Can someone explain more about TDEE?

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turtlez23
turtlez23 Posts: 156 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I went to http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ (saw it on a post) because right now I am eating 1200 calories a day. I'm doing okay, drinking lots of water and trying to eat nutrient rich food but I am very interested in TDEE, I do not even know what it stands for.

On the website, step 8 says: Choose Macro Nutrient Ratios.

Am I just picking what percentage of nutrients I want to get out of my diet?

Any general information on this subject would be awesome.

Thank you!

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It's the number of calories your body uses in a day, and it's also the number of calories you could eat to maintain your current weight. Eating anything below TDEE should allow you to lose weight. Most people choose to eat about 10-20% less than their TDEE for weight loss.

    Online calculators like Scooby can give you an estimate of your TDEE, but no one fits into the little boxes of active/lightly active/etc perfectly. So you may need to play around to find what you like best.

    Macro ratios are a little different. This is the number of carbs/fat/protein you want in your diet. There's really no fixed macro ratio that's best for weight loss. You need to take into account things like hunger levels (fat and protein help keep you full), workout routine, and personal preference. Again, that may take some experimentation to find what's best for you.

    For weight loss, the calories are what matter. For general health, hunger levels, and gym performance you can set your macros how you like.

    Personally, I've had success using this method to set mine up: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819055/setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    TDEE = total daily energy expenditure....or how many calories you burn per day on average. You'd figure out your TDEE, subtract a percentage depending on how much you want to lose per week ( 10%, 15%, 20%) and eat that amount of calories every day, regardless of your workout.
  • turtlez23
    turtlez23 Posts: 156 Member
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    Thank you both!

    I will do more research and see what works best for me!

  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
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    I've been using Scooby's calculator for a year now successfully. It's true, you do have to play with the numbers just a bit because I exercise more than "light" but not as much as "medium" - it's somewhere in between. So I aim for 1,500 calories a day. I almost always go over just a bit, but never more than say 1,580, which has been working steadily over the past year to allow me to drop 20 pounds.
  • turtlez23
    turtlez23 Posts: 156 Member
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    Thank you Emdeesea!


    Okay- So if my TDEE is 2190 and I would like to cut down to 30% of that then I would need to be eating 1533 calories a day and not go below that number?

  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    turtlez23 wrote: »
    Thank you Emdeesea!


    Okay- So if my TDEE is 2190 and I would like to cut down to 30% of that then I would need to be eating 1533 calories a day and not go below that number?

    Why are you wanting to cut it down to 30%? Are you obese? If not then there's no reason to aim for 6lbs/month for loss.

    But yes, you'd not go significantly below/above the number, although it's not going to kill you to go over/under. you can make up for it on other days.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    turtlez23 wrote: »
    Thank you Emdeesea!


    Okay- So if my TDEE is 2190 and I would like to cut down to 30% of that then I would need to be eating 1533 calories a day and not go below that number?
    With only 30lbs to lose you should not go lower than TDEE - 20%, and when setting your goal on MFP you should aim for 1lb/week, not 1.5-2.
  • turtlez23
    turtlez23 Posts: 156 Member
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    ana3067 wrote: »
    turtlez23 wrote: »
    Thank you Emdeesea!


    Okay- So if my TDEE is 2190 and I would like to cut down to 30% of that then I would need to be eating 1533 calories a day and not go below that number?

    Why are you wanting to cut it down to 30%? Are you obese? If not then there's no reason to aim for 6lbs/month for loss.

    But yes, you'd not go significantly below/above the number, although it's not going to kill you to go over/under. you can make up for it on other days.

    Thank you!

    I weigh 230lbs and I am 5"2' female. I'm not sure of my bf% but I am sure its very significant and I classify as obese in some sort of chart. I also do not work out at this time. I am very non active.

    Right now my goal is to reach 190 lbs.
  • turtlez23
    turtlez23 Posts: 156 Member
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    erickirb wrote: »
    turtlez23 wrote: »
    Thank you Emdeesea!


    Okay- So if my TDEE is 2190 and I would like to cut down to 30% of that then I would need to be eating 1533 calories a day and not go below that number?
    With only 30lbs to lose you should not go lower than TDEE - 20%, and when setting your goal on MFP you should aim for 1lb/week, not 1.5-2.

    Thank you-

    I'm trying to lose 40lbs but 30 would be nice as well. I am nervous if I give myself too many calories the weight just wont come off. I tried eating 1530 cals yesterday and that seemed slightly better with the hunger levels. I'll just have to keep adjusting.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    turtlez23 wrote: »
    ana3067 wrote: »
    turtlez23 wrote: »
    Thank you Emdeesea!


    Okay- So if my TDEE is 2190 and I would like to cut down to 30% of that then I would need to be eating 1533 calories a day and not go below that number?

    Why are you wanting to cut it down to 30%? Are you obese? If not then there's no reason to aim for 6lbs/month for loss.

    But yes, you'd not go significantly below/above the number, although it's not going to kill you to go over/under. you can make up for it on other days.

    Thank you!

    I weigh 230lbs and I am 5"2' female. I'm not sure of my bf% but I am sure its very significant and I classify as obese in some sort of chart. I also do not work out at this time. I am very non active.

    Right now my goal is to reach 190 lbs.

    Well exercise doesn't matter when it comes to your deficit range, it just allows you to eat more food. e.g. if you burn 2200 right now without exercise, and eat 1530 for a 30% deficit, then if you exercised enough to burn 2400 on average (exercise days would of course be higher, but you take the weekly average) then for a 30% deficit you'd be able to eat1680. Should be a similar rate of loss.

    But for now, if you feel comfortable eating 1500 calories and you don't wind up feeling very hungry between meals, then you could keep it up for a while. As you get into a healthier weight, even just "overweight" I'd say switch to 20%. There's no law against going at it aggressively, there are just lots of downsides to it (mostly hunger and muscle/lean body mass loss). At your weight you may not notice all of the downsides though, so just always keep an eye on things.

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