TDEE & Weightloss
- Lianne Gong
- May 21, 2015
- 2 min read
* Reference my BMR blog to find out what BMR is.
What is TDEE? TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It is used to express how many calories your body burns in a day, including your time at rest and while active.
How to calculate TDEE:
1) Calculate your BMR:
Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in lb) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)
Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in lb) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years)
Example: I am 32 years old, 5’3.5”, 114lbs
BMR = 655 + (4.35 x 114) + (4.7 x 63.5) – (4.7 x 32)
BMR = 1298.95 calories
The minimum amount of calories I should be eating on a daily basis is about 1299.
2) Multiply your BMR by the following activity level:
TDEE = BMR x Activity Level
Sedentary = Little to no exercise = 1.2
Lightly active = Light exercise 1-2 days/week = 1.375
Moderately active = Moderate exercise 3-5 days/week = 1.55
Very active = Heavy exercise 6-7 days/week = 1.725
Extremely active = Very heavy exercise or physical job = 1.9
Example: My BMR = 1299, Activity level = Moderately active
TDEE = BMR x Activity Level
TDEE = 1299 x 1.55
TDEE = 2013.45
The number of calories my body burns at rest AND while active is about 2013 calories.
Why does TDEE matter?
In a perfect world, if you calculated your activity level / TDEE correctly, and met your TDEE calories, you would maintain your current body weight… assuming you have not already put your body in metabolic distress.
If you are stuck in a metabolic rut and eating far below your TDEE (even worse, far below your BMR), you need to fix your metabolism first. As I mentioned in my BMR article, if your metabolism is lacking and you ingest a smorgasbord every night in an attempt to speed it up, your body will pack on that fat very quickly.
Stay tuned for next blog on how to undo your lagging metabolism.
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