TDEE for Bulking — Women Age 35-39, Extremely Active

A bulking phase means eating above your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) so the extra energy supports muscle growth alongside a structured resistance-training programme. For a 35 to 39-year-old woman who is extremely active — very hard exercise, physical work, or training twice a day — the worked example below uses a body weight of 65 kg (143 lb) and a height of 165 cm, and gives a bulking target of 2,887 kcal/day — a surplus of about 350 kcal a day above TDEE. That figure is an estimate built from a published formula, not a personal prescription: your own numbers will differ if your weight, height or daily activity differ from the example.

The worked example is the whole point of this page. Rather than quoting a single number with no working, it shows the Mifflin-St Jeor equation step by step, multiplies the result by the activity factor for a extremely active lifestyle, and then turns the total into a daily calorie target for bulking. Use the same steps with your own measurements, or use the calculator linked below, and you will get a target matched to you rather than to the example person.

Calculate your own TDEE

Your weight, height, age and activity level are almost certainly different from the example above, so run your own numbers with the TDEE calculator. It uses the same Mifflin-St Jeor equation and the same activity multipliers shown on this page, and it also gives cutting, maintenance and bulking targets from a single set of inputs. If you only want the resting figure, the BMR calculator gives that on its own.

Related pages and tools:

The formula: Mifflin-St Jeor (1990)

The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is the most widely validated formula for estimating resting energy expenditure in adults. It was published by Mifflin et al. in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1990 (Mifflin MD et al., Am J Clin Nutr 1990;51(2):241–247), and it is the equation most calculators and many clinical settings use as a starting point. For women it is:

BMR = 10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) − 5 × age (years) − 161

For men the final term is +5 instead of −161. TDEE is then the BMR multiplied by an activity factor: 1.2 for sedentary, 1.375 for lightly active, 1.55 for moderately active, 1.725 for very active and 1.9 for extremely active. These multipliers are the standard values used with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation.

Working through the example for a 35 to 39-year-old woman at 65 kg and 165 cm:

  • 10 × 65 kg = 650 kcal
  • 6.25 × 165 cm = 1,031 kcal
  • 5 × 37 years = 185 kcal
  • Constant: −161 kcal

So BMR = 650 + 1,031 − 185 − 161 = 1,335 kcal/day. That is the energy the body would use at complete rest, before any movement, digestion or exercise is counted. Multiplying by the extremely active factor of 1.9 gives TDEE = 1,335 × 1.9 = 2,537 kcal/day.

Your targets at a glance

Figure Value
BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor) 1,335 kcal/day
Activity level extremely active (×1.9)
TDEE 2,537 kcal/day
Bulking target 2,887 kcal/day
Safety floor 1,200 kcal/day (women)

How activity level changes the number

The same 35 to 39-year-old woman at 65 kg and 165 cm has the same BMR of 1,335 kcal/day whatever the lifestyle — but TDEE moves a lot with activity:

Activity level Multiplier TDEE
Sedentary 1.2 1,602
Lightly Active 1.375 1,836
Moderately Active 1.55 2,070
Very Active 1.725 2,303
Extremely Active 1.9 2,537

The gap between sedentary and extremely active is 935 kcal a day for this person, which is why two people of the same age, sex, weight and height can need very different calorie intakes. It is also why activity level is the input people most often get wrong: be honest about a typical week, not your best week. If you sit most of the day and train three times a week, you are closer to lightly active than moderately active, and using the higher factor inflates the target.

What this number does not tell you

A TDEE estimate is a starting point, not a measurement. The Mifflin-St Jeor equation was validated on population averages, and individual resting metabolic rate varies by roughly ±10% around the prediction because of differences in muscle mass, genetics and health. Two people with identical age, sex, weight and height can have BMRs a few hundred calories apart. The equation also uses total body weight, so it is less accurate for very muscular people (it underestimates) and for people with a high body-fat percentage (it overestimates), because muscle burns more energy at rest than fat does.

Activity multipliers are blunt by design. They compress a whole week of movement, training, work and fidgeting into a single number, and they cannot capture a week that mixes desk days with long hikes, or a job that is physical some days and sedentary on others. Food intake itself also costs energy to digest — the thermic effect of food, roughly 10% of intake — which the multiplier approach folds in approximately rather than measuring. Treat the 2,887 kcal target as a hypothesis: follow it for two to three weeks, watch the weekly weight average, and adjust by 100–200 kcal based on what actually happens.

How to use the 2,887 kcal target

Start at 2,887 kcal a day and hold it for three to four weeks before changing anything. Weigh yourself three to four times a week, first thing in the morning, and compare weekly averages rather than single days — daily weight moves by a kilogram or more with water, glycogen and food volume. The aim is roughly 0.25–0.5 kg of weight gain per month, mostly lean tissue if training is in place. Gaining faster than that usually means most of the extra weight is fat, not muscle; gaining nothing for a month means adding another 150–250 kcal a day.

A surplus only builds muscle if the training demands it. Follow a progressive resistance programme three to five times a week, adding weight or reps over time, and keep protein at roughly 1.6–2.2 g per kilogram of body weight a day — about 104–143 g a day for the 65 kg example. The extra calories are best spent mostly on carbohydrate around training, with enough fat to keep meals satisfying; there is no need to force-feed beyond the target.

Keep the surplus modest on purpose. A 350 kcal surplus is large enough to support muscle growth for most lifters and small enough that fat gain stays manageable. If appetite is a problem, liquid calories, larger portions of calorie-dense foods such as oats, nuts, olive oil and rice, and an extra snack between meals all help without making every meal uncomfortably large.

Frequently asked questions

What is the TDEE for a 35 to 39-year-old woman who is extremely active?

For the worked example on this page — 65 kg, 165 cm, age 37 — BMR is 1,335 kcal/day by Mifflin-St Jeor and TDEE is 2,537 kcal/day at the extremely active multiplier of 1.9. Your own TDEE will differ if your weight, height or activity differ; use the TDEE calculator with your own measurements.

How was the 2,887 kcal bulking target calculated?

It starts from TDEE of 2,537 kcal/day. A 350 kcal daily surplus is added for bulking. The target is an estimate, not a prescription.

Does TDEE fall as you get older?

Yes, slowly. In the Mifflin-St Jeor equation the age term subtracts 5 kcal a day for every year of age, so BMR falls by about 50 kcal a decade when weight and height stay the same — and in practice it often falls faster because muscle mass and daily activity tend to decline with age. That is one reason strength training matters more, not less, as the decades pass.

Should I use my current weight or my goal weight in the formula?

Use your current weight. TDEE describes what your body uses now; plugging in a goal weight answers a different question — what you will need once you get there. Recalculate every 5 kg of weight change or so, because a lighter body burns fewer calories and a target set at your old weight gradually becomes a surplus.

Why is my TDEE different from another calculator's?

Different calculators use different equations (Mifflin-St Jeor, Harris-Benedict, Katch-McArdle) and different activity definitions, so results commonly differ by 100–300 kcal. That spread is normal and is another reason to treat any single figure as a starting estimate and adjust from two to three weeks of real weight data.

What should I do if I stop losing weight at 2,887 kcal?

First check the basics: are you tracking everything, including oils, sauces, drinks and weekend meals, and has your activity actually stayed at the extremely active level? If tracking is honest and weight has been flat for two full weeks, reduce intake by 100–150 kcal a day or add 20–30 minutes of daily walking, then reassess after another two weeks. Never drop below 1,200 kcal a day without medical supervision.

Estimates only, not medical advice. Minimum safe intakes: 1,200 kcal/day women, 1,500 kcal/day men — consult a healthcare professional before a very-low-calorie diet.