Training Guides / Nutrition basics
TDEE and calories explained
Your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is the number of calories you burn in a day. Learn what makes it up, how to estimate it and how to use it to lose, maintain or gain weight.
A calorie (strictly a kilocalorie on food labels) is a unit of energy. Your body uses energy every minute to keep you alive and moving. Over weeks, if you eat more energy than you use, you tend to gain weight; if you eat less, you tend to lose weight. This is called energy balance, and TDEE is the "energy out" side of it.
General nutrition education, not personal dietary or medical advice. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant, or have a history of disordered eating, work with a doctor or registered dietitian.
What makes up TDEE
| Component | What it is | Rough share of TDEE |
|---|---|---|
| BMR (basal metabolic rate) | Energy to keep you alive at rest | Largest share, often about 60 to 70 percent |
| TEF (thermic effect of food) | Energy used to digest food | About 10 percent |
| EAT (exercise activity) | Planned workouts | Varies, often 5 to 10 percent |
| NEAT (non-exercise activity) | Walking, standing, fidgeting, chores | Highly variable, can differ by hundreds of calories |
Notice how important NEAT is. A person with an active job may burn far more than someone who trains hard for an hour but sits the rest of the day.
Estimating your TDEE
A widely used formula for BMR is the Mifflin-St Jeor equation (weight in kg, height in cm, age in years):
- Men: BMR = 10 x weight + 6.25 x height - 5 x age + 5
- Women: BMR = 10 x weight + 6.25 x height - 5 x age - 161
Multiply BMR by an activity factor:
| Activity level | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Sedentary (desk job, little exercise) | 1.2 |
| Lightly active (exercise 1 to 3 days a week) | 1.375 |
| Moderately active (3 to 5 days a week) | 1.55 |
| Very active (6 to 7 days a week) | 1.725 |
| Extremely active (physical job plus training) | 1.9 |
Example: a 30-year-old man, 80 kg, 180 cm. BMR = 800 + 1,125 - 150 + 5 = 1,780 kcal. Training four days a week (1.55) gives an estimated TDEE of about 2,760 kcal.
Treat the number as a starting point
Formulas can be off by a few hundred calories either way. The real test is your scale weight over time:
- Eat at your estimated TDEE for two to three weeks and weigh yourself several mornings a week.
- Average each week's weigh-ins.
- If the weekly average is stable, you have found your maintenance intake. If it is rising or falling, adjust by 100 to 200 kcal a day and recheck.
Calories in common macronutrients
| Macronutrient | Calories per gram |
|---|---|
| Protein | 4 |
| Carbohydrate | 4 |
| Fat | 9 |
| Alcohol | 7 |
Using TDEE for your goal
- Fat loss: eat roughly 300 to 500 kcal below TDEE for a steady rate.
- Maintenance: eat at TDEE and focus on training quality.
- Muscle gain: eat roughly 200 to 300 kcal above TDEE to limit fat gain.
Read cutting and bulking for details, and make sure protein is covered whatever your goal.
Calorie tracking apps are useful for a few weeks to learn portion sizes, even if you do not track forever.
