Estimate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure — the calories you burn in a day including activity — so you know how much to eat to maintain, lose, or gain weight.
Nutrition and exercise are the primary tools we have for maintaining and improving our health. In this scenario, weight has been under discussion for a long time, with plenty of studies aiming to develop the simplest and most efficient measurements. The Basal Metabolic Rate is one of them; the Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is another. Regardless of whether your goal is to lose, maintain, or gain weight, understanding TDEE is a very good starting point. Of course, we are all different, and a personalized approach is always best, but knowing how to calculate TDEE and apply the result to your everyday life may help. Here is why.
TDEE represents the total amount of energy a human uses in a day. Of course, it’s impossible to use the same amount of energy every day, so consider it an estimate of the energy you will most likely use on a regular day. Even so, TDEE helps you determine how much you should eat to reach your weight goal.
TDEE encompasses the BMR - how much energy your body needs to survive at rest, the amount of energy you use to digest food, and the amount of energy you need for activities (i.e., all activities, from cognition to walking to hitting the gym). It’s measured in calories.
The main function of TDEE is to help you manage your weight. It’s simple. Knowing your TDEE can help you make more informed decisions about your diet, reduce uncertainty, and boost your confidence in your weight management efforts.
Once you know your TDEE, you can plan your meals to meet your goal. The number of calories isn’t the only factor that counts. You should also consider where you get your calories from, such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
On the other hand, TDEE can explain where you’re getting it totally wrong. For instance, unknowingly eating more calories than you use may lead to obesity and other metabolic illnesses. On the contrary, eating fewer calories than you expend may lead to hormonal imbalance, slower recovery, and low fitness performance.
In conclusion, you don’t have to track your calorie intake and check TDEE every day, but understanding and occasionally calculating TDEE can reassure you that your efforts are aligned with your goals, making your journey feel more manageable and less stressful.
TDEE formulas consider activity for obvious reasons. How active you are directly influences how many calories your body uses. Each level of activity is assigned a factor that increases your daily energy needs (from BMR to TDEE) to account for your activity.
But evaluating your level of activity is not easy, especially if you aren’t exactly an athlete but not the most sedentary person either. In most TDEE calculators, you will find activity categorized as follows:
The TDEE calculation starts with computing the BMR based on age, gender, height, and weight. There are three formulas for calculating BMR: the Mifflin-St. Jeor Equation, the Harris-Benedict Equation, and the Katch-McArdle Formula. We’ve described them all here: BMR Calculator
Once you have the BMR, all you have to do to determine TDEE is apply the following formula:
where the activity factor is 1.2, 1.375, 1.55, 1.725, or 1.9 based on your level of activity (see previous section).
Use your TDEE to analyze your weight and nutrition habits. Take a couple of weeks to track your weight and spot patterns, such as when you gain or lose weight. During the same weeks, keep an eye on your meals and try to calculate how many calories you eat. Calculate TDEE and make informed decisions.
For example, you can use our calculator to break down calorie intake into proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, and adjust your diet accordingly. You may decide to eat more protein to gain muscle mass or sustain your intense training. Or you may decide to eat less fat and increase the intake of protein and healthy carbohydrates to equal your TDEE. TDEE can help you decide how much and what to eat for fat loss, muscle gain, and other weight and health-related goals.
Since you're interested about your health and nutrition, you will like our selection of 50 healthy foods to include in your daily routine.
How many calories do you need?
For a maintenance regime (i.e., not gaining or losing weight), you should eat the number of calories indicated by your TDEE. Keep in mind that TDEE depends on your age, gender, height, weight, and activity level, and recalculate when something changes.
How many calories should I eat to lose weight?
If you are aiming for a calorie deficit, you should eat slightly fewer calories than your TDEE, but never fewer than your BMR. Keep in mind that your body needs energy to sustain any activity, not just training and exercising, but also walking, doing housework, digesting food, and cognition. Experts suggest that adult women shouldn’t eat fewer than 1,200 calories per day and adult men shouldn’t eat fewer than 1,500 calories per day.
How accurate is this calculator?
TDEE is considered to be within 10% of the actual calorie need. Ensure you take your measurements correctly and use the formula for imperial or metric units as measured. Also, accurately evaluate your activity level. Tracking how many steps you take daily or how many times you actually go to the gym over a month or so may help you gather correct data.
Can you increase your TDEE?
TDEE is directly proportional to your level of activity; hence, the easiest way to increase your TDEE is to increase your level of activity. Moving from a sedentary lifestyle to a light exercise level increases your TDEE by a factor of 1.15. For example, if your TDEE is 1,600 calories, the change in activity will take you to 1,840 calories.
A less direct way of increasing your TDEE is to change the balance between protein, carbohydrates, and fat intake. Eating protein burns more energy because the body uses more of it for digestion. It’s called the Thermic Effect of Food. So, even if you eat the same number of calories, your body will burn more of them, allowing you to increase your intake slightly. For instance, when you eat 100 calories from protein, the body uses 30 calories to digest the 100. When you eat 100 calories from carbohydrates, the body uses 10-15 calories to digest the 100.
Related: BMI Calculator
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