TDEE & Macro Calculator

What is TDEE?

Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the total number of calories your body burns in a 24-hour period. It consists of four components:

• BMR (60-70%) — Basal Metabolic Rate. Calories burned at rest just to keep you alive (breathing, circulation, cell production).
• TEF (8-15%) — Thermic Effect of Food. Energy used to digest, absorb, and process food. Protein has the highest thermic effect.
• NEAT (15-30%) — Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. Calories burned through daily movement that isn't structured exercise (walking, fidgeting, standing).
• EAT (5-10%) — Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. Calories burned during planned workouts.

Which Formula Should You Use?

This calculator uses three validated BMR formulas and recommends the most appropriate one based on your inputs:

• Mifflin-St Jeor (1990) — The gold standard for most people. A 2005 meta-analysis by Frankenfield et al. found it to be the most accurate predictor of BMR in the general population.
• Katch-McArdle (1996) — Uses lean body mass instead of total weight. More accurate for athletes and people who know their body fat percentage.
• Harris-Benedict (Revised 1984) — The classic formula. Still widely used but tends to overestimate slightly compared to Mifflin-St Jeor.

Why Our Activity Level Is Different

Most TDEE calculators use a single dropdown with vague options like “Moderate Exercise (3-5 days/week).” But someone who lifts 4 days a week and walks 12,000 steps has very different energy needs than someone who lifts 4 days and sits at a desk all day.

Our calculator uses four specific inputs — training days, cardio days, daily steps, and job type — to build a more accurate activity multiplier. This approach is based on research from exercise scientists like Lyle McDonald and Eric Helms.

Evidence-Based Macros

Instead of using arbitrary percentage splits (like 40/30/30), our macro calculator sets protein and fat based on your body weight, then fills the remaining calories with carbohydrates:

• Protein: 0.8-1g per pound of bodyweight. Higher when cutting to preserve lean mass (Morton et al., 2018).
• Fat: 0.3-0.4g per pound of bodyweight. Essential for hormone production and nutrient absorption.
• Carbohydrates: Remaining calories. Carbs fuel training performance and recovery.

Important Limitations

All TDEE calculators provide estimates, not exact measurements. Your actual TDEE depends on genetics, metabolic adaptation, sleep quality, stress, and many other factors. Use these numbers as a starting point, track your weight and intake for 2-3 weeks, then adjust based on real-world results.

For the most accurate tracking, use an app like Ellim that monitors your actual food intake and weight trends, adapting your targets over time rather than relying on a single calculation.