New & Improved TDEE Calculator

A better way to find your calorie target for weight loss & muscle gain

If you’re reading this, then you understand the idea of calories in vs calories out. But you might still be confused about how many calories you should eat.

After all, if you don’t know how many calories you burn, how do you know how many calories to eat?

The solution is to calculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). But it’s tricky because your energy expenditure depends on several factors. Including your individual body and your activity level.

For that reason, I updated my TDEE calculator to be even more accurate and easier to use. So you can find your ideal calorie balance and reach your fitness goals.

With the new TDEE Calculator you will:

  • See how many calories you burn on workout days & rest days

  • Set calorie targets for weight loss & muscle gain

  • Transform your body with the power of energy balance

energy balance and tdee calculator

Why You Struggle to Manage Your Weight

Energy balance is the difference between the calories you burn and the calories you consume. More importantly, it’s the biggest factor for losing weight or gaining weight.

Think of energy like money going in and out of your bank account. If you spend more than you deposit you have a negative balance.

Whereas if you deposit more than you spend you have a positive balance. At the end of the month you’ve either lost money or saved money.

In the same way, energy balance effects body weight. Over time you lose weight or gain weight as a result of a negative or positive balance.

Balancing in vs out is a simple concept. Yet people struggle to manage their weight and their money! Why is that?

The reason you struggle to manage your weight is that you don’t know how many calories you burn in a day. Just like you struggle to save money if you don’t know how much you spend each month.

The solution is to calculate your calorie budget and see how much you spend each day. As unsexy as that sounds, it’s a necessary starting point. And the TDEE calculator makes it easy.

With your TDEE calculated you know how much to eat to “break even”. This is known as your maintenance calorie target. And it’s equivalent to knowing how much money to deposit in the bank to maintain your account balance.

From here you can create a plan to reach your fitness goals.

Get The Free TDEE Calculator

tdee calculator screenshot

Screenshot of TDEE Calculator in Excel

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How to Use the TDEE Calculator

  1. Select your gender.
  2. Enter your weight in pounds.
  3. Choose the best description of your body composition.
  4. Select your normal activity.
  5. Choose about how long you exercise on days you workout.
  6. Describe the intensity of your exercise.

How the TDEE Calculator Works

Energy expenditure is generally divided into two parts. One part is your BMR (base metabolic rate). And the second part is your activity level.

A More Accurate Base Metabolic Rate

It’s important to realize that BMR is directly correlated with lean mass (muscle). In other words, the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate. Yet some formulas calculate BMR without lean mass.

Whereas the new TDEE calculator uses your body fat percentage to determine lean mass and calculate BMR. As a result, you get a more accurate TDEE.

Don’t Know Your Body Fat Percentage?

No worries. The new TDEE calculator helps you find your body composition without taking measurements.

Variable Activity Level

Other formulas average your weekly activity. Therefore, you get an average TDEE.

As a result, you end up eating the same wether you workout or not. And that can cause you to gain unwanted fat.

Conversely, the new TDEE Calculator breaks activity level into two parts. So you get a specific TDEE for days you workout and days you rest.

That way your calorie target always matches your activity level. Resulting in faster progress towards your fitness goal.

How to Use Energy Balance to Reach Your Fitness Goals

Finding your TDEE is an essential first step in reaching your fitness goals. However, your goal probably isn’t to maintain your weight. More likely, you want to lose fat and gain muscle.

Calorie Target Fat Loss

When your goal is to lose weight, you need a negative calorie balance. In other words, eat less than you burn each day.

Standard advice is to eat 500 calories less than you burn. However, there is no one size fits all deficit.

Instead, your calorie target needs to be specific to your body. So you burn the most fat without losing lean mass.

Calorie Target for Muscle Gain

On the other hand, to gain muscle, you need a positive calorie balance. That is, eat more than you burn each day.

Again, standard advice is to eat 500 calories more than you burn. But everyone’s body and circumstances are different.

Therefore, your calorie target needs to be specific to you. And that allows you to maximize muscle gain without the excess fat gain.

Get Your Custom Meal Plan

Nutritioneering’s Custom Meal Plan is the solution. Your plan shows you how much to eat to reach your individual fitness goal.

In addition, you get personalized macronutrient targets for each meal as well as healthy food options.

So click the button below to customize your peronal meal plan and start getting results today.

Get Your Custom Meal Plan

About the Author

Jeremy Fox  –  Founder of Nutritioneering, Engineer, CPT, Bodybuilder, Coach

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