The Science behind Calorie Counting...
Your TDEE Total Daily Energy Expenditure is how many calories you burn in a day. It’s made up of a few things:
BMR: Basel Metabolic Rate - calories burned by your body carrying out basic functions, eg breathing.
Physical ACTIVITY: Calories burned during exercise.
NEAT: Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis - calories burned during non-exercise activities like walking or cleaning the house
TEF: Thermic Effect of Food - calories burned chewing & digesting your food (this is only a very small contributor) You never want to eat below your BMR because that’s all the calories your body needs to function properly, even if you never move your body still requires energy.
Your TDEE takes into account ALL of the calories you burn in a day including ACTIVITY. If you eat all of those calories you will maintain your weight.
When it comes to ACTIVITY every single day will be different – One day you may do your C25K run or do a 30 minute Zumba class, the next day you may be resting, so you need to estimate our overall activity levels. The majority of us sit in the moderate activity level; 3-4 workout sessions a week, with a sedentary job.
NEAT is the biggest contributor to the calories you burn! EG: Walking the dog, showering, playing with the kids, doing the hoovering etc. NEAT makes up 63% of your day while an hours ACTIVITY is 4%. NEAT burns more calories overall and is something you can influence. Look for more opportunities in your day where you can MOVE MORE! Walk around whilst on the phone or just take 10 minutes a day to get a bit of fresh air!
NEAT helps with fat loss, your health and improves your mood!
How do I work out my calorie allowance
Our recommended calorie and exercise tracking apps are: Nutracheck and MyFitnessPal
BMR for men
65 + (6.2 x weight in lbs) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years)
Eg: 19 stone Man, 5ft 9 and 45 years old
65 + (6.2 x 266 = 1649.2) + (12.7 x 72 = 914.4) – (6.8 x 45 = 306) = 2322.6
TDEE = BMR: 2322.6 x activity level
BMR for women
655 + (4.35 x weight in lbs) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)
Eg: 14 stone woman 5ft 5 and 45 years old
655 + (4.35 x 196 = 852.6) + (4.7 x 65 = 305.5) – (4.7 x 45 = 211.5) = 1601.1
TDEE = BMR: 1601.1 x activity level
Activity
Sedentary: Little or no exercise BMR x 1.2 = calorie allowance
Light exercise 1-3 days a week BMR x 1.375 = calorie allowance
Moderate exercise 3-4 days a week BMR x 1.55 = calorie allowance
Very active: Exercise 6-7 days a week BMR x 1.72 = calorie allowance
To lose 1/2 lb a week reduce daily calories by 250 a day
To lose 1lb a week reduce daily calories by 500 a day
To lose 2lb a week reduce daily calories by 700 a day
*do not exceed a 7000 calorie deficit per week*
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