Pick the activity factor honestly
NEAT — the movement you do outside the gym — separates a 1.3 from a 1.6 far more than four workouts a week does. A warehouse worker who never exercises often burns more than an office worker who lifts three times weekly.
- • 1.2: desk job, under 5,000 steps, no training.
- • 1.375–1.55: 3–5 training sessions plus 7,000–10,000 steps.
- • 1.725+: physical job or two-a-day training.
Validate against the scale
Treat the calculated TDEE as a hypothesis. Track intake and weight for 14 days; if weight is flat, your true maintenance is what you ate. Adjust from measured reality rather than re-running formulas.
FAQ
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
Start about 500 kcal below TDEE, which trends toward roughly one pound per week. Deficits beyond 25% of maintenance increase muscle loss and adherence failure.
Why is my TDEE different on other calculators?
Different sites use different base equations (Mifflin vs Harris-Benedict vs Katch-McArdle) and different activity tiers. Differences of 100–250 kcal are normal.
Does TDEE include exercise?
Yes. The activity multiplier folds in exercise, daily movement, and digestion, so you should not add workout calories on top.
How this calculator is built
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Written by Sam Doshi and the RevenueLab editorial team. We don't sell the data feeds this tool is built on.
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Benchmarks come from public AdSense / Stripe / IRS disclosures and reader-submitted data — never third-party "$X per view" claims. Full methodology.
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Reviewed on a rolling quarterly cycle. Dated reviews are published on the methodology record for each calculator.
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See our editorial policy and disclaimer. Results are estimates, not advice.