What is TDEE

TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It is highly related to your body’s Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). A person’s TDEE is how much energy they burn though out a day. This depends on a number of different factors, such as the activity level and physical makeup of the person whose TDEE you are trying to measure. Once you know what someone’s TDEE is, you can then use that number of figure out how many calories that person must consume to gain or lose weight.

A person’s Total Daily Energy Expenditure is used to see how many calories (energy) they use up in a ‘normal’ day. The TDEE depends on the type of person who is being measured. The sex of the person along with their height and weight and even their age are all factors that will affect how much energy their body burns in a day. If a person did absolutely nothing in a day, their body would still consume the energy needed for their heart to pump and their body to give off heat and all the other natural functions which the body performs throughout the day. Calculating these gives the Basal Metabolic Rate. It is the starting point in calculating the TDEE.

But the TDEE is not just how much energy the body uses doing nothing. It includes all the energy spent throughout the day. Sitting on the couch all day will use a lot less calories than going on a 100km bicycle ride. Because of this it is equally important to calculate how much energy is burned through active physical activity.

Normally a TDEE is calculated for dietary reasons. They person either wants to gain or lose weight. Because changing body weight and body fat takes time, rather than calculating the activity levels of every day, TDEE calculators instead use a weekly average to measure activity levels.

So in sum, the TDEE is the BMR plus the amount of energy spent on activities throughout the day. Combined this number is the amount of calories or energy needed to maintain current weight. Anything less will lead to weight loss and anything more will lead to weight gain.

So the TDEE number is actually the number used to figure out how many calories one must eat to meet their dietary goals. You can find your TDEE and BRM number by using a TDEE calculator. Finding your TDEE number should be the first step in planning a diet.