TDEE vs MFP estimates

chsa22

Hi everyone, I chose "sedentary" on MFP because I work a desk job and that's the description next to that option. However, the more research I do, the more I find that I should be choosing "lightly active". Weather permitting, I take daily walks at work, I always take the stairs (I even walk up escalators, probably b/c I'm impatient), and I work out at least several times a week.
When I choose lightly active, my daily calorie allotment goes up by about 200. I'm beginning to think that what I was eating daily (1560 calories) may have been too little and could explain my stalled weight loss. I only saw 5.5 loss in the first two weeks, and I'm sure that was mostly water, etc. I'd appreciate your thoughts/advice.

My current stats: Female, 35 y/o, 5'6'', 163lbs, would like to lose at least 10lbs.

Thanks!

Sued0nim

I choose sedentary because I sit at a desk most of the day, I do take a lunchtime walk and walk the dog in the evening and I use my fitbit. I also wear a HRM for the gym / exercise classes and log my exercise as extra

You do what works for you..if it doesn't work have another look

newhealthykim

You lost 2.75 lbs/week. Healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs. When you get down to the last 10 lbs, 0.5 lbs./week is healthy. Yes, a lot of that was probably water weight, but you still lost. Why do you think your weight loss was stalled?

Having said that, you may be on to something by needing extra calories if you are feeling hungry all the time. I would hold off changing anything for at least 4 weeks to see if anything actually needs to be changed.

thepandapost

I prefer going by TDEE because the calculators I use factor in my average workout burn of being active 3x a week (although normally it is 4-5). So everyday I eat the same amount regardless if I am working out or not. Made things a lot more simple for me.

TavistockToad

chsa22 wrote: »

I only saw 5.5 loss in the first two weeks!

you maybe need to think about your expectations... you're not on biggest loser and you only want to lose 10lbs.

chsa22

my first post wasn't too clear I think... I didn't mean "only 5.5lbs" because to me that's a lot. I put "only" because I lost weight the first two weeks and then it stalled for several weeks after. then when I was away visiting family, I put on 3lbs. so i'm still ahead by 2lbs. I only weigh myself once a week. i'm going to weigh myself Saturday morning and hopefully I will see a little difference. i'm not very hungry on 1560 calories, depends on the day (and time of month!)
thanks for the replies so far

TeaBea

thepandapost wrote: »

I prefer going by TDEE because the calculators I use factor in my average workout burn of being active 3x a week (although normally it is 4-5). So everyday I eat the same amount regardless if I am working out or not. Made things a lot more simple for me.

This!^

MFP doesn't give you credit for exercise until you log it. So logging your walks & workouts will give you more calories. It's meant to keep your original deficit. If you are a consistent exerciser anyway....TDEE (less a %) is a good fit.

If your workouts are sporadic then log them into MFP, but be warned calorie burns are often generous. Many people eat back 50-75%.

sijomial

"I only saw 5.5 loss in the first two weeks"
Only? What kind of rate of loss are you hoping for? Think you should reset your expectations if you think that is a stall.

Adjust calories based on actual results over a significant period of time - more than two weeks! It's no more complex than that, really don't have to get into any complex analysis or poring over calculators - they really just give you a start point.

chsa22

thepandapost wrote: »

I prefer going by TDEE because the calculators I use factor in my average workout burn of being active 3x a week (although normally it is 4-5). So everyday I eat the same amount regardless if I am working out or not. Made things a lot more simple for me.

I like that idea. If I go by TDEE, I should be eating anywhere from 1700-1750 a day. (MFP gives me 1780 when I choose lightly active) I think I will find a middle ground and see what happens. after a couple of weeks, I will adjust if need be.

StaciMarie1974

I'm 5' 5.5", 39 years old. I ate between 1400-1600 from January-July, then increased to 1600-1800 in August. I started at 178.5, and now I'm almost to goal weight, have lost ~48 pounds since Christmas of last year.

What you've described is not uncommon. Lost 5.5, held steady, gained a few when you had a weekend away. The body's weight (for women especially) fluctuates with your monthly cycle. Even if you're eating at a steady deficit every week, you're going to have some weeks go up and some hold steady. You have to hang in to see the long term trend. The goal: be less today than you were a month ago. Unless you know how your body reacts to TOM (some gain water weight the week before, some during, some after) look at the monthly changes. So to do this you need to 'trust the science' and eat at a deficit for 4-8 weeks, comparing your current weighin to a month ago. If it continues to go down, perfect.

If you go 4-8 weeks without a drop, then re-evaluate. In addition to TOM/hormones, water weight can come from high sodium days (eating out, higher than usual processed foods), starting a new exercise routine OR increasing intensity of workouts, stress, lack of sleep, etc. Having a longer term look back helps to see the actual weight loss trends that can be temporarily hidden by water weight.

cwolfman13

Two different methods...

TDEE method uses your Total Daily Energy Expenditure to arrive at your calorie goals...this includes an estimate of your exercise and the calories required to support that activity.

MFP uses the NEAT method (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) whereby your calorie goal is derived as per your daily NON-EXERCISE activity. You account for exercise activity after the fact when you log it and get those calories to "eat back"

You need to understand the methods...they're 6 of 1, half dozen of the other if you're doing it right.

chsa22

StaciMarie1974 wrote: »

I'm 5' 5.5", 39 years old. I ate between 1400-1600 from January-July, then increased to 1600-1800 in August. I started at 178.5, and now I'm almost to goal weight, have lost ~48 pounds since Christmas of last year.

What you've described is not uncommon. Lost 5.5, held steady, gained a few when you had a weekend away. The body's weight (for women especially) fluctuates with your monthly cycle. Even if you're eating at a steady deficit every week, you're going to have some weeks go up and some hold steady. You have to hang in to see the long term trend. The goal: be less today than you were a month ago. Unless you know how your body reacts to TOM (some gain water weight the week before, some during, some after) look at the monthly changes. So to do this you need to 'trust the science' and eat at a deficit for 4-8 weeks, comparing your current weighin to a month ago. If it continues to go down, perfect.

If you go 4-8 weeks without a drop, then re-evaluate. In addition to TOM/hormones, water weight can come from high sodium days (eating out, higher than usual processed foods), starting a new exercise routine OR increasing intensity of workouts, stress, lack of sleep, etc. Having a longer term look back helps to see the actual weight loss trends that can be temporarily hidden by water weight.

That helps a lot, thank you. I need to change my perspective instead of focusing on the weekly changes. hopefully I'll see a slight reduction next time I weigh in but like I said above, I am still ahead by 2lbs. so that's something

7aneena

TeaBea wrote: »

thepandapost wrote: »

I prefer going by TDEE because the calculators I use factor in my average workout burn of being active 3x a week (although normally it is 4-5). So everyday I eat the same amount regardless if I am working out or not. Made things a lot more simple for me.

This!^

MFP doesn't give you credit for exercise until you log it. So logging your walks & workouts will give you more calories. It's meant to keep your original deficit. If you are a consistent exerciser anyway....TDEE (less a %) is a good fit.

If your workouts are sporadic then log them into MFP, but be warned calorie burns are often generous. Many people eat back 50-75%.

TeaBea, you bring up good points which are also where I get confused choosing methods and goals.
Ok so here's the thing, when I went by MFP it gave me 1200 cal daily but it would give high calories for really easy stuff like 100 calories for a 10 minute walk! but my strength training gets nothing!
So I figured I'll go by TDEE which works but the issue is my consistency ( I chose 3 workouts/week), I am supposed to do at least 5 but I go weeks with anywhere between 3-6 workouts and they're mostly weight training. Outside of the gym I am pretty sedentary as in a grad students that sits at her laptop all day long reading articles and writing
a dessertation

oh, stats in case needed, f 5' and a half! 160 lbs 34 years old

So I don't know which method is best to go by

sorry for if I am hijacking your thread chsa

dianefisher1947

all this fuss over TDEE and MFP. I have done over and over the calculations of both and in the end its all the same.

MFP says with light exercise to eat 1620 calories
TDEE using light exercise it says eat 1598 calories..thats only 22 cals difference

the only difference is that with MFP if I do burn more exercises calories I could eat a bit more if I wanted. I have done both and its ok with whatever you choose..just stick with one

7aneena

Diane, I may be calculating wring but I get a TDEE that is 500 calories higher than MFP (1200cals) even with MFP set as lightly active and 4 work outs planned per week
Am I missing something?

chsa22

to clarify for a second time, I misspoke and did not mean ONLY 5.5 lbs. I just meant that I lost that much in 2 weeks which I believe was mostly water weight, and then stayed steady or gained .5lb back here and there. this had been going on for almost 2 months. then last week I gained back 3 while away on vacation. So, I do not need to readjust my expectations.

I know the difference between the TDEE calcs and MFP's calcs. my question was whether I should choose lightly active in MFP. (their description of that made me unsure, but the more research I did, I felt like sedentary did not accurately describe my lifestyle and that it might have led me to eating too few calories. again, maybe not by much, but the difference I found was about 200 calories, not 22.

for those with helpful advice and kind words, thank you.

WalkingAlong

1560 is not too low to lose weight. I can assure you that if you lost too slowly at 1560 you will lose more slowly at 200 calories higher, unless having a higher target affects your logging or compliance or activity level or something. It's almost entirely math.

I saw this on another site and it reminds me so much of the overthinking that happens here so often. This was credited to Dr. Barbara Berkeley's (bariatric surgeon) blog:

"Sometimes we don't need to know all the details to know how to respond. For example, when a ball is thrown at us, we don't need to know the physics of its exact rotation and acceleration, or the protein composition of rawhide, or the fact that it is really made up of billions of atoms, in order to avoid being hit in the head with it."

SezxyStef

chsa22 wrote: »

to clarify for a second time, I misspoke and did not mean ONLY 5.5 lbs. I just meant that I lost that much in 2 weeks which I believe was mostly water weight, and then stayed steady or gained .5lb back here and there. this had been going on for almost 2 months. then last week I gained back 3 while away on vacation. So, I do not need to readjust my expectations.

I know the difference between the TDEE calcs and MFP's calcs. my question was whether I should choose lightly active in MFP. (their description of that made me unsure, but the more research I did, I felt like sedentary did not accurately describe my lifestyle and that it might have led me to eating too few calories. again, maybe not by much, but the difference I found was about 200 calories, not 22.

for those with helpful advice and kind words, thank you.

do you get 10k steps in without purposeful exercise? If yes choose lightly active...if not stay with sedentary.

ETA: I have a desk job but can easily get in 10k steps at work and then when I get home without exercise....when I actually exercise it goes up to about 20k

StaciMarie1974

MFP is 1200 + eat more for exercise calories.
TDEE has exercise included. TDEE - Exercise calories should roughly equal MFP, on a weekly basis.

7aneena wrote: »

Diane, I may be calculating wring but I get a TDEE that is 500 calories higher than MFP (1200cals) even with MFP set as lightly active and 4 work outs planned per week
Am I missing something?