Dieses Tool auf Deutsch: Kalorienrechner
This TDEE calculator shows you in 30 seconds how much energy your body burns per day: your basal metabolic rate and your total daily energy expenditure, using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation. No sign-up, the math shown in full, and an honest error band instead of fake precision.
Know your body fat percentage? Add it for a tighter estimate
What your number means
TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure: the calorie intake at which your weight stays put. Eat below it consistently and you lose weight. Eat above it and you gain. Nearly every nutrition decision hangs on this one number, and most people have never calculated theirs.
The range under the big number matters more than the number itself. For roughly 8 out of 10 non-obese adults, the Mifflin-St Jeor equation lands within 10 percent of measured expenditure; for the rest it misses by more. Treat the result as a starting point, watch the scale for two weeks, then adjust in steps of 100 calories. That beats any app's fake precision.
How the math works
The calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, published in 1990 and the standard in clinical nutrition since:
Men: BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) - 5 x age + 5
Women: BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) - 5 x age - 161
Your BMR is then multiplied by an activity factor between 1.2 and 1.9. If you enter your body fat percentage, the tool switches to the Katch-McArdle formula, which works from lean body mass and tracks better for very muscular or very lean people. Imperial inputs are converted exactly (1 lb = 0.45359237 kg), never rounded first.
The macro tiles use fixed, disclosed rules: protein at 1.8 g per kg (the middle of the 1.6 to 2.2 g/kg range), fat at 30 percent of calories (the midpoint of the accepted 20 to 35 percent range), carbohydrates as the remainder. You will not find the Harris-Benedict equation here. It dates from 1919 and systematically overestimates modern adults by around 5 percent.
Reference values
| Person | BMR | Sedentary | Moderately active | Very active |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woman, 25, 5'5", 132 lb | 1,345 | 1,614 | 2,084 | 2,319 |
| Woman, 35, 5'6", 154 lb | 1,410 | 1,692 | 2,186 | 2,433 |
| Woman, 50, 5'5", 150 lb | 1,301 | 1,562 | 2,017 | 2,245 |
| Man, 25, 5'11", 165 lb | 1,756 | 2,107 | 2,721 | 3,028 |
| Man, 35, 6'0", 187 lb | 1,821 | 2,185 | 2,823 | 3,142 |
| Man, 50, 5'10", 198 lb | 1,764 | 2,117 | 2,735 | 3,044 |
All values in kcal per day, computed with exactly the formula this calculator runs. Rounding happens at the very end, so recomputing from the rounded BMR column can differ by 1 kcal.
Two quick examples
Sarah, 35, desk job, three workouts a week. At 5'6" and 154 lb her BMR is 1,410 kcal and her TDEE is 2,186 kcal. To lose about a pound a week she eats around 1,686 kcal a day. Doable without misery. Protein target: about 125 g.
Mike, 50, works construction, no gym. A physically demanding job without extra training fits the "Very active" tier here. At 5'10" and 198 lb his TDEE sits near 3,044 kcal. His problem is not his burn rate; it is the 3,500 kcal that arrive after dinner. The number makes that visible.
Three honest notes on calorie counting
First: your expenditure drops as you lose weight, so recalculate every 10 pounds. Second: US nutrition labels are legally allowed to be off by 20 percent, which is one more reason the range is more honest than the point estimate. Third: tracking for three weeks teaches you more about your eating than any book; after that, most people can stop counting daily.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories do I need a day?
Most adult women land between 1,800 and 2,400 kcal, most men between 2,200 and 3,000 kcal. Size, muscle mass and activity spread those numbers so wide that averages are close to useless. Run your own numbers instead.
What is the difference between BMR and TDEE?
BMR is what your body burns at complete rest, just to run organs, brain and body temperature. TDEE adds everything else: daily movement, digestion and exercise. Nutrition targets should always use TDEE.
How accurate is a TDEE calculator?
Within 10 percent for about 82 percent of non-obese adults, and about 70 percent of obese adults (Frankenfield 2005). Only lab methods like indirect calorimetry do meaningfully better. That is exactly why the result shows a range. The band is Frankenfield's Mifflin-St Jeor result; with body fat entered (Katch-McArdle) treat it as indicative.
How big should my calorie deficit be?
500 kcal below TDEE loses you about a pound of fat per week. Deficits beyond 1,000 kcal usually cost muscle and willpower. Slow wins.
Do I need to know my body fat percentage?
No. The standard formula works without it. If you do know it, the calculator automatically uses the more precise Katch-McArdle formula.
Why does every calculator show a different number?
Many sites still run the 1919 Harris-Benedict equation, others round silently or blend in their own factors. We print the formula so you can check every digit.
Sources
All sources retrieved August 23, 2026. Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST et al.: A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 51 (1990), 241 to 247. · Frankenfield D et al.: Comparison of predictive equations for resting metabolic rate. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 105 (2005), 775 to 789. · Morton RW et al.: Protein supplementation and resistance training. British Journal of Sports Medicine 52 (2018), 376 to 384. · Katch-McArdle formula: Katch FI, McArdle WD, Exercise Physiology. · Activity factors: standard PAL multipliers (FAO/WHO/UNU tradition). · Fat range: Institute of Medicine, Dietary Reference Intakes (2005).
Changelog
Version 1.0.0, August 23, 2026: first release. All sources retrieved August 23, 2026. Verification runs and source hashes live in the project ledger.
Published August 24, 2026 · Last updated August 24, 2026 · Wild Garden Editorial Team · Last verified August 24, 2026 · Tested against an independent reference implementation (8,400 test cases, 0 mismatches; all runs in the verification record). Our editorial standards · Spotted an error? redaktion@wildgarden.io
This tool is not medical advice. If you are dealing with disordered eating, support is available through the resources listed at nationaleatingdisorders.org, and in any crisis you can call or text 988.
More from the garden
All calculators live under Tools. A good companion: the Wheel of Life shows you in two minutes whether health is even the area that needs your attention right now, and the Net Worth Percentile does the same brutal honesty for your finances. And because recovery does half the work: the sleep calculator with a caffeine check shows you when to go to bed. And to turn the plan into a routine: the habit calculator shows how long that realistically takes. For the financial counterpart to the energy budget: the FIRE calculator turns your savings rate into years.
