Calculating TDEE based on daily activity

Barneystinson

So, seeing all the "I don't know how much to eat" posts everyday, I found a link in another thread to a calculator that's extremely helpful in determining both BMR and TDEE based on weight and your specific daily activities.

http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

BMR - basal metabolic rate - the amount of calories your body requires to perform basic functions - the number of calories you'd burn staying in bed all day.

TDEE - total daily energy expenditure - the amount of calories you require to perform daily activities (keep in mind this is NOT only referring to a planned workout, but everything else you do in a day - sleep, sit, stand, walk, clean, argue on forums, what have you...)

The results from the calculator will give you both numbers.

Eat at your TDEE - maintain weight
Eat at an amount below your TDEE but higher than your BMR (calorie deficit - typ. 500 calories) - lose weight

If you're a very active person, you'll have a higher TDEE. It will vary based on daily activity, but generally you can calculate an appropriate daily intake based on your weight loss goals. The calculator is extremely helpful for those that perform a lot of light activity - standing / light walking work - this work adds up!

For example:

My BMR - 1392
My TDEE (strength day) - 2360
My TDEE (HIIT day) - 2526
My TDEE (Rest day) - 2155

So, on a non-rest day, I should be eating 1800-2000 calories. On a rest day, 1600-1700 calories.

I've been eating an average of 1800 calories / day prior to calculating this, so it confirms I'm on track for my goals.

Try it out!

chasekilgannon

Nice source! Definitely something I'm bookmarking for when I plateau, or when I've lost a significant amount of weight that I'll need to recalculate my intake.

Doubt it'll stop the other threads though. :P

Barneystinson

Nice source! Definitely something I'm bookmarking for when I plateau, or when I've lost a significant amount of weight that I'll need to recalculate my intake.

Doubt it'll stop the other threads though. :P

Yeah, they'll keep coming

Yori1

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Papillon22

This is interesting. I'm gonna check it out.
Btw, arguing on forums burns calories? how many? I need to start counting them in! :laugh:

LickyNees

great tks!

Yori1

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Snubbleup

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trysha1231

OK, so if I figured this out right:
BMR 1419
TDEE 2584 (this figure includes my work out calories expended)
To lose weight I would eat under my TDEE, yet never below my BMR?

strawberrie_milk

Thanks for the link! Really awesome

lin7604

wow i got such high numbers.. i don't see how i can loose weight with those numbers?

Unknown

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AnaVerasGettingFit

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courtneybot

bump!

tina219

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billtonkin

The thing about TDEE is it's not 100% accurate. Everyone is different and a lot of people over estimate their activity factor. It's a good thing, but you will more than likely need to adjust your calories up or down 100-300 calories to find your perfect maintenance.

allynady

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billtonkin

how can it be right, I got 2900kcal TEE and 2138BMR with adding no exercise 5'10 210 lbs...I've been eating 1500 cals and I'm fully satisfied with that amount over a day

I'd say that as a 20 year old male, only eating 1500 cals at that height and weight, you are probably losing a lot of muscle weight as well as fat.

BetterWithAge

Saving to read later

twoscimitars

Wow. It tells me my TDEE is 3500 cals, and my BMR is 1900. And the only activity I added was 2 hours of light exercise and 1 hour of standing. (8 hours of sleep). I would have to say that's WAY high. If I ate 2500 cals a day, I would not be losing weight.

Right now I'm eating 1600 cals a day, exercising (walking or elliptical) approximately 4 -5 times per week, and losing steadily - about 10 pounds a month.

Helloitsdan

I believe this is one of the most important numbers for any type of diet.
It certainly takes the stress out of seeing red!

Linda6580

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ingfit

This seems pretty acurate. I'm female, 47, 5'7", and 171 lbs

It says my BMR: 1506

My TDEE: 2508 Rest days (8 hrs sleep, 6 hrs standing, 10 hrs sitting)

My TDEE: 3424 Workout days (30 mins HIIT, 30 mins weights, 8 hrs sleep, 6 hrs standing, 9 hours sitting)

I ususally eat around 1800 cals every day and have a spike day (3000+ cals) once a week. If I didn't have the spike day, I should probably eat more on my workout days. If anything, I could probably up it to 2000 and still lose weight. When I plateau I will try that.

smilebhappy

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Tiggermummy

The problem I'm finding is getting the numbers to balance.
I have hit the dreaded plataeu and I am struggling to get off it, and I am almost at the point of giving up.
I've lost/gained the same 5lbs for the last six months. At first I put it down to the sudden death of my mum but its been a while.
I got a fitbit ultra and discovered even allowing for a 5-10% error margin I am a lot more active than I gave myself credit for, as my work is so varied on a day to day basis I had always put myself down as sendantary, and then added in exercise - I've power walked a half marathon and do an almost weekly timed 5K, plus I do a short but fast cycle to and from work to collect my child every day.
I had assumed that as I had over 80lbs to loose when I started that it would be resonable to set my calorie goal at 1200+ exercise cals. I didn't know about BMR back then.
So having done the research of BMR - I'm 5' 4" 190lb and have a body fat of 37% the averages over three different sites gave me a BMR of 1549. Using that with an activity level of 1.55 gave me an average across the three sites of
TDEE 2350

so I need to eat close to 2350 +/- 100-300 cals for maintence. I worked on the 15% cut as a maximum from TDEE to get net cals of 1997 per day. But having been on that for 4 weeks the scale still isn't shifting.
I have dropped my cals down to 1660 as I dropped my activity level by one.
my fitbit is giving me an average TDEE of 2716 the only additional exercise I add is the cycling as that I know the fitbit is not accurate on, but i am at a loss as to what to do, I have numbers and calculations coming out of my ears and I don't know what to go with.
I know if you look at my diary my food choices are not the best in the world, but I want to get the calories right first and then I can look at changing more of the quality of the food I eat, as it isn't just me I have a family to think about and we don't get home
until 6.30pm so we have 30 minutes to feed the children, do homework etc before they need to be in bed. it will start getting easier to manage as daughter get older and can stay up longer, but as we are up for school between 6-6.30am its a very long day for a 5 year old.

Thanks for any feedback - espeically if I have got my maths wrong somewhere it isn't my strogest subject!!

TiffaniBarrett

great site :-) xx

Sunbeam0904

I'm wondering, has anyone used the weight loss calculator tool on that site using their TDEE and intake to estimate how much they'll lose in a month? And if so has it been accurate?

http://www.health-calc.com/diet/weight-loss-calculator

momof2winsplus

I had been looking for this site for weeks!

wowens1

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