TDEE Calculator for Fat Loss

A buddy asked me a couple months back how I stay lean. My answer was over-simplified, saying 'I just don't eat that much'. That answer stuck with him. He stopped eating so much and over the month lost 15 pounds.

Of course, there's more to fat loss than just not eating much. 

Expending more than you consume in calories, though, is a must. You can increase how much you move or the amount of calories you burn, or you can decrease the amount of calories you consume. Either way, it's a battle of calories. 

In this article we'll give you a calculator that'll help you determine just how much you ought to eat on a daily basis. It's called a TDEE calculator, or Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

It's a great tool to have. From there, you know around how many calories you can consume, and you can spend a weak measuring the calories you take in, get an idea of how much you eat, and then aim to eat at an amount that'll help you lose fat - typically 500 calories below your TDEE is ideal.

So, you'll get that calculator, but I won't leave you hanging there. You'll also get some simple, easy-to-follow methods to losing fat while maintaining muscle.

Let's get into it.

Your TDEE Calculator

Just place your info in the calculator below, and this will give you a rough estimate of how many calories you can consume in a day at a maintenance. If you're trying to gain mass, you'll want to consume slightly above this number, and if you want to lose fat you'll want to consume fewer calories than your TDEE.

Done for You Meal Plans

Just a quick note, we've calculated the optimal calories for each weight group for you, put in the best foods and macro breakdowns, in our Done for You Meal Plans you can learn more about here.

It just takes the guess work out of dieting. 

The best practice, I've found, is plucking our your favorite meals that you can make daily, and eating the same thing every day. Or, creating two days that you follow for ease.

The key is, you don't want to get caught without one of these meals readily available, this is when people order in, which is never a good idea for any health or fitness goal.

Now, let's get into how to lose fat, trim down, without any noise. Let's make this is easy as possible by following a few principles.

A Fool Proof Checklist to Optimal Fat Loss

1. Consume fewer calories than you burn in a day.

Again, two options, move more or eat less, either works, doing both helps even more. I prefer to eat the same amount as my TDEE and just add more activity into my day, but if you struggle for time, consuming less is the way to go.

2. Don't snack.

It's the easiest way to add unnecessary calories. Many eat fine for their 3 meals of the day, but snacking ends up being the reason they're over weight.

3. Protein is King

Consume 1 pound of protein per pound of body weight. This is the most important macro when you're committing yourself to fat loss.

Side note on carbs and fats: balance them out. You still want carbs as it will help you maintain muscle and avoid increases in cortisol, and dietary fats help you produce optimal testosterone. Have 1 gram of protein per pound, and split the remaining calories between carbs and fats.

4. Eat whole foods

This is actually a bit less important. It really is about calories, but whole foods like animal proteins, eggs, fruits and vegetables have fewer useless calories in them than ordering in or packaged foods. 

5. Muscle and Strength Are Your Biggest Ally

Strength training when trying to lose fat is a must. Most people, when trying to lose fat, will increase cardio, which isn't a bad idea at all, I'm not saying don't do that. But the more muscle you have, the more calories you're going to burn in the run of a day doing nothing.

It's this burning calories for fuel while doing nothing that creates the greatest energy expenditure. Muscle helps with this. So, please, perform 4-5 strength training workouts a week while you're trying to lose fat.

6. Drink coffee

Coffee is a relatively effective appetite suppressant that's great when consumed before a workout as research shows it may actually help you burn more fat while you're training.

7. Sleep!

When you're in a caloric deficit, you run the risk of having elevated cortisol levels, which will result in more muscle loss. Getting a great sleep (with the help of Man Sleep) can help you recover faster, keep cortisol levels low, and have more energy to avoid cravings.

Man Greens will also help mitigate any rise in cortisol levels. It's great to take Man Greens after a workout to bring your muscle-burning stress hormones down and start the recovery process fast.

8. Supplement for muscle, not fat loss.

Most fat loss supplements are bogus, and if they help at all, it's nothing compared to working out and eating right.

Supplementing for muscle, however, is much more viable. You want to maintain as much muscle as possible in your fat loss journey, so taking ingredients like Creatine, Carnitine, Betaine, and others found in POWER, will help your overall fat loss journey more.

Learn more about POWER here

Conclusion

Fat loss doesn't happen over night. It's also all about habits.

Don't have any snacks in your home. Get your family on board with this. Losing fat is one of the most important things you can do for longevity, for your testosterone levels, libido, overall health, and energy levels. Make them support you in this quest.

Stick to what you can do, don't go all out all at once. If you currently don't workout, aim for one workout a week. Walk more. Simply moving more will have an impact.

Finally, you can do this. It is simple, though not easy, but because it's simple, there's no excuse for us, as men, to not be lean. We're better, healthier, happier, and more confident when we're lean.

If you burn 500 more calories than you consume, you'll lose fat, over time.

If you pair this with some cardio and strength training, you'll lose more fat than just weight.

If you do this, there isn't something that will prevent you from losing fat and getting lean. The thing that prevents most is just not sticking with it long enough.

Start and commit. And if you have any questions, please reach out to me at chad@mitanutra.com - I'm happy to help.