Same person, two different calorie numbers. Confuse them and you'll either starve or stop losing fat.
Most people learn the formula once in school and never touch it again — until life forces them to. Same person, two different calorie numbers. Confuse them and you'll either starve or stop losing fat.
Calories burned at total rest — keeping you alive doing nothing. 60–70% of daily expenditure for most adults.
BMR × activity multiplier. Reflects what you actually burn including movement and exercise.
Eating only your BMR puts you in a 30–40% deficit overnight. Crash, hormone disruption, rebound.
Every 4–6 weeks during a cut, or after a 5+ kg weight change. Your TDEE shifts as you do.
What if I want to bulk? Eat at TDEE + 200–400 kcal, lift hard 4 days/week. Slow gain = less fat to cut later.
Why does my TDEE drop when I diet? Adaptive thermogenesis. Body burns less to conserve. Diet breaks fix this partially.
Bookmark the calculator linked above — you will need it more often than you think.