TDEEHQ

On-your-feet work · Free

Physical Job TDEE Calculator

If your job keeps you moving for hours, your TDEE is not a desk-worker number. This page biases toward higher activity tiers and helps you avoid under-eating on workdays.

High NEAT
job-driven burn
Very/Extra
common accurate tiers
Workday vs rest
intake may differ
Fuel
under-eating is common

Your stats

Standard inputs first — the age adjustment is applied below.

Biological sex
yrs
lb
Height
ft
in
%

Job demand

Match the physical demand of the average shift.

No change
Shift demand

No extra adjustment on top of a high activity base.

Estimates are typically within ±10%. Track your weight for two weeks and adjust by 100–200 kcal.

The context

Physical work changes the activity dropdown

Occupational NEAT can dwarf a one-hour workout. That is why “sedentary + gym” advice fails for trades and warehouse roles.

Under-fuelling shows up as fatigue, irritability and stalled training — not virtue. If weight trends down unintentionally, raise calories.

Why the formula drifts

On-the-job considerations

Safety and energy matter.

01

Shift intensity

Summer heat and overtime change weekly burn.

02

Packed meals

Going hungry until 8pm tanks decisions.

03

Hydration

Especially in hot or outdoor work.

04

After-work lifting

Keep sessions shorter when shifts are brutal.

05

Rest-day weight

Glycogen and water swing after easy days.

06

Sleep vs overtime

Protect recovery or TDEE “hacks” will not help.

Method

How this calculator gets to your number

Same Mifflin-St Jeor (or Katch-McArdle) engine as the homepage — with one extra step for this use case.

Run it with my numbers
  1. 1

    Resting burn (BMR)

    Mifflin-St Jeor from age, sex, height and weight. Enter body fat and we switch to Katch-McArdle for leaner or muscular bodies.

  2. 2

    Activity multiplier

    Match the whole week — not your hardest training day. A one-tier mistake usually adds or subtracts 200–400 kcal.

  3. 3

    Job demand

    A small, transparent adjustment for this page’s audience. We keep factors conservative so you can verify with a two-week weight average.

Pick a direction

Goals with a physical job

Fuel the work first.

Eat at TDEE

Maintain performance

— —kcal / day

Hold weight and energy through peak seasons.

Get my number
−300–400 kcal

Slow cut

— —kcal / day

Avoid deep deficits during heavy labour weeks.

Get my number
Small surplus

Off-season build

— —kcal / day

Use lighter work blocks to add muscle.

Get my number

Highest return first

High-output habits

Practical, not pretty.

  1. #1

    Protein at first break

    Front-load so you are not ravenous at midnight.

  2. #2

    Electrolytes when sweating

    Especially hot shifts.

  3. #3

    Two weigh-in days

    Same conditions; ignore single noisy days.

  4. #4

    Recalculate each season

    Workload changes with weather and overtime.

FAQ

Questions about TDEE physical job

Short, direct answers. If yours is missing, ask and we will add it.

Ask a question

Often very active or extra active if you are on your feet lifting for most of the shift. Desk advice does not apply.

Keep going

Related calculators & guides

Back to the main TDEE calculator

Main TDEE calculator

Homepage tool — Mifflin-St Jeor with optional body fat.

Desk job TDEE

Contrast for sedentary roles.

TDEE for athletes

High training load pages.

Main TDEE calculator

Homepage calculator.

Two minutes

Get your age-adjusted number now.

Calculate adjusted TDEE