Once you have your BMR calculated, you next need to calculate your Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).

This calculation takes into account your daily activity in addition to your BMR, to estimate how many daily calories you would require to maintain your current bodyweight.

TDEE= BMR x One of the values below based on your perceived level of physical activity (Use the example below for guidance)

(Make sure you’re realistic with your activity estimation and don’t overestimate your level of activity!)

Sedentary — Desk job and little to no exercise (multiply by 1.2)

Lightly Active — Light exercise/sports 1–3 days/week (multiply by 1.375)

Moderately Active — Moderate exercise/sports 3–5 days/week (multiply by 1.55)

Very Active – Hard exercise/Sports 3-5days/week (Multiply by 1.75)

Extremely Active — Hard daily exercise/sports and physical job or training (multiply by 1.9)

**Example**

BMR= 1800kcals

Activity Level= Moderately Active (x by 1.55)

TDEE= 1800kcals x 1.55

= 2790kcals per day (to maintain bodyweight)

Goal Adjustment

Next, you need to make your goal adjustment to your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), to know exactly how many kcals you need to consume daily in order to achieve your goal. Obviously if your goal is to maintain your current bodyweight you can skip this section and stick with the TDEE daily kcals.

Building muscle

Calorie Surplus – For those undertaking a “bulking cycle’ a common calorie surplus would be between +200 to 350kcals per day

It’s useful to note that calorie surpluses are not required for building muscle.

Building Muscle in a Deficit

Research shows you can still pack on lean muscle whilst in a daily kcal deficit of up to around 15-18% daily kcals. That means you don’t want to be in a daily deficit of over 18% of your daily calories as this may hinder your muscle building potential.

Calculation examples;

TDEE x 0.85 = Daily kcals with a 15% kcal deficit

TDEE x 0.82= Daily kcals with a 18% kcal deficit

TDEE= 2790kcals

Daily deficit of 15%= 2790kcals x 0.85

= 2371kcals per day

Weight Loss

Consistent, healthy weight loss can be achieved realistically with a weekly target of losing 1-2 Lb’s of fat.

Higher fat loss targets can be achieved, at least usually in the very short term, but require enormous effort and supreme dedication and determination.

Let me put things into perspective….

Roughly, to lose 1Lb of fat per week you need to burn 3500kcals across the week, which is the equivalent of 500kcals per day

Roughly, to lose 2Lb of fat per week you need to burn 7000kcals across the week, which is the equivalent of 1000kcals per day.

So, to calculate your daily calorie needs, you need to subtract 500-1000kcals from your TDEE.

Example

I want to lose 1LB Per week

TDEE= 2790kcals

Daily deficit= 500kcals

= 2790kcals – 500kcals

= 2290kcals (Daily Target)