TDEE Activity Levels: Choose Your Activity Factor
Choose activity from your usual week, including work and everyday movement. A workout count or step total on its own cannot determine your calorie needs.
Calculate daily calories →The five factors used in this calculator
| Factor | Planning level | A pattern to consider |
|---|---|---|
| 1.2 | Low | Mostly seated days and little deliberate movement |
| 1.375 | Light | Mostly seated work with some walking or light training |
| 1.55 | Moderate | Regular movement and training across the week |
| 1.725 | High | Substantial daily movement combined with demanding training |
| 1.9 | Very high | Sustained physical work plus a high training load |
These factors are product planning conventions, not measured categories or clinical cutoffs. The examples are prompts for comparison, not rules that every person in a job or sport fits. Multiply your resting estimate by one factor; do not add all five or apply the factor twice.
Two people with the same workouts can differ
Someone who lifts three times a week but spends most other hours seated may have lower total movement than a person with the same training who walks throughout a shift. Session duration, effort and movement outside the gym matter. A long commute sitting down is different from walking or cycling the same route.
If your week varies, think about a representative average rather than your hardest training day. If you are between two levels, compare both in the TDEE calculator. The difference is uncertainty to observe, not an instruction to pick the higher number.
Can I choose from my step count?
Steps add context but miss cycling, swimming, lifting, carrying loads and much physical work. They also do not describe stride, body mass, terrain or intensity. There is no universal step-to-factor conversion in this product. A wearable calorie number is another estimate, not a direct calibration.
The activity factor already includes an allowance for ordinary movement and training. Adding an entire workout estimate on top can count it twice. If you separately track unusually long sessions, use a consistent planning method and review the total rather than automatically eating back every displayed calorie.
Check the choice against a longer trend
Use a stable starting estimate, then compare intake and average weight over several weeks. Our journal needs 21 consecutive complete days before showing an observed-energy estimate. Short-term water shifts, missing food and a changed routine can distort it. Read how to interpret calculator accuracy before treating a mismatch as a formula failure.
Methods & references
An informational tool; no medical review is claimed. Activity factors and caution thresholds are product planning conventions. Citations do not imply endorsement.