Ok so you just figured out what your BMR is, and now you’re thinking to yourself, “I’ve got my BMR – now I need to meal plan, right?” Wrong! You can’t forget to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) into the equation! Just because you figure out what your caloric needs are at rest (BMR), you don’t stop there – the calculation is not complete.

Your body is hardly ever at complete rest during the day. Between playing with your kids, working, training, and doing everything that you do during the day, there are a lot of caloric demands that you place on your body. That’s where TDEE comes in. But before I help you calculate your caloric needs for the day based on your Energy Expenditure, make sure you read my previous article on Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which can be found HERE.

WHAT THE HECK IS TDEE?!?

Total Daily Energy Expenditure is one of the key calculations you must figure out before embarking on any fitness and nutrition program. I’m sure you’ve seen the term TDEE around the web – I’m going to explain why it’s so important to my Jessie’s Girls Training Programs, and how to best use TDEE to help you reach your fitness goals.

Think of your body as a well-oiled machine. As you are working and expending energy throughout the day, you need to fuel your body to maintain optimal function and keep up with those energy demands. However, fuel often runs short. Time and time again I see women calculate their BMR and think that is enough calories to get through a busy day. And yes, BMR is a key component of figuring out your caloric needs, however, it only gets us a partial tank of fuel. Not nearly enough to properly fuel our bodies to train hard.

That is where TDEE comes in. Your BMR is the number of calories your body burns by doing absolutely nothing (just lying on the couch existing – which sounds glorious sometimes!), whereas TDEE builds on this calculation by scaling your BMR to account for the amount of physical activity you do (this can range from little/nothing to very heavy exercise). Every day you expend energy by doing physical activity – this burns additional calories. TDEE takes your personal energy expenditure (all of us are different and have different days/lives!) and adds to your BMR, that number is your TDEE – which gives you your correct calorie amount based on your personal body composition plus your energy expenditure.

Think basic existence + exercise and activity = TDEE

HOW DO I CALCULATE MY TDEE?

TDEE is broken down into different “energy categories” – below is a sample of the TDEE calculations taken straight from my Jessie’s Girls Bikini Body 2 e-Book Training Program:

If you currently exercise 6+ times per week, use: BMR x 1.65 = your TDEE If you currently exercise 3-5 times per week, use: BMR x 1.5 = your TDEE If you currently exercise 1-2 times per week, use: BMR x 1.35 = your TDEE If you currently exercise 0 times per week, use: BMR x 1.2 = your TDEE

So as an example, my personal body stats are:

1,359 X 1.5 = 2,038 Calories/Day

So there you have it! Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It is your guide to how much you should be eating throughout the day to lift heavy, have fun, and enjoy the foods you love.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I know what some of you are thinking, “THAT’S A LOT OF CALORIES, JESSIE!!!” I get this all the time, and guess what, it’s not… I promise you, getting enough calories throughout the day is insanely important. There is so much danger in not eating enough, not just on a physical level, but a psychological level as well.

If you want to enjoy your life, eat the foods you love, achieve the body you want, and love yourself at the same time, than eat to your caloric needs, lift like a badass, and enjoy the Jessie’s Girls life! I promise you it’s worth it to not only love how you train, but also love how you fuel your body.

In each one of my Jessie’s Girls Training Programs I not only break down for you your BMR and TDEE, but I also show you how to calculate your Macronutrients (Macros) to get the best results – including pre & post workout and rest days. Oh, and did I mention that tens of thousands of other Jessie’s Girls will be right with you every step of the way? When you purchase any of my Jessie’s Girls Training Programs, you become an official Jessie’s Girl and gain lifetime access to my private online community. This is where you will receive guidance from Jessie’s Girls who have completed my programs, are currently going through my programs, my amazing Jessie’s Girls Ambassadors, and of course, me!

Don’t wait to love your body! Check out one of my Jessie’s Girls Training Programs today and start your journey of self-love!

CLICK HERE