You’ve Been Lied To About What Burns Calories - The Truth About Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)

Still not losing weight, despite doing everything "right"?

If you’re eating well, training consistently and still feel stuck - especially in your 30s or 40s - it’s frustrating. And if you’ve ever been told to 'just train harder” or “cut more calories,” you’ve likely been sold an outdated, incomplete version of how metabolism works. Because, fat loss isn't just about what happens in the gym, it’s about what your body is doing the other 23 hours of the day.

What is TDEE - and why does it matter?

TDEE represents the total number of calories your body burns in a day - not just from workouts, but from every internal and external process that uses energy.

Your TDEE is made up of four parts:

1. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) - around 60–70% of daily burn

This is the energy your body needs just to survive. Even if you were to lie in bed all day, you’d still burn calories to keep your heart beating, your hormones functioning, your brain working, and your cells repairing.

Muscle mass is a major driver of BMR.The more lean muscle you have, the more energy your body burns - even when you're resting. That’s why strength training and protein intake matter so much, especially as we age.

2. Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) - roughly 15–20%

NEAT includes all the movement you do outside of formal workouts - things like walking, standing, cooking, cleaning, fidgeting, and even typing.

You know those people who are always tapping their toes, pacing when on the phone, or who can’t sit still for long? That’s NEAT in action - and it adds up.

3. Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) - about 10%

Digesting food requires energy too - especially protein, which has the highest thermic effect. This means that the simple act of eating well-balanced, protein-rich meals can help increase your energy output slightly.

4. Exercise - just 5 - 10%

Surprised? Most people are. Structured workouts - while important for health, strength and muscle - actually account for the smallest portion of your total daily energy burn.

What changes during perimenopause?

In your 30s and 40s your body naturally starts to shift. Hormones fluctuate. Sleep can become disrupted. Stress levels rise. Muscle mass tends to decline, especially if you’re not actively preserving it.

Each of these changes chips away at your TDEE, making fat loss harder, even if your food and exercise habits haven’t changed. This is why so many women feel stuck. It’s not that your metabolism is forever broken - it’s that your total daily energy burn has dropped, and we need to rebuild it from the inside out.

So, if exercise isn’t the answer… what is?

It’s not about doing more. It’s about doing the right things to support your body’s natural ability to burn energy efficiently.

Here’s what we focus on inside Mind Body Makeover:

• Rebuilding muscle through targeted nutrition and strength-focused movement

• Supporting sleep and circadian rhythms

• Reducing inflammation and metabolic stress

• Regulating the nervous system and stress hormones

• Personalising your approach based on real data, not guesswork

• Optimising reproductive, appetite controling and thyroid hormones

• Optimising blood glucose control

• Improve gut health

  
  

When you do this, your body is far more willing to let go of stored energy (aka body fat).

Ready to understand your own energy blueprint?

This is exactly what we cover in Mind Body Makeover. A premium, 1:1 program that I developed for women who want to stop guessing and start seeing results - with science, support and a clear plan tailored to their body and needs.

If you're ready to address permenopausei symptoms and unlock your weight loss potential right away and want my support then I invite you to learn more about the Mind Body Makeover.