What is TDEE? The one number that explains your weight

TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure. It’s the total number of calories your body burns in a day.

Eat about your TDEE and your weight stays steady. Eat less and you lose. Eat more and you gain. Almost every diet works through this one lever.

What makes up your TDEE

Your daily burn has four parts:

• Resting burn (BMR). The energy that keeps you alive: breathing, circulation, brain function. This is the biggest piece, usually 60 to 70% of the total.
• Digesting food. Breaking down a meal costs energy too. Protein costs the most to digest.
• Daily movement. Walking, standing, fidgeting, chores. This varies a lot between people.
• Exercise. Workouts, sports, runs. Often a smaller slice than people expect.

How calculators estimate it

Most calculators, including ours, start with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. It estimates your resting burn from your weight, height, age and sex. Then it multiplies that by an activity factor.

Treat it as a starting point

Any formula is an estimate. Two people with the same stats can burn noticeably different amounts.

The fix is simple:

1. Eat around your target for two to three weeks.
2. Weigh yourself a few times a week and look at the trend, not single days.
3. If the trend doesn’t match your goal, adjust by 100 to 200 calories.

Your real TDEE is the number where your weight actually holds steady.

This guide is for general education. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant or are under 18, check with a doctor or registered dietitian before changing how you eat.