TDEE and exercise categories

kmillar1224

Hi everyone,

I'm just wondering if you could help me answer a question about TDEE and how to categorize my exercise. On every site that I've been on it lists a number of options, for example:
1.little to no exercise/desk job
2. 3 times a week
3. 5 times a week/intensive,
4. extremely active job, intense workouts, etc.

So, How would I classify myself if...

A. I have a desk job and sit on my *kitten* all day, but...
B. work out 6 times a week at a high intensity for approximately an hour.

I'm trying to figure out how many calories I am truly supposed to eat, but I'm having a problem determining where I fall under these types of catagories. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

cbart2818

If you are hitting the 6 days week, every week, I would be using either number 3 or 4. You just want to make sure you are eating enough to fuel you through the intense workouts. When I was doing insanity, I had to hit around 2000 or more a day, depending on how many cals I burned just to keep my net high. I was always starving if it dropped below 1700.

kmillar1224

Thanks girlie,

I was just a little worried since there is a big difference in calories between the categories, so I don't wanna mess this up :0)

JBurger2066

I would like some more info on this as well. I sit at a desk all day, but workout pretty intensely 5 to 6 days a week (700-1600 calorie burns per workout).

Captain_Tightpants

Simple answer is to choose the "sedentary" setting for your baseline, then buy a decent HRM and add the cals you burn during workouts to your daily allowance.

FYI a good starting point for sedentary TDEE is BMR x 1.2, it differs from person to person so you'll probably spend a few months nailing it down though. And obviously it's a shifting target too. As you change, it will change too. Don't get too hung up on numbers, just keep ballparking it and adjust what you eat up or down according to your progress or lack thereof.

secretlobster

Simple answer is to choose the "sedentary" setting for your baseline, then buy a decent HRM and add the cals you burn during workouts to your daily allowance.

FYI a good starting point for sedentary TDEE is BMR x 1.2, it differs from person to person so you'll probably spend a few months nailing it down though. And obviously it's a shifting target too. As you change, it will change too. Don't get too hung up on numbers, just keep ballparking it and adjust what you eat up or down according to your progress or lack thereof.

This is what I do

Also, if you have a desk job, even if you exercise for an hour a day you're still in category 3 at best. Remember that TDEE is mostly about how you spend the majority of your day. In terms of general activity level, one hour of intense exercise a day doesn't change the fact that you are largely sedentary. I would honestly suggest looking at how many calories you burn a day through exercise, adding that number to your BMR, and using that as a calorie goal. I'd rather do this than over or underestimate my TDEE based on loose activity levels.