How many calories do you burn in a day? TDEE explained

2026-10-10 · Pensum

Every calorie target starts with one number: what you burn in a day. It is called TDEE, total daily energy expenditure.

Step 1: your resting burn

BMR is the calories you burn at complete rest. Pensum uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation: 10 × weight in kg + 6.25 × height in cm − 5 × age, then +5 for men or −161 for women.

A 30-year-old man, 80 kg and 180 cm: 800 + 1,125 − 150 + 5 = 1,780 kcal.

Step 2: your activity

Multiply BMR by an activity level: 1.2 for a desk job with no exercise, 1.375 light, 1.55 moderate, 1.725 very active, 1.9 for athletes. At 1.55 the same man burns 1,780 × 1.55 = about 2,759 kcal a day.

What to do with it

• Eat around that number to hold your weight.
• Eat below it to lose fat, above it to gain.
• Treat it as a starting point. Weigh yourself for two weeks and adjust by what actually happens.

Any equation is an estimate and individuals vary. The TDEE calculator does the sums for you, and the macro calculator turns the result into protein, carbs and fat. Terms like BMR and TDEE are in the glossary.