TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is your BMR scaled up by an activity factor between 1.2 and 1.9 — an estimate of the calories you actually burn in a typical day, exercise and everyday movement included. It is the practical maintenance number: eat about this much and weight holds roughly steady; eat below it to lose, above it to gain.
Suppose you put the default values into TDEE Calculator:
Plug those into the formula TDEE = BMR · activity factor and the result is:
The default 1,750 kcal BMR times the moderate factor of 1.55 gives a TDEE of about 2,713 kcal per day. The same BMR at sedentary (1.2) would be only 2,100 kcal — the multiplier alone swings the answer by more than 600 kcal, so choosing the level honestly matters more than any other input on the page.
| Activity level | Factor |
|---|---|
| Sedentary (little or no exercise) | 1.2 |
| Light (1-3 days/week) | 1.375 |
| Moderate (3-5 days/week) | 1.55 |
| Hard (6-7 days/week) | 1.725 |
| Athlete (twice daily) | 1.9 |
Source: Harris-Benedict revised
TDEE is estimated with the activity-multiplier method used alongside the revised Harris-Benedict equations: resting metabolic rate times a factor from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (twice-a-day training). Enter your BMR — from the BMR calculator or a measured resting rate — and pick the level that matches a typical week. The method deliberately compresses all activity, from fidgeting to workouts, into one multiplier, so it cannot distinguish an office worker who lifts three evenings a week from a mail carrier who never exercises. It also passes through any error in the BMR you enter, multiplied by the factor.
References: Harris-Benedict revised.
Last reviewed July 2, 2026 · Editorial policy