How many calories should I burn daily is the hot question everyone wants to know! And it depends on your individual lifestyle. Such as, metabolism, general daily movement and how many times you exercise.
I am going to skim over the below factors so if you want a more in depth teaching check our other blog out!
BMR
Basal metabolic rate refers to how many calories your body burns (70% of TDEE) whilst you rest completely. Including; blood circulation, breathing, hormones, controlling body temperature, cell growth, brain and nerve function and contraction of contractile muscles (heart).
NEAT
None exercise activity thermogenesis is how much you fidget. Also including general movement in your occupation, walking to work, cleaning etcetera. Basically, unplanned forms of exercise that can equate to to 15-20% of your TDEE.
TEF
The thermic effect of food is how many calories you burn when eating food (10% of TDEE). For example, digesting protein alone burns around 20% of those calories consumed! Yet another protein perk!
EAT
Exercise activity thermogenesis includes your weekly purposeful exercise like running, cycling, strength training or step count targets. And can equate to 5-10% of TDEE.
TDEE
Total daily energy expenditure is the total amount of calories you burn in a day! This is also referred to as your maintenance calories.
How Many Calories Should I Burn Daily Equation
So, let’s say the average male has a BMR of 1700 and a female 1400 which remember, is the calories burned when bed ridden. Basically, all we need to do now is add on the calories expended via movement. And to do this we can refer to the Harris Benedict equation. Or you can use an online calculator here if less interested in how these numbers are calculated.
Harris Benedict Exercise Multiplication
So, before we get the good part, this is what you would multiply your BMR by for your TDEE, simple really!
- Sedentary (little or no exercise) = BMR x 1.2
- Lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) = BMR x 1.375
- Moderately active (exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) = BMR x 1.55
- Very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) = BMR x 1.725
- Extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2 times daily training) = BMR x 1.9
How Many Calories Should I Burn Daily
Well done, you made it to the juicy bit! And this part is where we must create a calorie deficit and eat less calories than our TDEE. Because we must burn more calories than we consume in order to burn fat stores as fuel and trim up! So, let’s say the female from above with the 1400 BMR multiplied by the 1.55 activity level (moderately active). Totaling 2,170 calories to maintain her current weight with exercise added into the mix. And keep in mind that no matter the calorie calculator used it could be 200+ calories out plus or minus.
Furthermore, if you would like to completely tailor your TDEE there’s a protocol to follow which you’ll find in our blog here. Or we can do this as your coach! So, we simply deduct between 500 and 1,000 calories (body fat % dependent) below our TDEE to attain said calorie deficit. And this can be from a mixture of both eating less and burning more when exercising. For example, you could burn 300 calories per day with a walking/strength training combo. In addition, create a 200 calorie deficit via eating less food which total a 500 calorie deficit going from 2,170 to 1,670! Voila!
Moreover, this blog goes into further detail about how deep you should/shouldn’t go!
Did this blog help you to understand estimating your TDEE. And thus answer the question of how many calories should I burn daily?
If you would love your own coach to do all the leg work for you and send you down the right pathway instantly get in touch with us via our home page!
Coaches, Luke and Kate
