Whether your goal is weight loss, muscle gain or simply maintaining good health, understanding your daily calorie needs is the starting point. Eating too far below your needs leads to muscle loss and nutritional deficiencies; eating significantly above leads to unwanted fat gain. This guide explains how to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) and turn it into practical macro targets.
What Is TDEE?
TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure — the total number of calories your body burns in a 24-hour period, accounting for all activity. It is made up of four components:
- BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate): Calories burned at complete rest just to keep organs functioning — roughly 60–75% of TDEE.
- TEA (Thermic Effect of Activity): Calories burned through exercise and deliberate movement.
- NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis): Calories burned through unconscious movement — fidgeting, walking around the house, standing.
- TEF (Thermic Effect of Food): Calories used to digest and metabolise food — approximately 10% of total intake.
Step 1: Calculate Your BMR
The most accurate commonly used formula is the Mifflin-St Jeor equation:
For men: BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age(years) + 5
For women: BMR = 10 × weight(kg) + 6.25 × height(cm) − 5 × age(years) − 161
Example — 30-year-old man, 80 kg, 178 cm:
BMR = 10 × 80 + 6.25 × 178 − 5 × 30 + 5 = 800 + 1112.5 − 150 + 5 = 1 767.5 kcal/day
Example — 28-year-old woman, 65 kg, 165 cm:
BMR = 10 × 65 + 6.25 × 165 − 5 × 28 − 161 = 650 + 1031.25 − 140 − 161 = 1 380.25 kcal/day
Step 2: Apply an Activity Multiplier
Multiply your BMR by the activity factor that best describes your typical week:
| Activity Level | Description | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | Desk job, no exercise | × 1.2 |
| Lightly active | Light exercise 1–3 days/week | × 1.375 |
| Moderately active | Moderate exercise 3–5 days/week | × 1.55 |
| Very active | Hard exercise 6–7 days/week | × 1.725 |
| Extra active | Very hard exercise + physical job | × 1.9 |
Example (continuing from above — man, lightly active):
TDEE = 1 767.5 × 1.375 = 2 430 kcal/day
Step 3: Adjust for Your Goal
Weight loss: Create a calorie deficit of 300–500 kcal/day below TDEE. This produces a loss of approximately 0.3–0.5 kg per week — a sustainable rate that preserves muscle. Deficits larger than 750 kcal/day often backfire through muscle loss and metabolic adaptation.
Muscle gain (lean bulk): Add 200–300 kcal/day above TDEE. Larger surpluses add unnecessary fat.
Maintenance: Eat at TDEE.
Step 4: Set Your Macronutrient Targets
Macronutrients are protein, carbohydrate and fat. Each has a calorie density:
- Protein: 4 kcal per gram
- Carbohydrate: 4 kcal per gram
- Fat: 9 kcal per gram
Protein
For body composition (weight loss or muscle gain), target 1.6–2.2 g of protein per kg of body weight per day. This is the range supported by current sports nutrition research for preserving or building muscle. For the 80 kg man: 1.8 × 80 = 144 g protein/day (576 kcal).
Fat
Set fat at a minimum of 0.8–1 g per kg body weight to ensure hormone production and fat-soluble vitamin absorption. For the 80 kg man: 80 g fat/day (720 kcal).
Carbohydrate
Fill remaining calories with carbohydrates. If TDEE target (deficit) is 1 930 kcal: 1 930 − 576 (protein) − 720 (fat) = 634 kcal ÷ 4 = 158 g carbohydrate/day.
Practical Tips
TDEE formulas give estimates with a margin of error of roughly ±10–15%. Track your weight weekly for 4 weeks and adjust your intake based on actual results. Calorie calculators are a starting point, not a perfect prescription. Prioritise whole foods — vegetables, lean proteins, wholegrains, legumes — which are more filling per calorie and support long-term health.
In Poland, useful reference points: a medium kotlet schabowy with mashed potato is approximately 650–800 kcal; a standard bowl of żurek soup is 250–350 kcal; a pierogi portion (10 pieces) is 400–600 kcal depending on filling.
Calculate your personalised TDEE and macro targets quickly using the nutrition and fitness calculators at Liczbnik.pl.