Home/Activity level calculator

TDEE starting-band tool

Pick a multiplier from your whole week.

Work movement, daily steps, and training all matter. This tool gives a transparent starting band, then points you to the adjacent range and two-week calibration that should test it.

Three inputs

Describe your average week

Workday movement
Daily movement
Planned training
Exceptional volume

Starting point, not a measurement

Your result

Suggested starting band

Moderate

Multiplier 1.55

Input score

3 of 6

Next step

Compare adjacent bands

Compare this result with the adjacent higher band before deciding your calorie target.

Compare your TDEE range

How this tool scores the week

Each of the first three inputs contributes zero, one, or two points. Zero suggests little contribution to total daily movement, one reflects a meaningful routine contribution, and two reflects a sustained contribution. Scores map to a starting band: 0 is Sedentary, 1-2 is Light, 3-4 is Moderate, and 5-6 is Heavy. Very high activity requires both a score of at least 5 and a consistent athlete-level pattern.

This is a transparent product convention, not a clinically validated energy-expenditure test. It is designed to avoid treating a few gym visits as the entire activity picture.

Why compare adjacent bands

A multiplier converts a BMR estimate into maintenance calories, so a small choice can move the calorie result materially. If two bands sound plausible, hold the lower estimate and the adjacent estimate side by side. Use the calculator result as a hypothesis, then let two comparable weeks of intake and body-weight data challenge it.

Read the full activity-level decision guide or follow the two-week calibration workflow.

When not to rely on this tool alone

This tool is for adults using general planning estimates. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, eating-disorder history, injury, illness, medications, and clinical nutrition needs call for individualized guidance. Do not increase exercise or cut calories solely to make a multiplier seem to fit.

Sources and creation notes

Written by Builderfox LLC. This page has not yet been medically reviewed. Report an error through Contact.

Creation note: The scoring rule is an openly stated site convention built from the activity-band framework used elsewhere on Deficit Compass. It is not presented as validated diagnosis or a measurement of energy expenditure.