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How Many Calories Should I Eat to Burn Fat or Build Muscle?

Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)

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How many calories should I eat to burn fat or build muscle?



There are generally two ways to answer this question.

The first is the quick and dirty calculation to determine the answer to the question "How many calories do I need to burn fat or build muscle?"

The other, more accurate method involves first calculating your basal metabolic rate title="How many calories should I eat? BMR", and then calculating your total daily energy expenditure, or TDEE followed by adding or subtracting a certain number of calories.


This is the third in a three part series to answer the question "How many calories should I eat?"

1. Basal Metabolic Rate

2. Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)

3. Putting It All Together


This page is step 2 in the process of answering the question "How many calories should I eat to burn fat of build muscle?" and focuses on calculating your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE)

Click here to learn how to calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR).

What is Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)?

In order to answer the question "How many calories should I eat in order to burn fat or build muscle?", you have to understand how many calories you burn each day. Your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is the number of calories your body uses in a normal 24 hour day, which your basal metabolic rate (BMR), the amount of calories you body burns keeping itself alive and your activities. Basically, your total daily energy expenditure equals how many calories you should eat in a day to maintain your current weight.

How do I determine my Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)?

You should calculate your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) in order to help answer the question “How many calories should I eat per day in order to burn fat or build muscle?”

It is pretty simple to calculate your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). The first step you took to determine how many calories should I ear per day to burn fat or build muscle was to calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR).

Now, you should multiply your basal metabolic rate (BMR) by an “activity multiplier” to determine your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).

The table below lists the “activity multiplier” for various level of activity. Simply multiply your basal metabolic rate (BMR) by the appropriate multiplier to determine the total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) portion of the answer to “How many calories should I eat each day to burn fat of build muscle?”

How Many Calories Should I Eat to Burn Fat or Build Muscle?

Calculating Total Daily Eneregy Expenditure (TDEE)

Amount of Exercise Total Daily Eneregy Expenditure (TDEE)
Little or No Exercise, Desk Job TDEE = 1.2 x BMR
Light Exercise, Sports 1 to 3 Times Per Week

TDEE = 1.375 x BMR

Moderate Exercise, Sports 3 to 5 Times Per Week

TDEE = 1.55 x BMR

Heavy Exercise, Sports 6 to 7 Times Per Week

TDEE = 1.725 x BMR

Very heavy exercise, Physical Job, Training 2 Times Per Day

TDEE = 1.9 x BMR

Example: Using Total Daily Energy Expenditure

A person wants to know the answer to the question “How many calories should I eat?” They have a moderate exercise schedule, participating in cardio exercise 4 times per week. They have completed step 1 and followed the instructions on how to calculate their basal metabolic rate (BMR) with a result of 1,600 calories per day.

To calculate their total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), they should multiply their basal metabolic rate (BMR) by the appropriate “activity multiplier,” in this case 1.55 for moderate exercise.

TDEE = BMR x Activity Multiplier

TDEE = 1,600 x 1.55

TDEE = 2,480 calories per day

This means that during the course of a normal day, this person expends 2,480 calories per day on average. This means that in order to maintain their weight, they would need to eat 2,480 calories per day.

Now, they should proceed to the third and final step to determine how many calories to add of subtract from their diet in order to answer the question “How many calories should I eat per day in order to burn fat or build muscle?”



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