TDEE Calculator: How Many Calories Do You Burn a Day?
Your total daily energy expenditure, your resting number, and what changes it. No deficit, on purpose. When you want a fat-loss target, the macro calculator sets one with protein first.
General education, not a personal plan.
The short answer
TDEE is every calorie you burn in a day: resting metabolism, digestion, workouts and all the movement in between. It is your maintenance number. For most women 35 to 60 it lands between about 1,700 and 2,400 calories a day. The calculator below estimates yours with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and shows the math.
What is my TDEE?
Five answers. You get your total daily energy expenditure, your resting rate, and what the number becomes if your week gets busier or quieter.
Your maintenance number: eat this and your weight holds steady on average.
This page shows what you burn. It never picks a deficit for you, because a deficit chosen without protein and a floor is how women end up under-eating. When you want a fat-loss target, use the macro calculator: it takes about 20 percent off this number and sets protein first.
You get your TDEE, your resting rate, and a one-page "what to do with it" note. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
Show me the math
Two steps, both fixed arithmetic.
Step 1. Resting metabolic rate, from Mifflin-St Jeor
This calculator is written for women, so it uses the female form of the equation the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence Analysis Library recommends when indirect calorimetry is not available, using actual body weight:
RMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age in years) − 161
Step 2. The activity multiplier
| Your week | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Sedentary | 1.2 |
| Lightly active | 1.375 |
| Moderately active | 1.55 |
| Very active | 1.725 |
These are the conventional activity factors paired with Mifflin-St Jeor. They are a convention, not a measurement, and they are the largest source of error in any calculator like this one. The result is rounded to the nearest ten.
What this page does not do
It does not subtract anything. The macro calculator takes the same two steps, then applies the goal adjustment, sets protein first, holds fat inside 20 to 35 percent of calories, and never shows a target under 1,200 calories. Those guardrails are the reason the deficit lives there and not here.
Please read this part. This is general education, not a personal plan, and not medical advice.
Talk to a clinician before changing how you eat if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, are managing a medical condition that affects appetite or metabolism, or take medication that does. Their numbers replace these.
TDEE by body weight for women
Same math as the calculator, run for a 45-year-old woman who is 5 ft 4 in. Find your weight, then read across to the level that matches your real week. Taller and younger women burn a little more; each inch of height is worth about 16 calories a day at rest, and each year of age costs about 5.
| Weight | SedentarySed. | Lightly activeLight | Moderately activeMod. | Very activeVery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 lb54 kg | 1,410 | 1,610 | 1,820 | 2,030 |
| 130 lb59 kg | 1,460 | 1,680 | 1,890 | 2,100 |
| 140 lb64 kg | 1,520 | 1,740 | 1,960 | 2,180 |
| 150 lb68 kg | 1,570 | 1,800 | 2,030 | 2,260 |
| 160 lb73 kg | 1,630 | 1,860 | 2,100 | 2,340 |
| 170 lb77 kg | 1,680 | 1,930 | 2,170 | 2,420 |
| 180 lb82 kg | 1,740 | 1,990 | 2,240 | 2,500 |
| 190 lb86 kg | 1,790 | 2,050 | 2,310 | 2,570 |
| 200 lb91 kg | 1,840 | 2,110 | 2,380 | 2,650 |
| 210 lb95 kg | 1,900 | 2,180 | 2,450 | 2,730 |
| 220 lb100 kg | 1,950 | 2,240 | 2,520 | 2,810 |
| 230 lb104 kg | 2,010 | 2,300 | 2,590 | 2,890 |
| 240 lb109 kg | 2,060 | 2,360 | 2,660 | 2,960 |
| 250 lb113 kg | 2,120 | 2,430 | 2,730 | 3,040 |
Rounded to the nearest ten. These are maintenance numbers, not targets.
What is TDEE, and what is it made of?
Four pieces, and most women only count one of them.
Resting metabolic rate
60 to 70% of the total. What your body spends just staying alive.
Thermic effect of food
About 10% of intake. Digesting what you eat; protein costs more than carbs or fat.
Planned exercise
Usually the smallest piece. A hard 45-minute session is often 250 to 400 calories.
Everyday movement
Walking, standing, chores, fidgeting. Separates "sedentary" from "moderately active," and the first thing that drops when you diet hard.
That last point is why the activity question on this page asks about your whole week, not just your workouts.
"It's usually not her resting rate. It's the activity level she picked."
When a woman tells me her metabolism is broken, it's usually not her resting rate — it's the activity level she picked. Three workouts a week with a desk job is "lightly active," not "moderately," and that gap alone is about 250 calories a day.
Julie Salter, from coaching observations. Not a study; patterns from practice.
How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
Good on the resting half, rough on the activity half.
The resting half is decent: a 2005 review found Mifflin-St Jeor landed within 10% of measured resting metabolic rate more often than the other common equations, in both non-obese and obese adults — why it's the equation here and the one the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends.
The activity half is a guess dressed as a multiplier. Treat the result as a starting point with roughly a 10% margin, then adjust from what your weight actually does over two to three weeks — not from the calculator.
One thing the equation can't see: years of dieting. If you've been eating 1,200 calories for a long time and this says you burn 2,000, the calculator is probably closer to right than your fear is. The signs you're not eating enough is worth a read before you decide.
Does TDEE drop in menopause?
A little, and for reasons you can do something about.
A study following women through the menopause transition found energy expenditure fell and visceral fat rose, independent of aging alone — not because the equation changes, but because muscle gets harder to hold as estrogen falls and daily movement quietly drops, pulling both halves of TDEE down together.
The lever is the same one as everywhere else on this site: protein at the top of your range, strength training two or three times a week. Muscle is what keeps the resting number up. Why can't I lose weight in menopause? covers the rest; menopause weight loss coaching turns it into a plan.
TDEE questions, answered plainly
Tap a question to open the answer.
What is TDEE?
TDEE is total daily energy expenditure: every calorie your body uses in a day. It is your resting metabolic rate plus the energy cost of digesting food, planned exercise, and all the movement in between. Eat about your TDEE and your weight holds steady on average.
Should I eat my TDEE to lose weight?
No. TDEE is your maintenance number. Fat loss needs to sit somewhat under it, and the size of that gap, plus where the protein lands, is what the macro calculator sets. This page deliberately shows only what you burn.
What is a good TDEE for a woman?
There is no good or bad TDEE; it is a description, not a score. For women 35 to 60 it commonly lands between about 1,700 and 2,400 calories a day depending on weight, height and how active the week really is.
How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
The resting part is fairly good: Mifflin-St Jeor predicted measured resting metabolic rate within 10 percent more often than the other common equations in a 2005 review. The activity multiplier is the weak link, so treat the result as a starting point with roughly a 10 percent margin.
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR, or resting metabolic rate as this page calls it, is the energy you burn at complete rest. TDEE is that number multiplied by an activity factor. For most women TDEE is 1.2 to 1.7 times resting.
Does TDEE drop in menopause?
A little, and mostly through muscle loss and moving less, not through the equation changing. Holding muscle with protein and strength training keeps the number higher than letting it slide.
Where should I go next?
Coaches, dietitians and bloggers are welcome to link to this tool.
<a href="https://juliesalterfitness.com/tdee-calculator">Free TDEE calculator by Julie Salter Fitness</a>
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So what do I do with this number?
Knowing what you burn is the first half. A plan built around it, with protein set first and training that keeps the number up, is the second half.
You pick the pieces. The price moves with you. Zero pressure.
Sources
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence Analysis Library. Adult Weight Management: Determination of Resting Metabolic Rate. Recommends Mifflin-St Jeor using actual weight when indirect calorimetry is not available. Checked September 22, 2026.
- Frankenfield D, Roth-Yousey L, Compher C. Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults: a systematic review. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2005. Mifflin-St Jeor most often predicted measured RMR within 10 percent. Checked September 22, 2026.
- Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, et al. A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1990. The original equation. Checked September 22, 2026.
- Lovejoy JC, et al. Increased visceral fat and decreased energy expenditure during the menopausal transition. International Journal of Obesity, 2008. Checked September 22, 2026.
This page is general education, not medical advice, and not a personal plan. Coaching supports nutrition habits, strength training, planning, and accountability. It does not diagnose, prescribe, interpret your labs, or replace medical care.
Julie Salter Fitness
Do less. Eat more. Lose the weight. Helping busy women lose inches, eat the foods they love, and build results that actually last.