These are the settings Cronometer uses to estimate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), in other words, the energy (calories/kilojoules) you burn in a day. Cronometer populates your diary with an estimate of your total daily energy burned through Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and your activity level at the beginning of each day in order to make planning your energy intake for the day a bit easier.
Adjusting these settings will update the TDEE calculation highlighted in blue, so you can see how the changes you make impact your energy burned.
Your total energy burned in a day is made up of:
- BMR - energy burned at rest.
- Activity Level - energy burned through activities of daily living and exercise.
- Exercise - energy burned during workouts and structured physical activity logged manually or imported from linked devices.
- Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)- energy burned digesting your food.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Cronometer calculates your BMR by using the Mifflin St. Jeor Equation. BMR is the amount of energy that a person needs to keep the body functioning when at rest.
Edit your BMR by choosing 'Custom' from the drop-down menu and entering a custom value in the box below. This will be a fixed value, unlike using the Mifflin St. Jeor Equation which will fluctuate with changes in your age, sex, height and weight.
Activity Level
Your activity level is an estimate of the energy you burn throughout the day beyond your BMR. This includes daily living (general activity) and exercise.
Consider the following descriptions when choosing the activity level that is right for you:
None
Comatose or using an activity tracker 24/7
Sedentary (BMR x 0.2)
Little or no exercise. You will burn some additional calories over and above BMR for light activity such as watching TV, working at a desk, etc. Use this setting if you are synced to a device that tracks workouts only (not tracking general activity).
Lightly Active (BMR x 0.375)
Basic daily living (sitting, eating, walking around the office or house). Light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week
Moderately Active (BMR x 0.5)
Moving frequently through the day (construction work, stocking shelves, cleaning, etc.) and/or moderate exercise 3-5 days/week
Very Active (BMR x 0.9)
Intense activity through the day such as manual agricultural work or competitive athletic training.
Custom
Set your own fixed daily value for calories burned due to general exercise.
Replace with Imported Activity
If you use an activity tracker you can choose to replace your activity level energy with imported activity as it imports throughout the day.
To do this, select the ‘Replace with imported activity’ box:
In your diary, the Burned circle in your Energy Summary, will now show any imported activity.
As your imported activity syncs throughout the day, you will see your imported activity section grow (orange) and the activity level segment (green) shrink. Hover over each segment to see the energy breakdown.
Variable Calories Burned
These options affect your calories burned dynamically. This means they vary day-to-day based on the exercises and foods that you log in your diary.
Include Exercise
When you log exercises in your diary, the energy burned will be added to your energy target. Un-tick this box to log exercises without adding them to your energy target.
Thermic Effect of Food
The thermic effect of food (TEF), also called diet-induced thermogenesis, is the rise in your metabolic rate after eating a meal. It takes energy to digest protein, carbs, fat and alcohol and this contributes a small amount to the total energy you burn in a day. Select this option to include an estimate of the energy burned from digesting your food.