What Is My TDEE? The Metabolism Secret to Fat Loss
For years, we've been told to 'eat less, move more.' While technically true, this advice is like telling a pilot to 'fly lower' without an altimeter. To control your weight, you need data. Specifically, you need to know your **TDEE**.
The Car Analogy
Think of your body like a car. Your **BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)** is the gas you burn just idling in the driveway with the AC on. Your **TDEE** is the gas you burn when you actually drive to work, pick up the kids, and go to the gym.
If you put in less gas than you use driving (a calorie deficit), you borrow fuel from the tank (your fat stores). If you put in more, you fill up the tank (fat gain). Simple, right?
Why 1200 Calories Is Often Wrong
Many generic diet plans prescribe 1200 calories for everyone. This is dangerous. For a short, sedentary woman, 1200 might be appropriate. But for a tall, active man, 1200 is starvation. Starvation triggers metabolic adaptation—your body slows down its engine (lowers NEAT and BMR) to survive.
Calculating your TDEE gives you a personalized maintenance number (e.g., 2400 kcal). From there, a safe deficit is usually 15-20% less (e.g., 1920 kcal), which is far more sustainable than an arbitrary 1200.
The Activity Level Trap
The biggest mistake people make with TDEE calculators is overestimating activity. We think an hour at the gym makes us 'Very Active.' In reality, if we sit for the other 15 hours of the day, we are likely 'Lightly Active' or 'Sedentary' with a burst of exercise.
Overestimating activity inflates your TDEE, which means your 'deficit' calories might actually be maintenance calories. Be conservative with your activity choice.
Don't 'Eat Back' Exercise Calories
Your TDEE calculation *already* includes an activity multiplier. If you choose 'Moderately Active' (1.55x), the formula has already added calories for your workouts. If you then log your run in MyFitnessPal and eat those extra calories too, you are **double counting**.
What About Reverse Dieting?
If you've been dieting for a long time and aren't losing weight, your metabolism might have adapted to the low intake. 'Reverse Dieting' involves slowly adding calories back (e.g., +50 per week) to raise your TDEE back to a healthy baseline before cutting again.
Conclusion: Data Over Emotion
Your TDEE removes the emotion from dieting. It's just a math problem. Calculate your number, trust the daily target, and adjust based on real-world results over 2-3 weeks.