Figuring out your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is a key step you need to take towards achieving your health and weight management goals. In this article, we cover everything you need to know about TDEE, so read on.
What is Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)?
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure and it is an estimate of the total amount of energy (calories) your body burns in a given day taking into account your physical activity. Your TDEE is determined by (and is the sum of) four factors, your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), Thermic Effect of Food (TEF), Thermic Effect of Activity (TEA) and Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT). Forgive the jargon, this will make sense in a bit.
Why is TDEE important?
Keeping abreast of your TDEE is a very important piece to setting goals that promotes health and overall wellbeing.
In regards to weight management, your TDEE value is essentially the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight. Whereas, if you’re looking to lose or gain weight, or build muscle, your TDEE value is the starting place from which you can manipulate (increase or reduce) your calorie intake so that it match your goals.
Without an estimation of your TDEE, you may run the risk of consuming calories under (or over) what your body needs to function optimally. This can negatively impact not only your weight but also your overall health in different ways.
Components of TDEE
As we have mentioned above, your TDEE is made up of four components, BMR, NEAT, TEF, and TEA. Let’s look a little deeper into each below.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): BMR is the minimum number of calories our body needs while at rest, and the vast majority, around 60-75%, of our TDEE, goes towards performing life-sustaining functions such as breathing, pumping blood and so forth. You can read the full article on BMR here.
Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): The next big chunk of our daily calories are burnt through (non-exercise) activities. So, any movement that doesn’t require you breaking a sweat intentionally, such as walking to and from work, doing house chores, all count towards your NEAT. In general, NEAT accounts for about 15% of our TDEE, but this can vary depending on how active an individual is. People whose work involves being on their feet, such as nurses, waitresses, and construction workers tend to have a higher NEAT than those who have desk jobs and are seated for most of their working hours.
TEF: Our body requires a good deal of energy to digest, absorb and metabolize the food we consume and this process, called Thermic Effect of Food (TEF), accounts for around 10% of our TDEE. Put simply, TEF is measured by the percentage of calories allocated to processing a given food. The TEF values are determined by the macronutrient (protein, carb, and fat) composition of foods, meaning certain foods (protein) require more energy to process than others (carbs and fats), even when the number of calories consumed are the same. To put it in numbers:
- Protein: TEF = 20-30%
- Carbohydrate: TEF = 5-15%
- Fat: TEF = TEF = 0-5%
Thermic Effect of Activity (TEA): TEA is the amount of energy expended through planned exercise, such as workout sessions at the gym, running in the park, or weight training, and accounts for around 5-10% of TDEE. It is important to bear in mind that TEA can vary a great deal from person to person as the total number of calories an individual burns depend on the duration and intensity of the planned exercise.
How do you determine your TDEE?
You can either work out your TDEE yourself or using the many calculators available online.To calculate your TDEE yourself, you first need to figure out your BMR (using a calculator). Once you have your BMR, the next step is to multiply your BMR value by the level of weekly physical activity you engage in (shown below).
Sedentary (little to no exercise): BMR x 1.2
Lightly active (one to three days a week): BMR x 1.375
Moderately active (three to five days a week): BMR x 1.55
Active (six to seven days a week): BMR x 1.725
Very Active (athletic, physical job): BMR x 1.9
Let’s say you’re a 40 year old female, 158cm tall, weigh 80kg and your BMR is 1340. You have a desk job, and you go to the gym 3-4 times per week.
TDEE = BMR x Physical activity level
TDEE = 1340 x 1.55 (moderate exercise)
Your TDEE = 2,077 calories
Perhaps the easiest option is to use an online calculator (like this one) which will workout both your BMR and TDEE for you. You simply need to plug in your age, gender, height, weight, and physical activity level. Remember to be as accurate as possible with your estimation of your physical activity as there is a considerable difference between the values which can affect your goals setting.
TDEE and weight management
Once you are aware of your TDEE, you can then plan on adjusting your calorie burn (through diet or exercise) to achieve your goals, whatever those may be. As we have mentioned before, your TDEE is basically the number of calories you need to consume to maintain your current weight. If your goal is to lose or gain weight, your TDEE calculation will look like the following:
Weight Loss and/or weight gain: The general recommendation for a healthy calorie deficit is to aim for 1-2 pounds (equivalent to 0.5-1kg) of weight loss a week. This amounts roughly to 3500 calories a week, which means you will need to consume 500 calories less than your TDEE over a course of a week (500 x 7 = 3,500).
Following on the previous example, your daily calories will be around 1,577 (2,077 – 500).
As with weight loss, a slow and steady weight gain wins the race, so you should aim for around 1-2 pounds (0.5kg) of weight gain a week. You will therefore need to consume around 500 calories more than you TDEE.
Using the same example, your daily calories will be around 2, 577 (2,077 + 500).
People with a lot of weight to lose may get away with creating a slightly bigger deficit (or surplus) while others may compromise their health by doing the same. Therefore it is important that you set a weight loss goal that is appropriate to your body weight and overall health status.
How can I increase my TDEE?
In general, any biological and physiological changes that affect your BMR and physical activity can have an impact on the amount of calories you burn in a day. To increase your daily calorie burn therefore, you will need to focus on prioritising the factors (BMR, NEAT, TEF, TEA) that have the most impact on your TDEE.
Increasing your BMR: Although the energy your body needs at rest is determined by many biological and physiological factors (such as age, sex, and hormonal make up), there are some steps you can take to optimize your BMR. These include, building lean muscle mass (muscle tissue requires more energy than fat tissue), bumping up your protein intake (requires more energy to process than fats and carbs), and prioritizing your sleep (lack of it causes hormonal changes that can affect your metabolism).
Increasing your Physical activity (NEAT & TEA): This should be both in the form of overall movement as well as structured exercise. Moving more throughout the course of the day can have a big impact on the overall calories you burn, much more so than your scheduled exercise session at the gym. Incorporating small, yet regular, movements to your day, such taking 10 minute walks after each meal, taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work, getting off the bus a couple of stops earlier, can all paly into elevating your NEAT.
Having an exercise routine with a strength training component is one of the most important ways in which you can elevate your TDEE. Although the calorie burn achieved through structured exercise is often overestimated, its benefits for increasing lean body mass and promoting an overall active lifestyle will significantly elevate your TDEE.
Prioritize Protein Intake: Due to its higher TEF value, increasing your protein intake may help you burn slightly more calories than the other macronutrients. The benefits of protein however doesn’t end there, it is also the building block of your muscles and (dare i say it again), the higher your muscle mass the more calories you burn. Protein is also the most satiating macronutrient and as such it will help you to create a healthy balance in energy intake.
References
Hanna Haile is a Registered Associate Nutritionist with specialty in global public health nutrition and health promotion. Hanna is the Founder of Heritage Nutrition and provides culturally-inclusive guidance to people from diverse backgrounds. Her work revolves around helping clients realise their nutritional and health goals through a set of evidence-based dietary and lifestyle strategies. Hanna is also a health & Nutrition writer and Published Author in Journal of World Public Health Nutrition.
Disclaimer: This article is not, nor does it try to be, a substitute to the advice of your medical care. You should follow the treatment and recommendations of your doctor and specific dietician at all times. Please check out our full disclaimer on our website here