How many calories should you eat per day? The total daily energy expenditure formula is the best way to determine this. Here’s how it works and why you need to know your TDEE.
Where Does Your TDEE Come From?
Your TDEE is the total amount of energy you need each day to maintain your body weight. It’s calculated by multiplying your BMR (basal metabolic rate) by an activity factor. The activity factor accounts for how active you are and can be estimated using a formula based on age, gender, height and weight. There are many free TDEE calorie calculator tools available online for this.
In other words: TDEE = BMR x Activity Factor
How Many Calories Should You Eat Per Day?
How many calories should you eat in a day?
The number of calories you need to eat per day depends on your age, gender, weight, height and activity level. In other words, it’s complicated!
Luckily for you, though, there are online calculators that can help you figure out how many calories you should be eating if you want to lose weight or maintain your current weight.
If you’re trying to lose weight (or just watch your calorie intake), aim for 500–1000 fewer calories than what is recommended based on your TDEE and activity level (if applicable).
What Is The Total Daily Energy Expenditure Formula?
The Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) formula is the total amount of calories you need to consume to maintain your current weight. It’s calculated by multiplying three factors: basal metabolic rate (BMR), activity level and stress level.
- BMR is the number of calories you burn while at rest – it accounts for about 60% of your TDEE
- Activity level accounts for about 30% of your TDEE and includes exercise, job demands and sports
- Stress level accounts for about 10% of your TDEE
Why Do You Need To Know Your TDEE?
Knowing your TDEE is important because it’s the only way to understand how much energy you need to maintain weight, lose weight, gain weight or improve your health. Legion Athletics says, “Once you know the TDEE, you can determine how many calories you should eat daily to lose, gain, or maintain a particular weight.”
Also known formally as “Total Daily Energy Expenditure,” TDEE is the total amount of calories you burn each day by just being alive and doing regular everyday activities.
How To Determine Your TDEE?
If you want to know your TDEE, you can use several different equations. The most common ones are the Harris-Benedict equation, Mifflin-St Jeor equation, Katch-McArdle formula and Cunningham formula.
The Harris-Benedict Equation: This is a good place to start. It’s simple and easy to calculate but needs to consider how much muscle mass you have or how hard your body burns energy at rest (i.e., when not active). This equation will only be accurate for men weighing more than 170 pounds (77 kilograms) and women weighing more than 155 pounds (70 kilograms). If any of these apply to you, then one of the other equations listed below would be best suited for calculating your TDEE.
If you want to lose weight, you must know your TDEE. It will help give you a clear idea of how many calories you should eat each day. You can use this information to create a customized plan that works best for your needs and goals!
