Definition
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total number of calories your body burns over 24 hours. It accounts for every source of energy use: basal metabolism, physical activity, the thermic effect of food, and NEAT. Knowing your TDEE is essential for any weight-management goal.
Detailed explanation
The components of TDEE
Your total daily energy expenditure breaks down into four main pieces:
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Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): 60 to 70% of TDEE. The minimum energy needed to keep your organs running at rest (heart, brain, lungs, kidneys).
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Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): roughly 10% of TDEE. The energy used to digest and absorb the food you eat. Protein takes more energy to digest than carbs or fat.
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Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT): varies a lot between people, from 5 to 30% of TDEE. This covers your workouts, training sessions, and any planned physical activity.
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NEAT: the energy you spend on all your non-exercise activities (walking, cooking, fidgeting, standing). It's often underestimated, but it can account for a 200 to 900 kcal difference per day between a sedentary person and an active one.
How to calculate your TDEE
The most common method uses the Mifflin-St Jeor formula to estimate basal metabolism, then applies a physical activity coefficient (PAL):
- Sedentary (desk job, little movement): BMR × 1.2
- Lightly active (1 to 3 sessions/week): BMR × 1.375
- Moderately active (3 to 5 sessions/week): BMR × 1.55
- Very active (6 to 7 sessions/week): BMR × 1.725
- Extremely active (athlete, physical job): BMR × 1.9
These coefficients give you a starting estimate. Your real TDEE shifts day to day depending on your activity level, stress, sleep quality, and other factors.
TDEE and weight goals
Once you have your TDEE estimate, the logic is simple: eat below your TDEE to lose weight, at your TDEE to maintain, above it to gain. A 300 to 500 kcal deficit below your TDEE is the recommended range for steady, sustainable fat loss.
In practice
Use the calorie calculator to get a quick TDEE estimate. Then track your food for 2 to 3 weeks and watch how your weight moves. If you neither gain nor lose, you've found your real TDEE. If you lose weight, you're in a deficit; if you gain, you're in a surplus.
This empirical method is more reliable than any formula because it accounts for your unique metabolic reality. Adjust your intake in 100 to 200 kcal steps to land on the goal you want.
Useful links
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