If you have NO IDEA how many Calories you should be consuming per...
Dean Turner@DeanTTraining
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Jun 30, 2026
~4 min read
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If you have NO IDEA how many Calories you should be consuming per day…
Read this:
x.com/buffalorunner1…
Read this:
x.com/buffalorunner1…
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You need to know two things in order to figure out how many calories you should be consuming per day:
1) Your goal — do you want to gain, lose, or maintain weight?
2) Your TDEE — this is a fancy way of saying you need to know how many calories you’re burning per day ON AVERAGE
1) Your goal — do you want to gain, lose, or maintain weight?
2) Your TDEE — this is a fancy way of saying you need to know how many calories you’re burning per day ON AVERAGE
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If you already know your TDEE and your goal, this is very simple…
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1) If you want to maintain weight, simply consume the same amount of calories that you’re burning per day (intake will equal TDEE)
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2) If you want to gain weight, simply consume 200 calories MORE than you’re burning per day (intake will equal TDEE + 200)
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3) If you want to lose weight, simply consume 500 calories LESS than you’re burning per day (intake will equal TDEE - 500)
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If you already know your goal but you do NOT know your TDEE, let me help you figure that out…
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HOW TO FIGURE OUT TDEE:
STEP 1: Track your calories & macros every day and take the average at the end of the week
STEP 2: Track your step count every day and take the average at the end of the week
STEP 3: Track your bodyweight every day and take the average at the end of the week
STEP 4: Plot your rate of gain/loss (in terms of bodyweight) across 6-8+ weeks
STEP 5: Use the 3,500 calorie rule (1 pound gained or lost = 3,500 calories) in accordance with your data to determine a BALLPARK ESTIMATE of your calorie burn figure
STEP 1: Track your calories & macros every day and take the average at the end of the week
STEP 2: Track your step count every day and take the average at the end of the week
STEP 3: Track your bodyweight every day and take the average at the end of the week
STEP 4: Plot your rate of gain/loss (in terms of bodyweight) across 6-8+ weeks
STEP 5: Use the 3,500 calorie rule (1 pound gained or lost = 3,500 calories) in accordance with your data to determine a BALLPARK ESTIMATE of your calorie burn figure
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Once you know your TDEE (which is another way of saying “your maintenance calories”), simply refer back to the above formulas and choose the one that lines up with your goal.
Refresher:
Weight maintenance goal = consume TDEE
Weight gain goal = consume TDEE + 200
Weight loss goal = consume 500 below TDEE
Refresher:
Weight maintenance goal = consume TDEE
Weight gain goal = consume TDEE + 200
Weight loss goal = consume 500 below TDEE
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For those of you that do NOT yet know your TDEE but would like to be given a ballpark calorie figure to shoot for (that should put you in line with your gain/loss/maintenance goal) during the initial data compilation phase, use one of the following formulas:
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𝗜𝗙 𝗙𝗔𝗧 𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬:
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 10 (if sedentary)
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 12 (if moderately active)
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 14 (if very active)
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 10 (if sedentary)
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 12 (if moderately active)
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 14 (if very active)
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𝗜𝗙 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗖𝗟𝗘 𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗜𝗦 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬:
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 14 (if sedentary)
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 16 (if moderately active)
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 18 (if very active)
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 14 (if sedentary)
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 16 (if moderately active)
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 18 (if very active)
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𝗜𝗙 𝗕𝗢𝗗𝗬𝗪𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗜𝗦 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬:
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 12 (if sedentary)
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 14 (if moderately active)
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 16 (if very active)
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 12 (if sedentary)
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 14 (if moderately active)
Multiply bodyweight (in pounds) by 16 (if very active)
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𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵:
The figure each of these equations will spit out MAY NOT result in you actually achieving your desired outcome with regards to weight loss/gain/maintenance. It would be silly to expect these simple equations to work perfectly for everyone. These equations are designed to give you a BALLPARK STARTING POINT. It is up to you to consistently track your calories, activity level, and bodyweight going forward to ensure you're trending in the direction of your goal.
The figure each of these equations will spit out MAY NOT result in you actually achieving your desired outcome with regards to weight loss/gain/maintenance. It would be silly to expect these simple equations to work perfectly for everyone. These equations are designed to give you a BALLPARK STARTING POINT. It is up to you to consistently track your calories, activity level, and bodyweight going forward to ensure you're trending in the direction of your goal.
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Once you’ve figured out your TDEE and you are consuming the appropriate number of calories based on that figure + your goal, be sure to regularly assess your data to ensure you’re on the right track.
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Assuming you elect to try to LOSE weight, you will know things are going well if you’re losing ~.5% of your total bodyweight per week & strength is staying intact.
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Assuming you elect to try to GAIN weight, you will know things are going well if you’re gaining .5ish pounds per week ON AVERAGE & strength is increasing regularly.
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Assuming you elect to try to MAINTAIN weight, you will know things are going well if your weight is fairly level from week to week ON AVERAGE & strength is increasing slowly over time.
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If things are NOT going well, adjust calories up/down by 100-200 per day ON AVERAGE and/or steps up/down by 1000-2000 per day ON AVERAGE to move more in the direction of your goal
Ex: Keep steps fixed and increase calories if you’re not gaining weight all all (assuming weight gain is your goal)
Ex: Increase steps and decrease calories if you’re not losing weight at all/you’re losing weight too slowly (assuming weight loss is your goal)
ALWAYS give 2-4 weeks to allow adjustments to play out — don’t OVERREACT!!!
Note: If strength is NOT trending well despite rate of gain/loss being on point, you likely have a programming issue that needs fixing!
Ex: Keep steps fixed and increase calories if you’re not gaining weight all all (assuming weight gain is your goal)
Ex: Increase steps and decrease calories if you’re not losing weight at all/you’re losing weight too slowly (assuming weight loss is your goal)
ALWAYS give 2-4 weeks to allow adjustments to play out — don’t OVERREACT!!!
Note: If strength is NOT trending well despite rate of gain/loss being on point, you likely have a programming issue that needs fixing!
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One final note:
It is totally okay (and perhaps even ideal) to push a more aggressive deficit than 500 calories below TDEE assuming weight loss is your goal.
I chose 500 for simplicity’s sake/because it’s a nice middle ground. If you are 15, 20, 25+% body-fat, it is fine to push your deficit size up to 750, 1000, even 1000+ as long as it does not crater dietary adherence/energy levels/training performance/etc.
It is totally okay (and perhaps even ideal) to push a more aggressive deficit than 500 calories below TDEE assuming weight loss is your goal.
I chose 500 for simplicity’s sake/because it’s a nice middle ground. If you are 15, 20, 25+% body-fat, it is fine to push your deficit size up to 750, 1000, even 1000+ as long as it does not crater dietary adherence/energy levels/training performance/etc.
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If you found this thread useful, please like/share/bookmark the FIRST post in the sequence and follow me @DeanTTraining for more content like this!
