Calculating Your Maintenance Calories: A Practical Guide

Whether your goal is fat loss, muscle gain, or maintenance, knowing your calorie needs is essential. Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) represents the calories you burn each day.

Components of TDEE

Your TDEE consists of four components:

• Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): Calories burned at rest (60-75% of TDEE)
• Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT): Calories from planned exercise (5-10%)
• Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): Daily movement outside exercise (15-30%)
• Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): Calories burned digesting food (10%)

Calculating Your TDEE

Start with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation to estimate BMR, then multiply by an activity factor:

• Sedentary (little/no exercise): BMR × 1.2
• Lightly active (1-3 days/week): BMR × 1.375
• Moderately active (3-5 days/week): BMR × 1.55
• Very active (6-7 days/week): BMR × 1.725
• Extremely active (physical job + training): BMR × 1.9

Adjusting for Your Goals

For fat loss: subtract 300-500 calories from TDEE. For muscle gain: add 200-300 calories. Track your weight weekly and adjust if progress stalls.