TDEE Calculator to Define and Reach Your Weight Goal

TDEE Calculator to Define and Reach Your Weight Goal - When you are trying to lose weight or gain weight you need to know your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). This TDEE Calculator will help you define your plan to reach your weight goals.

When you are trying to lose weight or gain weight you need to know your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). This TDEE Calculator will help you define your plan to reach your weight goals.

Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is the number of calories your body burns every day. This calculator uses the Mifflin and St Jeor Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) Formula multiplied by your activity level.

TDEE Calculator

Formulas Used To Calculate Your TDEE

The Harris–Benedict equations revised by Mifflin and St Jeor in 1990 (1).
Sex Calculation
Men BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) – (5 × age in years) + 5
Women BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) – (5 × age in years) – 161
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is BMR multiplied by Physical Activity Level (PAL) (2).
Lifestyle Example PAL Calculation
Sedentary Office worker getting little or no exercise 1.53 BMR x 1.45
Light Activity Office worker getting little or no exercise 1.53 BMR x 1.55
Active or Moderately Active Construction worker or person running one hour daily 1.76 BMR x 1.75
Vigorously Active Agricultural worker (non mechanized) or person swimming two hours daily 2.25 BMR x 2.00
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) - Explained - Part 1

Understanding Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure

Your TDEE is made up of three parts your BMR, Dietary Induced Thermogenesis (DIT), and your Physical Activity Level (PAL). Your BMR is the amount of energy in Kilocalories that your body uses while at rest. This is the energy you use to control your body temperature, pump your heart, breath, think, and stay alive. This TDEE formula calculates TDEE using a multiplication factor for the PAL. Understandably, your PAL can range from very low for a sedentary to very high for an Olympic swimmer. Unfortunately, in our culture, most of us have very low or sedentary activity levels. For calculating your TDEE it is important that you don’t lie to yourself, it will only impact your results. If you work inside or at a desk you likely have sedentary or low-activity PAL.

Calculating Your Dietary-Induced Thermogenesis

DIT is also known as the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) or Specific Dynamic Action (SDA) is the amount of energy used above your BMR due to your body processing and storing food. Because every food has a different amount of energy to break down, digest, and store, calculating DIT becomes very complicated. Although you can better estimate your DIT by using one helpful piece of information. Protein requires more than double the amount of energy of Carbohydrates and Fat for your body to use.

Examples of DIT for Protein, Carbs, and Fat (3,4)

The amount of energy it takes your body to extract the fuel out of food is different for all foods. However, the energy required to digest and use carbs, fats, and proteins falls into some easy-to-understand ranges.

  • 5-15% for Carbs and Fat
  • 20-35% for Protein
Source Weight Calories DIT Calories Net Calories
Carbs 10g 40 2-6 38-34
Fat 10g 90 5-14 95-86
Protein 10g 40 8-14 32-26

How to Use Your TDEE to Lose Weight

You must have a caloric deficit to lose weight.

First, you must determine how quickly you want to lose weight. Typically a healthy goal is 1 pound a week, no more than 2 pounds a week. The amount of calories in 1lb of fat is 3,500. Therefore the caloric deficit you need to shed 1lb a week is 500 calories a day. Likewise 2lbs a week is 1,000 calories a day. Because most people have a TDEE between 1,500 and 2,500 calories a day the most you could theoretically lose is 3-5 lbs of fat a week, but this is normally not true.

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) - Applying the Rule - Part 2

What You Stop Eating All Together

In order to lose 3-5lbs a week, you would need to not eat anything, this is called fasting. Despite fasting having a lot of health benefits, it is not a good long-term weight loss plan. Although fasting for a few days can be a great way to kick off a diet, it will reset your digestive system and make it easier to say no to food during your diet. If you try to fast for your entire diet, your body will change through fasting. Your body is remarkable and when you stop eating your body will activate different genes to help you stay alive, this is called epigenetics.

Epigentics and Rebound Weight Gain

When you shock your body to use less energy through fasting you activate genes that lower your BMR and TDEE. Consequently, your body will use fewer calories every day, which is great for your body to help you stay alive. Unfortunately, this change is not good for helping you lose weight. Ultimately, this change is what causes most people to gain more weight back after their diet is done. Because your body changes to use fewer calories every day, when you come off your diet you will gain weight more quickly. Especially, if your body thinks it should store this energy.

Use Epigenetics to Your Advantage

If you want to lose weight on a Keto diet then you are on a diet that needs epigenetics to work for you. The keto diet is based on the assumption that you can change your body to burn fat and not protein (your muscles) or carbs. Many people fail on a Keto diet because they eat too much protein and they start to break down their muscles for energy instead of their fat. On a keto diet, you must get the genes that burn fat for energy to activate and this is epigenetics working for you.

How to Use Your TDEE to Gain Weight

You must have a daily caloric surplus to gain weight.

People who are trying to lose weight likely can’t understand people who feel they are too skinny. Nevertheless, many people want to gain weight, especially muscle if they are bulking up. Healthy weight gain can be just as challenging and take even more work than losing weight. You can lose most of your weight in the kitchen, but you must gain weight in both the kitchen and the gym. Here are some good rules to gain muscle. The three most important things about gaining muscles are:

  1. Breakdown Your Muscles Through Resistance Training.
  2. Rest Your Muscles Long That They Fully Recover (this is where they grow).
  3. Eat Enough Protein Your Body Can Build New Muscle Tissue.

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