Advice on TDEE?

terar21

I'm thinking about switching to TDEE for my calorie goals after reading several posts of people saying it's easier to manage. I would be nice to just see one calorie goal and not worry about the exercise part.

I'm just having trouble determining what activity level I should pick (I'm using this calculator http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/).

I have a desk job that I hardly move at. My exercise program currently is 4 days of weight training (Strong Curves- takes me about 35-45 mins each session depending on the day), 2 days of cardio (swimming- 1 hour each session, 500 calories burned as a safe minimum), and 1 rest day. I'm just in the beginners program for Strong Curves, although I definitely feel like I'm working hard lol.

Should I list at moderate?

My stats are 128lbs, 63 inches, age 26. That puts me at BMR 1379, TDEE 2138, TDEE-20% 1710 (maybe I should do 10% instead since my MPF week loss goal is only .5 lbs...just want to make sure I have some wiggle room in this initial phase of moving over to TDEE). 1710 seems right in my head. What I typically eat, especially on swim days and weekends is around 1600-1650. Other days I'm around 1300-1600. I guess my only concern is that I know my swimming calorie burn is high but I have no idea if what I'm burning during my strength training days justifies moderate activity level.

I am still technically trying to lose. My goal was 125 as a starting point. 120 would be nice. 115 is probably the lowest I'd go but I don't have to get there any time soon. I'm built curvier so I'm less concerned about the number and more concerned about the visual. So 120s are fine with me as long as I like what I see lol. I'm down 15 pounds from where I started.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Branstin

Moderate seems fine since you exercise about 5 hours a week.

SingRunTing

Honestly, just try a number for a while. If it doesn't give you the loss that you should be seeing, adjust appropriately.

Calculators are based on population averages. You may have a different TDEE than what they calculate for you. The only way to know is trial and error.

cwolfman13

Go ahead and start with that..make adjustments to your intake as per your real world results. These calculators are just reasonably good starting points...ultimately, determining your actual TDEE is all about real world results, not statistical averages that some calculator spits out.

TavistockToad

Yeah I would go with 10% if you only have a little to lose.

terar21

SingRunTing wrote: »

Honestly, just try a number for a while. If it doesn't give you the loss that you should be seeing, adjust appropriately.

Calculators are based on population averages. You may have a different TDEE than what they calculate for you. The only way to know is trial and error.

True, I guess I'm just overly paranoid about gaining back when switching up my calories and weight training at the same time. Which is unnecessary I guess because even if I'm off, I would hit maintenance I guess. Hate experiments!

terar21

Branstin wrote: »

Moderate seems fine since you exercise about 5 hours a week.

Thanks!

terar21

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Go ahead and start with that..make adjustments to your intake as per your real world results. These calculators are just reasonably good starting points...ultimately, determining your actual TDEE is all about real world results, not statistical averages that some calculator spits out.

True, thanks! It'll reveal itself eventually. I can't really tell right now since I'm so fresh on the strength training that I know I'm retaining water.

terar21

TavistockToad wrote: »

Yeah I would go with 10% if you only have a little to lose.

I'm thinking that as well. Not sure 20% is really needed for me at this point if I'm so close to where I want to maintain.