Pradnya Ganorkar 
If you have ever wondered how many calories you should eat per day, the answer starts with understanding your TDEE — your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. This single number is the foundation of every effective weight management strategy, and knowing it removes the guesswork from dieting entirely.
What Is TDEE?
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It is the total number of calories your body burns in a single day — including everything from keeping your heart beating to walking to the kitchen to exercising at the gym. It represents your complete daily energy requirement.
When you eat exactly the number of calories equal to your TDEE, your weight stays the same. When you eat less, you lose weight. When you eat more, you gain weight. It is a simple equation that governs all weight change regardless of which diet you follow.
What Makes Up Your TDEE?
Your TDEE is made up of four distinct components that together account for every calorie your body burns in a day.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): this is the largest component, accounting for 60 to 75 percent of your total daily calorie burn. Your BMR is the number of calories your body needs just to stay alive — to breathe, pump blood, regulate temperature, and keep every cell functioning — while at complete rest. Even if you did nothing but lie in bed all day, your body would still burn your BMR in calories.
Thermic Effect of Activity (TEA): this is the calories you burn through intentional exercise — walking, running, gym workouts, yoga, or any deliberate physical activity. For most people, this accounts for 15 to 30 percent of TDEE.
Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): this is the calories burned through all the movement you do that is not deliberate exercise — walking around the house, gesturing while talking, taking the stairs, household chores, and fidgeting. NEAT is surprisingly significant and can vary by up to 2,000 calories per day between individuals.
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): your body burns calories to digest, absorb, and process the food you eat. This accounts for approximately 10 percent of total calorie intake and is highest for protein-rich foods.
How to Calculate Your TDEE
The most accurate way to estimate TDEE is to first calculate your BMR using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation — the gold standard formula used by nutritionists and the method used by Nutrimate.
The Mifflin-St Jeor Equation
For men: BMR = (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) – (5 x age in years) + 5
For women: BMR = (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) – (5 x age in years) – 161
Once you have your BMR, multiply it by an activity multiplier to get your TDEE:
Sedentary (desk job, little or no exercise): BMR x 1.2
Lightly active (light exercise 1 to 3 days per week): BMR x 1.375
Moderately active (moderate exercise 3 to 5 days per week): BMR x 1.55
Very active (hard exercise 6 to 7 days per week): BMR x 1.725
Example: A 30-year-old Indian woman, 160cm tall, weighing 65kg, with a lightly active lifestyle. BMR = (10×65) + (6.25×160) – (5×30) – 161 = 1,389 calories. TDEE = 1,389 x 1.375 = approximately 1,910 calories per day.
How to Use Your TDEE for Weight Loss
Once you know your TDEE, calculating your weight loss calorie target is straightforward. A deficit of 500 calories per day below your TDEE will result in approximately half a kilogram of fat loss per week. A deficit of 250 calories per day will result in approximately a quarter kilogram per week — slower but more sustainable and easier to maintain.
For the example above, a weight loss target of 1,410 calories per day (TDEE of 1,910 minus 500) would produce steady, sustainable fat loss of approximately 2 kilograms per month.
Why Your TDEE Changes Over Time
Your TDEE is not a fixed number for life. It changes as your weight changes — a lighter body burns fewer calories at rest than a heavier one. This is why weight loss often slows down after the first month. As you lose weight, your BMR decreases, and your calorie target needs to be recalculated periodically.
Nutrimate automatically recalculates your TDEE when you update your weight in the app, ensuring your calorie targets always reflect your current body and activity level.
TDEE vs BMI — What Is the Difference?
TDEE and BMI measure completely different things. BMI (Body Mass Index) is a ratio of your weight to your height squared, used as a rough indicator of whether your weight is in a healthy range. TDEE is the number of calories you need to consume each day to maintain your current weight.
Both numbers are useful but for different purposes. BMI helps you understand where your weight sits relative to health guidelines. TDEE tells you exactly how much to eat. For managing your weight effectively, TDEE is the more actionable number.
Nutrimate calculates both your TDEE and your BMI from your profile and uses them together to set your personalised daily calorie target.