TDEE: Daily Calorie Needs by Activity Level

Level

Factor

Your TDEE

Sedentary (little exercise)

1.2

1,881 kcal

Light (1-3 d/wk)

1.375

2,155 kcal

Moderate (3-5 d/wk)

1.55

2,430 kcal

Very active (6-7 d/wk)

1.725

2,704 kcal

Athlete / physical job

1.9

2,978 kcal

Key Takeaways

Formula: TDEE = BMR × factor: sedentary 1.2, light 1.375, moderate 1.55, very active 1.725, athlete 1.9

The #1 error: overestimating activity — 3 gym hours/week does not offset 40 hours of sitting

Fat loss: TDEE − 300 to 500 kcal → 0.3-0.5 kg/week, muscle-sparing pace

Calibrate: formulas miss by ±10-15%; adjust by real 2-3 week weight trend

Core answer: TDEE = BMR × activity factor. Example: BMR 1,650 × 1.375 (light activity) → TDEE ≈ 2,269 kcal. Cut at 1,800-2,000 kcal (300-500 deficit, ~0.5kg/week); lean-bulk at 2,450-2,550 kcal.

The TDEE formula

Compute BMR first (Mifflin equation)
TDEE = BMR × activity factor

Activity factor table

Activity level	Factor	Description
Sedentary	1.2	Desk job, almost no exercise
Light	1.375	Exercise 1-3×/week
Moderate	1.55	Exercise 3-5×/week
High	1.725	6-7×/week or physical labor
Athlete	1.9	Daily high-intensity training

Classic overestimate: office work + gym 3×/week is really 1.4-1.5, not 1.55-1.725. Pick one notch lower, then correct by actual weight change.

Full worked example

Female, 30, 60kg, 165cm, trains 3×/week:

BMR = 10×60 + 6.25×165 − 5×30 − 161 = 600 + 1031.25 − 150 − 161 = 1,320 kcal
TDEE = 1,320 × 1.4 ≈ 1,848 kcal (conservative 1.4)
Fat-loss target: 1,848 − 400 = ~1,450 kcal/day

Eating for cut vs bulk

Goal	Intake	Expected pace
Gentle cut	TDEE − 300	~−0.3kg/week
Standard cut	TDEE − 500	~−0.5kg/week
Aggressive cut	TDEE − 750	~−0.75kg/week (muscle-loss risk up)
Lean bulk	TDEE + 200~300	+0.5-1kg/month (beginner)

Floor: never cut below BMR. Ceiling: surplus ≤ +500 (the excess beyond that mostly becomes fat).

Breaking a plateau

Weight stalled 2-3+ weeks:

Recompute TDEE: 5kg lighter means lower BMR and TDEE — redo the math at the new weight
Audit the log: sauces, drinks and snacks are the undercounting black hole
Raise activity: +2,000 daily steps (NEAT boost)
Take a maintenance week: eat at TDEE for 1-2 weeks to ease metabolic adaptation, then resume the deficit

Common mistakes

"My watch says 500 burned, so I can eat 500 more": wearables overestimate exercise burn 20-50%. In a cut, eat back at most half of the displayed number — or none.
"TDEE is a fixed number": it drifts with weight, muscle, activity and season. Recompute every 5kg lost or when training habits change.
"Skipping dinner is the healthiest 500-cut": at equal total calories, meal timing matters little for fat loss; but skipping dinner invites nutrient gaps and evening binges. Regular meals or 16:8 are easier to sustain.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate my TDEE?

TDEE = BMR × activity factor. BMR 1,650 (Mifflin): sedentary ×1.2 = 1,980; light ×1.375 = 2,269; moderate ×1.55 = 2,558; very active ×1.725 = 2,846; athlete ×1.9 = 3,135. Eat at TDEE to maintain, below to lose, above to gain. TDEE is the anchor number for every nutrition plan.

Which activity level should I pick?

Be honest — most people overestimate by a full level. Sedentary (1.2): desk job, under 5k steps/day. Light (1.375): 5-8k steps or exercise 1-3×/week. Moderate (1.55): 8-12k steps or training 3-5×/week. Very active (1.725): physical job + training, or athlete-level volume. When torn between two levels, pick the lower and calibrate with real data.

How big should my calorie deficit be?

TDEE − 300 to 500 kcal gives 0.3-0.5 kg/week loss — the muscle-sparing sweet spot. Deficits beyond 1,000 kcal accelerate muscle loss, crush training quality, and trigger metabolic adaptation that stalls progress within weeks. A 12-week moderate cut beats a 3-week crash every time — and the crash weight returns with interest.

Why am I not losing weight at my "calculated" deficit?

Formula error is the first suspect: Mifflin misses by ±10-15%, and activity overestimation stacks another 10%. Second: tracking error — cooking oil, sauces, drinks and weekend binges routinely hide 300-600 kcal/day. Third: adaptive thermogenesis after weeks of dieting. Fix: weigh food for 2 weeks, pick the lower activity factor, and if weight is flat for 3 weeks, drop another 100-200 kcal or add 2k daily steps.

Should I eat back exercise calories?

Only if your activity factor excluded them — and then only partially (50-70%). Trackers and machines overestimate burn by 20-50% (a "600 kcal" spin class is often 350-400). Cleanest setup: choose the activity factor that includes your typical training week, then ignore day-to-day workout calories entirely.

How often should I recalculate TDEE?

Every 5kg of weight change, or every 8-12 weeks in an active phase. Losing 10kg drops BMR by ~100 kcal (formula) plus adaptation — yesterday's deficit becomes today's maintenance, which is the classic "plateau". Recalculate, or better: re-derive TDEE from your own data (average intake over 3 weeks + observed weight change).