tools
TDEE calculator
Total daily energy expenditure — roughly what you burn on a normal day — from your Mifflin–St Jeor BMR and how active you are.
Roughly what you burn on a day like this. Eat around it to hold weight; under it to lose.
How TDEE is calculated
Two steps. First, your resting burn (BMR) from Mifflin–St Jeor. Then a multiplier for everything else you do:
- Sedentary — desk job, little exercise: × 1.2
- Light — exercise 1–3 days a week: × 1.375
- Moderate — exercise 3–5 days a week: × 1.55
- Active — exercise 6–7 days a week: × 1.725
- Very active — hard training or a physical job: × 1.9
What the number means for you
TDEE is your maintenance line. Eat around it and weight holds. Eat under it and you lose; over it and you gain. It is not fixed — it drifts down as you lose weight and moves with how much you walk, so treat it as a starting estimate and let real results correct it.
Track it without the maths
Elo sets this up during onboarding, then recalculates it from your own logged activity and weight trend — so the target keeps up with you instead of going stale.
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What is TDEE?
Total daily energy expenditure: every calorie you burn in a day — resting metabolism, digesting food, moving around, and exercise. Eat about this much to hold your weight.
How is TDEE calculated?
This tool takes your BMR from the Mifflin–St Jeor equation and multiplies it by an activity factor from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (very active). It's an estimate, not a measurement.
Which activity level should I pick?
Be honest and lean low. Most people overestimate. A desk job with a couple of gym sessions is usually 'light' (1.375), not 'moderate'.
My tracker gives a different number — which is right?
Neither exactly. Formulas and wearables both estimate. Pick one, eat to it for two to three weeks, and adjust based on what the scale trend and your energy actually do.
Estimates only, for general wellness. Not medical advice — see the medical disclaimer.