Ready to lose fat, build muscle & stay consistent? Join my coaching community LIFT You here:
If you’re tired of guessing your calories and not seeing results, this video breaks down the ONLY calorie deficit calculator you need in 2026. In this video, I’ll show you exactly how to calculate your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) step by step, and then how to create the *right* calorie deficit using percentages instead of random numbers, so you can lose fat without destroying your metabolism.
I’ll cover:
– How to calculate TDEE accurately
– How to calculate a calorie deficit for weight loss
– The difference between weight loss vs body recomposition
– Why your calorie deficit should look different depending on your goal
– How aggressive your deficit should be (and when it’s too much)
– How to track progress for fat loss vs body recomposition
– Why the scale alone is NOT the best progress tracker
Whether your goal is fat loss, weight loss, or body recomposition, this calorie deficit calculator approach removes the guesswork and helps you make adjustments based on real data, not diet culture rules. If you want sustainable fat loss, better energy, and long-term results, this is the calorie deficit method you need in 2026.
**************************************
If you’re ready for more support beyond YouTube, I’d love to have you inside my LIFT You CommunityYou’ll get access to my coaching, accountability, and my app with workouts, habit tracking, and nutrition guidance. Join here:
Join My CORE IN 4: Core & Pelvic Floor Strengthening Program HERE
MORE INFO ON MY ONLINE TRAINING PLANS, NUTRITION COACHING, AND ACCESS TO MY FITNESS APP
TDEE CALCULATOR
8 WEEK STRENGTH TRAINING PROGRAM FOR BEGINNERS (3 DAY & 4 DAY SPLIT)
FREE HIGH PROTEIN FOODS CHEAT SHEET
PROTEIN POWDER AND SUPPLEMENTS I USE AND RECOMMEND
FLOURISH PROTEIN PANCAKE MIX
CHECK OUT MY OTHER YOUTUBE CHANNEL WITH EXERCISE TUTORIALS & WORKOUTS
@LiftWithMichelle
**************************************
CONNECT WITH ME:
Website: &
Instagram:
TikTok:
Facebook:
Twitter:
DISCLAIMER: Please always check with a medical professional before following any health & fitness advice including mine. These videos are for educational purposes only.
AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER
Note: this description contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this video and support the channel at no cost to you. While this channel may earn minimal sums when the viewer uses the links, the viewer is in NO WAY obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support!
Train 4 Life & Be Ready 4 Anything
Michelle
If you’re ready for more support beyond YouTube, I’d love to have you inside my LIFT You Community You’ll get access to my coaching, accountability, and my app with workouts, habit tracking, and nutrition guidance. Join here: https://michelleroots.com/work-with-me/
What should i put as my activity level? I walk everyday 15 000-20 000 steps, during 8h shift. Then i do weightlifting 5x per week. Plus some cycling once a week
These are such good video, I realized I was undereating my alot!
I woek at Amazon in the warehouse 4 days a week for 10 hours each day plus I weight train 4-5 days a week, what would be my activity level?
Would being on your menstrual cycle affect the weighing average?
At 4'9" I got 1123 as my TDEE maintenance calories with this calculator. Not much wiggle room.
Did that … and my real maintenance is 1300, 11000 steps per day, 4 strength training session per week and 2x 2 hours sessions of rowing on the river per week… but yes I am just 1.60 m, 53 years…
To loose weight I need to go below 1000 calories and that what I managed to do with GLP1. I have lost 53 kg in 15 months and I am now stable at 53 kg (yes I was 106 kg !! I have lost half of my body weight)… but not my muscles because I have always done strength training and have 120 gr of proteins per day.
Calculators always gave me a theoretical TDEE that was way too high !
Hi Michelle, thank you for this video, I wanted to ask a quick question, I went for a 15% deficit as i'm in a body recomp phase, my TDEE is 1781kal minus the 15% that brings it to 267.15, can I just round this up to make it a 300 calorie deficit? I appreciate your time, thanks Michelle!
Thank you for your amazing videos again and again. This one got me confused, though… I weigh 207lbs and calculated my deficit for body recomp with your formula goal weightx12, so 187×12. According to that I should be taking in over 2400 cal a day…. This TDEE calculator says that's way too much….I do workout 2 to 3 times a week and get my 10000 steps in daily…help Pleaaseee 😢
Wow! This was extremely helpful. Thank you!
I am obese and carry a 100 pouds excess. I increased my daily steps to 10- 12000 a day and do strength training 2 times a week but sit at a deak the rest of the day. I noticed that on 1500 calories a day im fine for 3 or 4 days and then i am exhausted and extremely hungry. I also stopped losing weight. Interestingy if then i eat a slightly higher calorie day like 1700 to 1800 suddenly i feel much better more energetic and drop some weight the next day. I think my problem is i cant decide what activity category applies to me in the TDEE calculator if i choose sedentary I end up starving.
Hi Michelle, Thanks for a great video which was very helpful to review my weight loss journey. I am sure your program will assist many. Do you know of any male programs similar to yours as your target audience is obviously femail? What smartwatch do you suggest for tracking your statistics? Have a great week..Neil
Extremely helpful ty
I appreciate your videos, they are informative and concise. I have been stuck and gaining lately, so I needed this encouragement. Thank you!
This told me 1672 was my maintenance however I was still losing weight on 2200 calories. Even if I change the exercise level to intense 6-7 days which is not correct, it’s still less than 2000. So how do I accurately calculate?
What would you suggest to figure out my deficit? I'm a 50-year-old female and my goa l is a body recomposition. I lift three times per week (full body)example deadlifts, squats, calf raises , chest press, pull-ups, and Arnold press . I also do two to three SIT workouts on the StairMaster. at work I get about 3,000 steps per day .what would my activity level be labeled for the TDEE calculator?
As always, great information about calorie deficit and how to figure a specific one for me
Thank you! 💪
Amazing videos!!! I'm wondering, for someone like me who needs to lose weight for health reasons, would be ok to start by only focus on the scale at first and then focus on body recomp? Or is it possible to do both at the same time? I'm scared that if I focus on weight loss first and then body recomp, I'll gain weight back.
So doing it your way, it's got my maintenance at 1700 cal. I get 8K – 12K steps a day, cardio 20 – 30 min. 2 or 3 days a week, strength train 4 days a week, I do have a desk job, so yes I sit from 8 – 5, but make sure I get up and move every hour, and I do stand for 30 – 45 minutes before and after lunch. Is that not considered moderate activity?
Excellent video, you make the complicated, simple – thank you!!!!!!
I used the TDEE calculator and the result was 1479 calories (I’m 5’4”, 145 lbs) which seems too low if I subtract 10-15% for my calorie deficit.
Very interesting content
I like your content
My maintenance is 1276 and on another calculator my maintenance is 1462. I want body recomp so I guess stay under 1276?
🤔 I work a desk job, 9hrs a day. I workout 3-4 days (sometimes more) doing strength training for 1hr, 3 days running (only up to 3miles), and try to hit 8k-10k steps per day…what activity level am i?… I always just used moderate when I used the calculator.
At age 73, my maintenance is 1232. If I take off 10%, I'll be a
[ 1100 calories. I want body recomp not weight loss. Is this too low?
Thanks for this video. Was really helpful. Just a couple of questions. What happens after I start really building muscle and need to maintain that if doing a body recomp? Muscle is metabolically active and needs more fuel to maintain. How do I know when to adjust my calorie intake ?
After this video AND using the TDEE calculator that was recommended, I just learned that I've been eating way over my maintenance calories this whole time! 😱🤯 I want to recomp but I need this belly fat gone by the summer (that's all I have)! I will adjust my numbers on my tracking app to weight loss for now then go from there. Thank you for this information. ❤