Metabolic Rate Calculators

I have seen some pretty jacked up caloric recommendations for people based on ‘calorie calculators’ which wind up suggesting people eat way more than they should be, especially if their goals are fat loss.

Now, you can get a rough idea of RMR requirements using calculators but where things go a bit haywire is when it comes to determining how much you should be eating depending on your goals. Why? The Activity Factor and the subsequent TDEE, or Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

Here’s what many people obviously don’t seem to be aware of. The Activity Factor multipliers are based on research using **LUMBERJACKS** as the barometer for activity. I’m pretty sure 99.99% of “fitness enthusiasts” don’t have expenditure levels anywhere near a lumberjack working ALL day, which all but disqualifies the Activitiy Factor multipliers as even minimally relevant variables in the calculations. Consider the fact that the large majority of people do not have highly physical jobs for one, and if you train with high intensity 3-5x/week for an hour or so, you’re still not adding an epic ton of expenditure.

The bottom line is that when you start adding in the Activity Factor in these calculators your numbers get all messed up; again for the aforementioned lumberjack reasons. You’re burning far, far less calories than these calculators would suggest you are. Many people seem to overestimate how many calories they think they’re burning on a daily basis.

You also need to understand that these are all estimates – launching points if you will. The bottom line comes back to outcome-based decision making. Use whatever “launching pad” for caloric intake you want, but from there, measure outcome vs desired outcome. It doesn’t matter if X says you have to eat Y calories to lose body fat. If you’re maintaining or even gaining on it, clearly, clearly, clearly, it’s not the right amount for you is it? So you adjust, comply and reassess again.

Ditch the overreliance on activity factor multipliers; you burn less than you think with activity. Everything, from calculators to cardio machines to the BodyBugg overestimates expenditure – significantly.