How to find your TDEE

molzeppa

What's the best way to find your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. I know this site calculates that for you based on your age, weight, height and activity level, but what other methods?

I wore my Polar HRM for 24 hours and it racked up 1900 calories. Think that does it?

What other methods have people used?

Molly

Hendrix7

this was pretty accurate for me

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

^^ BMR

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

^^ TDEE

or if you want the complicated version

MEN: BMR = 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) — (6.8 x age)

WOMEN: BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.7 x height in cm) — (4.7 x age)

Let's take, for example, a 29-year-old man, 5'9" (175 cm) and 207 pounds (94 kg):

BMR = 66 + (13.7 x 94) + (1.7 x 175) — (6.8 x 29)

BMR = 66 + 1287 + 297 — 197

BMR = 1453 calories

This man would burn 1453 calories in a 24-hour period, while doing absolutely nothing.

Depending on your daily activity, your actual Daily Energy Expenditure (DEE), or the amount of calories you burn in a day, will vary. You can estimate this amount by multiplying your BMR by an "activity" factor.

1.0 = sedentary (do nothing all day but eat potato chips and watch TV)

1.2 = very light activity (desk job, no training, some walking)

1.4 = light activity (no training, job might require some light physical labor)

1.6 = moderate activity (most of us: a physically undemanding job, but training on a regular basis)

1.8 = high activity (daily training plus a somewhat physically active job or lifestyle)

2.0 = very high activity (twice-a-day training, sports + training. or training + a very demanding job)

So in our example, if our 1453-calorie subject is moderately active, his DEE would be around 2324 calories per day (1453 x 1.6). This means that he needs to consume 2324 calories per day, just to maintain his physical status quo (neither gaining nor losing weight).

You should remember, again, that these are only approximate figures. It's better than guessing, but it's only really precise with "normal" individuals. If you're a mesomorph (naturally very muscular and lean), for example, this formula tends to underestimate your caloric expenditure by around 10%. It's still a workable formula, though it might require some tinkering and tweaking

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/
sports_body_training_performance/nutrition_for_newbies_part_1

Note that these methods already include your exercises calories, which i think might be different to how MFP does it. So there is no eating back of exercise calories when you do it this way.

2hobbit1

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717565-in-place-of-a-road-map

Good info here.

PercivalHackworth

Here a sheet I made
http://interzone.kicks-*kitten*.net/Calculating_calories.xls (or .ods)

molzeppa

Thanks everyone. I checked out most of the links.... and they all seem to agree. I think I can eat more calories!!! That means I may just put yogurt back into my diet. I could use the calcium!

geekyjock76

Are you maintaining weight as of now? If so, why not log what you typically eat and activity for a few days? You'll get a more accurate estimate of your actual TDEE than using formulas.

nanainkent

bump