How TDEE is calculated
Your TDEE starts with your basal metabolic rate, the energy your body needs at complete rest, estimated here with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, the most accurate general-population formula in validation studies. That number is multiplied by an activity factor (1.2 for sedentary up to 1.9 for athletes) to account for daily movement and training.
The result is your maintenance calories. Eat there and your weight stays put. From maintenance, a cut removes 15–25% and a lean bulk adds 5–10%.
Why your real TDEE will differ
Formulas cannot see your muscle mass, how much you fidget, how well you sleep, or how your metabolism adapts during a diet. Two people with identical stats can differ by 400 kcal a day. The honest approach is to start with the estimate and let your weight trend correct it: if you are losing faster than planned after two weeks, add 100–150 kcal; slower, remove them.
Vitalume does this automatically. Every week it compares your logged intake with your smoothed weight trend, recalculates your expenditure, and nudges your target, then tells you in one sentence what changed and why.
Using your TDEE well
- Cutting: 20% below TDEE, protein at 2.0–2.2 g per kg of bodyweight, keep lifting to hold muscle.
- Lean bulking: 5–10% above TDEE. Faster gains are mostly fat.
- Recomposition: at or slightly below TDEE with very high protein and progressive training; slower but works, especially for beginners and people returning to training.
- Training days vs rest days: Vitalume shifts carbs toward hard sessions and readiness-driven training days so your weekly average stays on target.