Scope: Food literacy · hub calories & macros · estimate maintenance · Yeh Bro System · food.
Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) isn’t a tattoo. Lose 8 kg and the old maintenance is often too high for a continued cut. Gain on a bulk and the old surplus can stall. Recalculate on purpose — not every noisy Wednesday.
TL;DR
- Revisit targets after ~3–5%+ body-weight change, or when the 2–4 week trend dies.
- Re-estimate maintenance, then re-apply cut/bulk % — estimate maintenance.
- Update protein grams to current body weight — protein targets.
- Rule out logging lies before you slash harder — tracking mistakes · why am I not losing?.
When to recalculate
| Trigger | Action |
|---|---|
| Weight down meaningfully on a cut | Lower calories slightly or raise steps; don’t crash |
| Weight up on a lean bulk, surplus gone | Add ~100–200 kcal and reassess in 2 weeks |
| Stall with honest logging | Confirm intake → adjust 5–10% |
| Exit cut → reverse / bulk | Climb with a plan — reverse diet · cut-to-bulk mistakes |
Use weekly averages + waist/photos — tracking weight / waist / photos. Creatine or high-carb days can fake jumps — sodium / scale panic.
Simple update recipe
- Note average intake of the last 14 honest days.
- Note weight trend.
- Infer current maintenance (flat → intake ≈ maintenance; falling → intake below, etc.).
- Set new phase target.
- Refresh macro split — macro split basics · fat floor — dietary fat floors.
Hand-portion people: recalibrate palms occasionally with a scale week — tracking vs hand portions.
Soft close
Set → verify → update. That’s adult energy balance — calories & macros hub · Yeh Bro System.