TDEE activity levels: which one are you?

Reviewed 2 November 2026 · How these numbers are calculated

TDEE calculators multiply your BMR by an activity factor: sedentary × 1.2, lightly active × 1.375, moderately active × 1.55, very active × 1.725, extra active × 1.9. Translated into steps, lightly active is about 8,000 steps a day, and moderately active about 17,000, or 8,000 steps plus about 4.5 hours of exercise a week. Most people who pick "moderately active" are closer to lightly active.

What each level means in steps

Daily steps that give the same TDEE as each activity level
Level	Factor	Woman70 kg	Man85 kg
SedentaryDesk job, little or no exercise	× 1.2	about 0	about 0
Lightly activeLight exercise 1–3 days a week	× 1.375	8,000	7,500
Moderately activeModerate exercise 3–5 days a week	× 1.55	17,000	16,500
Very activeHard exercise 6–7 days a week	× 1.725	26,000	25,500
Extra activePhysical job plus hard training	× 1.9	35,000	34,500

Steps alone, no workouts. Age 40; woman 165 cm (5′5″), man 178 cm (5′10″). Worked out with the same math as the Deficitly calculator.

Or steps plus exercise

Hours of exercise a week on top of 8,000 steps a day to match each level
Level	Factor	Woman70 kg	Man85 kg
Lightly active	× 1.375	none	none
Moderately active	× 1.55	4.5 h	4.5 h
Very active	× 1.725	8.5 h	9.0 h
Extra active	× 1.9	13.0 h	13.5 h

Exercise at about 6 METs: padel, doubles tennis, light cycling or a brisk spin class. Harder exercise needs fewer hours.

A "very active" week means about 9 hours of solid exercise on top of a fairly active day, every week. That's training like a serious amateur athlete, not three gym sessions.

Sedentary vs lightly active

Sedentary (× 1.2) is close to doing nothing at all: even with no counted steps, Deficitly's own estimate comes out slightly above it. Lightly active (× 1.375) matches about 8,000 steps a day. The gap between the two is about 240 calories a day for the woman above and 310 for the man: a lot to leave to a guess. If you sit most of the day and walk under 4,000 steps, sedentary is the honest pick.

What counts as moderate exercise?

Exercise scientists call an activity moderate at 3 to 6 METs (three to six times your resting burn) and vigorous at 6 METs or more. Examples from the 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities:

Moderate: brisk walking (4.8), easy cycling (4.0), weight training (3.5), social badminton (5.5), easy lap swimming (5.8)
Vigorous: cycling at 16–19 km/h (6.8), HIIT (7.0), casual football (7.0), singles tennis (8.0), a spin class (9.0), running at 10 min/mile (9.3)

Most gym sessions are moderate: rest between sets brings the average down. See calories burned lifting weights or look up any activity in the calories burned calculator.

Why people overestimate their level

The labels describe your whole day, not your workouts: most of the difference between people is everyday movement, or NEAT. Three one-hour gym sessions a week add only about 80 calories a day on average at 75 kg (165 lb); the other 21 hours of each day count too. Picking one level too high adds 250–300 calories to your estimate, which can wipe out half of a typical weight-loss deficit. It's one of the most common reasons a diet "isn't working": see how accurate TDEE calculators are.

Which level should I pick?

Sedentary: desk job, under about 4,000 steps, little exercise.
Lightly active: around 8,000 steps a day, or fewer steps plus 2–3 workouts a week.
Moderately active: about 16,500–17,000 steps a day, or 8,000 steps plus 4.5+ hours of exercise a week.
Very or extra active: physical jobs, or daily hard training.

Better still, skip the labels: your phone already counts your steps. Deficitly builds your TDEE from your average steps and your actual workouts, which takes the guess out. The classic multiplier method is on TDEE formula, and step-based numbers on maintenance calories.