TDEE and the importance of daily movement
TDEE stands for total daily energy expenditure - or in other words, "calories out."
And while there are a lot of online calculators out there to help you figure out a ballpark estimate of your TDEE, it's hard to calculate exactly because there are so many factors that go into it. And it's NOT just what you burn in your workout class. đ¤Ż
In fact, exercise activity thermogenesis (EAT) typically accounts for only about 5% of your TDEE. That doesn't mean that working out isn't important - in fact, exercise is incredibly important, for lots of reasons... including building muscle mass, promoting heart health, and much more. But it DOES mean that there are other things contributing to the energy we expend/use on a daily basis:
About 70% of our TDEE comes from our basal metabolic rate (BMR): the calories we burn at a rest state by simply, well, existing (i.e., to keep you alive).
About 10% comes from the thermic effect of food (TEF). (Weâll touch on this in a future post!)
That means up to 15% comes from non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). NEAT is the calories we burn while changing a tire, carrying our kids up the stairs, walking to our favorite lunch place... essentially, all the movement we get outside of planned exercise.
So while it's great for you to spend an hour a day at the gym, it's also good for us to look at the movement we're getting outside of that formal exercise atmosphere. This is especially true if we're working towards weight and/or fat loss. A few ideas:
Set reminders to get up from your desk every so often.
When given the option, take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Even just a 10-minute walk every morning and evening is extremely underrated!
Long story short, increase your TDEE (i.e., your "calories out") by moving more - both in and outside of the gym. â
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