Usefulness of the TDEE calculator for 8 Week Challengers

September 02, 2022 3 min read

There are a vast number of tools online that can be used to track dietary intake, determine energy requirements, or even more specifically macronutrient requirements. For the individual getting started on their fitness journey, these tools can be a challenge given the complex inputs required and what each of these means in the grand scheme of things. In this short article, we will break down what Total Daily Energy Expenditureor TDEE online calculators can tell you and how they can be utilised for improving your health, wellbeing, and success towards your physical fitness goals.

TDEE is an acronym for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. TDEE is important for calculating nutritional requirements as it considers factors like your gender, age, weight, height and activity levels, and body composition. This is important because it is the number of calories you burn throughout a 24-hour period, we expend energy through the function of our vital organs including the brain, respiratory system, digestive organs, and muscles. TDEE varies between adults and young populations, just like it varies depending on your profession or occupation. For example, a truck driver will likely lead a sedentary lifestyle while a farmer is heavily active in their day-to-day responsibilities. Ultimately it is these factors that will determine calorie requirements for different goals in certain circumstances.

Image taken from https://tdeecalculator.net/

To achieve weight loss, an individual needs to expend less calories than they are consuming. This is called a calorie deficit, calorie deficits are achieved by consuming less energy than that expended by the body. Whilst it is a common theory that eating 500 calories into a deficit is required for a gradual weight loss of 0.125-0.250 kg weekly, this is very non-specific to individual circumstances. Having a strong understanding of what TDEE is and how it influences calorie requirements can help to make utilising a TDEE calculator simple. Depending on your occupation or the amount of lean muscle tissue you have, your calorie requirements will likely vary greatly. This is what makes using a calculator important, no one individual is the same and subsequently, a variety of factors need to be taken into consideration.

Similarly, a calorie surplus is when more energy is consumed than that used throughout the day. Whether it be due to the functioning of internal organs or bodily processes, to fuel muscles during exercise, or to do the chores at home there are an extensive number of reasons why we need adequate fuel. If however, we enter too much of a calorie surplus this is when we will start to store more weight.

When calculating energy requirements it is important to note that nutrients are not made equally, particularly when it comes to macronutrients. Fat and alcohol contain 9 and 7 calories per gram respectively and 4 calories per gram for carbohydrates and protein. Diets high in alcohol consumption and fat are likely to accumulate a calorie surplus faster due to the energy density of this food and drinks, whereas removing these foods can also assist with entering a calorie deficit. Diet percentages of these different nutrients can be manipulated to suit the needs of an individual.

If you are struggling to manage your weight or achieving your goals so far along the 8 Week Challenge it might be worthwhile assessing lifestyle factors like the amount of incidental activity required through your occupation or the types of foods you are eating throughout the day.

A combination of these factors often influences our individual needs. If you need more specific or tailored advice, consulting a dietitian is a good option, they are appropriately trained to deliver health information and advice to people presenting with disease or simply require more expertise to get their diet, weight, or lifestyle in check.