Nutrition 101 (A-Z) "T" for Total Energy Expenditure (TEE)

Okay this may sound funny or odd but bare with me. To find out your TEE you need to add your BMR, PAL, and TEF.  WHAT?! TEE stands for Total Energy Expenditure in other words the amount of fuel you use in a day and therefore how many calories you should be eating. To determine your total energy expenditure you need to add 3 figures:
1. your base metabolic rate (BMR)-the energy your body needs at rest to function/60-75% of daily calories

2. your physical activity level (PAL)-the energy you use when you move/25-30% of daily calories

3. the thermal effect of food you eat (TEF)-the energy your body uses to digest, absorb, transport, and store food/10% of daily calories

so TEE = BMR + PAL + TEF

Here is a quick and rough (meaning not used in clinical settings) way to determine your calories:

weight X 10 = BMR
BMR X (1.2 lightly active, 1.5 for moderately active, 1.7 for heavy exercise-PAL) X 10% TEF = TEE

 So if you weigh 155lbs:
155 x 10 = 1550 (BMR)
1550 X 1.2 (lightly active)= 1860 X 10% = 2046 calories per day

Hope you learned something. I know this can be quite confusing. Would you like to learn more? Call me! 530-221-8006. Next time the letter "U" for Ultrahealth! -Amy