Key takeaways
- Very active usually means daily hard training plus 10,000 or more steps, or manual work plus training.
- It adds about 11% to a moderately active TDEE, often 300 to 370 kcal a day.
- If you gain weight while eating at a “very active” maintenance, the level is probably too high.
- Very active people are more at risk of under-eating than over-eating. Watch for fatigue, injuries and missed periods.
On this page
- What very active means
- Who really fits, and who doesn’t
- Very active TDEE examples
- Very active vs moderately active and athlete
- Fuelling a very active week
- What 3,000 kcal looks like
- The bigger risk: not eating enough
- Gaining weight at a very active maintenance?
- Recovery and deload weeks
- Very active jobs and days off
- Losing weight while very active
- Very active TDEE questions
What very active means
Very active is the fourth of five levels on the standard activity scale. Your TDEE is your BMR × 1.725, so you burn about 72.5% more in a day than at rest. The usual description is “hard exercise six or seven days a week”, but as with every level, it describes your whole week, not just your workouts.
People who truly fit usually have one of these patterns:
- Serious daily training: six or seven sessions a week of 45 minutes or more that leave you properly tired, plus an active day around them.
- A physical job: building, farming, landscaping, warehouse work, delivering on foot, with or without a few workouts on top.
Who really fits, and who doesn’t
Usually very active:
- a courier or postal worker on foot all day who also trains a few times a week;
- a builder or farm worker;
- an amateur triathlete or club runner training most days and walking 10,000 or more steps;
- a desk worker who runs or cycles hard six days a week and walks a lot on top.
Usually not very active, even if it feels like it:
- an office worker who lifts five times a week and walks 5,000 steps (lightly to moderately active);
- someone doing daily 20-minute home workouts with a seated job (lightly active);
- a keen gym-goer whose sessions include long rests between sets and lots of phone time.
The activity level calculator scores your job, steps and workouts. If it says moderately active, start there.
Very active TDEE examples
| Woman, 30, 165 cm (5′5″) | TDEE | Man, 30, 178 cm (5′10″) | TDEE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 kg (121 lb) | 2,191 | 70 kg (154 lb) | 2,876 |
| 65 kg (143 lb) | 2,364 | 80 kg (176 lb) | 3,049 |
| 75 kg (165 lb) | 2,536 | 90 kg (198 lb) | 3,221 |
| 85 kg (187 lb) | 2,709 | 100 kg (220 lb) | 3,394 |
Mifflin-St Jeor estimates in kcal a day. Lean, muscular athletes often burn more than this, because weight-based equations underestimate people with a lot of muscle. If you know your body fat, compare the lean-mass formulas in the body fat TDEE calculator.
Very active vs moderately active and athlete
Moving from moderately active (1.55) to very active (1.725) adds 17.5% of your BMR, about 11% of your TDEE, which is often 300 to 370 kcal a day. Choosing very active when you are really moderately active means your “maintenance” is a 300 kcal surplus: around a kilo (2 lb) of unexpected gain a month.
The athlete level (1.9) is another step up again: training twice a day, or heavy labour plus hard training. Competitive endurance athletes in heavy blocks can burn even more than 1.9 × BMR, but they are rare and usually work with a coach or sports dietitian.
Fuelling a very active week
At this level, eating enough is a performance issue as much as a weight issue.
- Carbohydrate: the American College of Sports Medicine suggests about 5 to 7 g per kg of body weight a day for one to three hours a day of moderate-to-high intensity training, and more for very heavy endurance loads. For a 61 kg (134 lb) runner, that is about 300 to 430 g a day.
- Protein: about 1.6 to 2.2 g per kg if you lift or want to keep muscle; 1.2 to 1.6 g per kg is often enough for endurance athletes.
- Timing: eat carbohydrate before and after hard sessions, and a protein-rich meal within a few hours of training.
- Fluids and salt: heavy sweaters lose a lot of both, especially in heat.
The macro calculator turns your calories into grams; the water calculator gives a baseline for fluids.
What 3,000 kcal looks like
For a very active man around 80 kg (176 lb), a maintenance day might look like this. The numbers are rough, and the point is the shape: regular meals, carbohydrate around training and protein spread through the day.
| Meal | Example | About |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Porridge made with milk, banana, two eggs | 650 kcal |
| Lunch | Rice, chicken or lentil curry, salad, yoghurt | 800 kcal |
| Before training | Toast with honey, fruit | 300 kcal |
| After training | Milk or a protein shake, a handful of dates | 350 kcal |
| Dinner | Fish or beans, potatoes, vegetables, olive oil | 750 kcal |
| Evening | Nuts and fruit | 200 kcal |
The bigger risk: not eating enough
Very active people more often under-eat than over-eat, especially when they also want to lose weight. Sports scientists describe the result as low energy availability: too little energy left for the body once training has taken its share. Over time it can disturb hormones, stop periods, weaken bones and raise the risk of illness and injury. The International Olympic Committee calls this relative energy deficiency in sport (REDs).
Warning signs include constant tiredness, performance that keeps falling, frequent colds or injuries, poor sleep, low mood and, in women, irregular or missed periods. If these appear, eat more, ease the training and see a doctor or sports dietitian.
Gaining weight at a very active maintenance?
If your weekly average weight keeps rising while you eat at your very active TDEE, the usual causes are:
- The level is too high. Try moderately active, or 1.65, for two to three weeks.
- Exercise calories are counted twice, once in the level and again from a watch.
- Hidden calories in sports drinks, gels, bars and post-workout snacks.
- Muscle and glycogen. If you have just started training hard, some early gain is muscle glycogen and water, and some may be muscle. Check your waist measurement too.
Recovery and deload weeks
During an easy week your TDEE drops, maybe by a few hundred calories. You can eat slightly less, but there is a good case for not cutting much: recovery weeks are when your body repairs and adapts, and a small surplus for a week does little harm. Many athletes simply keep their normal intake and let the scale wobble. If you take a longer break of several weeks, recalculate at a lower level.
Very active jobs and days off
If your job makes you very active, your days off may be closer to lightly active. The weekly average still works: five very active days and two quiet ones average out close to very active. If you want to eat less on days off, shift calories rather than cutting the weekly total.
Losing weight while very active
Use a smaller deficit than a sedentary person would: 10 to 20% of TDEE rather than 25%. For the 27-year-old runner above (170 cm, 61 kg, TDEE about 2,375 kcal), a 10% deficit means about 2,140 kcal a day, enough to keep training well while losing about 0.2 kg (½ lb) a week. Protect protein and carbohydrate around sessions and cut mainly from fats and extras.
Very active TDEE questions
What is the very active multiplier?
1.725. Your TDEE is your BMR × 1.725, about 72.5% more than your resting burn.
I work out six times a week. Am I very active?
If the sessions are hard and you also move a lot during the day, probably. With a desk job and low steps, moderately active is often more accurate. Check against your weight trend.
Should I add exercise calories if I chose very active?
No. The level includes your training. Only eat extra on unusual days, such as a race or a very long session.
Why am I gaining weight at my very active maintenance?
Most often the level is too high, exercise is being counted twice, or sports drinks and snacks aren’t being logged. Try a lower level for two to three weeks.
Should I eat less during a recovery week?
A little less is fine, but you don’t need to cut much. Recovery weeks are when your body adapts, and a small temporary surplus does no harm.
How much carbohydrate does a very active person need?
Sports nutrition guidance suggests about 5 to 7 g per kg of body weight a day for one to three hours of moderate-to-hard training, and more for very heavy endurance training. Less active days need less.
Can I be very active with a desk job?
Yes, but it takes a lot: hard training most days plus plenty of walking outside work. Most desk workers who train regularly are lightly or moderately active.
Is a physical job enough to be very active?
Often, yes. Hard manual work such as building or farming can be very active even without workouts, and athlete level with regular hard training on top.
Sources
- Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. American College of Sports Medicine joint position statement: nutrition and athletic performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016;48(3):543-568. doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000852
- Mountjoy M, Ackerman KE, Bailey DM, et al. 2023 International Olympic Committee’s consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs). Br J Sports Med. 2023;57(17):1073-1097. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2023-106994
- Pontzer H, Durazo-Arvizu R, Dugas LR, et al. Constrained total energy expenditure and metabolic adaptation to physical activity in adult humans. Curr Biol. 2016;26(3):410-417. doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.046
- ten Haaf T, Weijs PJM. Resting energy expenditure prediction in recreational athletes of 18-35 years: confirmation of Cunningham equation and an improved weight-based alternative. PLoS One. 2014;9(10):e108460. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0108460
- FAO, WHO, UNU. Human energy requirements: report of a joint FAO/WHO/UNU expert consultation. FAO Food and Nutrition Technical Report Series 1. Rome: FAO; 2004. www.fao.org/4/y5686e/y5686e00.htm
- Morton RW, Murphy KT, McKellar SR, et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(6):376-384. doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-097608