heavy training, illness, recovery from injury or surgery, or medical conditions that change energy needs.
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding figures are population guidance; your doctor or midwife may advise differently, especially for twins or if you are underweight.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between TDEE and BMR?
BMR is the energy you use at complete rest. TDEE adds the energy for digesting food and for all movement — from walking around the house to exercise. With a PAL of 1.4–2.0, TDEE is 1.4 to 2 times your BMR. See the BMR calculator for the resting part alone.
Why do the two methods give different numbers?
They were built differently. BMR × PAL multiplies a BMR prediction by an activity factor, so errors in either carry through. The NASEM equations predict total energy use directly from age, height, weight and activity category, fitted to doubly-labelled-water data. Differences of 100–200 kcal are normal; treat the answer as a range.
What PAL should I choose for a desk job?
If you sit most of the day and do not exercise regularly, about 1.4–1.55. If you also exercise for about an hour most days, about 1.75. In the doubly-labelled-water data behind the UK’s 2011 energy reference values the median adult PAL was 1.63 — a useful reality check.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
Common advice is 500 kcal a day below your maintenance level, one of the options in the 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS guideline (a deficit of 500 or 750 kcal a day, or 1,200–1,500 kcal/day for women and 1,500–1,800 for men). Do not go below about 1,200 kcal/day for women or 1,500 for men without professional advice. To see how long it will take, use the calorie deficit planner.
How many extra calories do I need when pregnant?
Very little in the first trimester. FAO/WHO/UNU suggests about +285 kcal/day in the second and +475 kcal/day in the third trimester; ICMR-NIN suggests +350 kcal/day; NASEM’s pregnancy equation depends on your weight, the week of pregnancy and your pre-pregnancy BMI. Choose Pregnant to see the figures for you.