Curious about total daily energy expenditure? Read on to find out more
If you’re looking to lose weight but it just doesn’t seem to be happening, or want to build muscle but nothing seems to be working, you may want to look into TDEE.
What is TDEE?
TDEE, or total daily energy expenditure, is the amount of calories your body burns every day. This includes the energy your body uses to keep you alive, not just those you burn through exercise. To lose weight or build muscle, you need to know if you’re in a calorie deficit or a calorie surplus, and that’s where TDEE comes into play.
If you consume more calories than your TDEE, and you create a surplus, your body mass will increase and you will gain weight, consume fewer calories than your TDEE and create a calorie deficit, your body mass will decrease and you will lose weight.
Modern dieting fads, pills and potions will have us believe that dieting and losing weight is surrounded in mystery and myth, when in fact when we simplify and look at it from a scientific point of view, it really is down to TDEE or creating a calorie deficit (less calories than we need) or a calorie surplus (more calories than we need.)
Your TDEE is made up of a few different parts:
REE - Resting Energy Expenditure which is the calories your body consumes during a non-active period (like sleeping, or lying on the sofa watching Netflix for 6 hours straight)
EAT - Exercise Activity Thermogenesis is the energy expended from exercise that we intentionally engage in (things like lifting weights or running)
TEF - the Thermic Effect of Food is the energy our body needs to digest, absorb, and dispose of ingest nutrients. Yes, eating food actually burns calories - albeit a small amount.
What is NEAT?
NEAT, or non exercise activity thermogenesis, are the calories burned in a day during everyday activities such as walking or cleaning, and aren’t vigorous enough to be called a workout.
That's why changing your results is often as simple as tweaking your calorie consumption or expenditure.