Do you find TDEE to be accurate?

Jubee13

I've been maintaining for about a month. I increase my calories every two weeks and am currently averaging 1,500. TDEE calculator gives me 1,700 per day. I'd LOVE to be able to eat that amount. I am very consistent with my exercise and so thought about switching to TDEE. On my rest day using MFP I am allowed fewer calories but sometime that is the day I am hungriest. I think TDEE would be easier for me, and I'd like to hear if their calorie recommendations have been accurate for those using it.

Valtishia

Its a little low for me it seems.... at least when it is based on the calculator. Mine is 2700-2800 according to caculator... but I still lose slowly at this amount. I'm probably more like 3000.The calculators are a good guideline, but trial and error is the only way to really get your TDEE.

nxiety

For me it's dead on(as best as I can realize at least.)

KatieMusselwhite92113

TDEE according to the calculators for me is about 1575 (I'm 5'0" tall) but I actually noticed a little gain when I ate at maintenance for a couple months a while back. 1475 or so is probably more me, and by the time I get to my goal weight it will likely be lower yet.

Vailara

Which TDEE? I found that Mifflin St. Jeor and Katch-McArdle (body fat % measured using scales) seemed fairly close for me for losing, i.e. I lost weight at the predicted rate with a 20% deficit. Harris Benedict seemed a little high.

Susieq_1994

Jubee13 wrote: »

I've been maintaining for about a month. I increase my calories every two weeks and am currently averaging 1,500. TDEE calculator gives me 1,700 per day. I'd LOVE to be able to eat that amount. I am very consistent with my exercise and so thought about switching to TDEE. On my rest day using MFP I am allowed fewer calories but sometime that is the day I am hungriest. I think TDEE would be easier for me, and I'd like to hear if their calorie recommendations have been accurate for those using it.

"Their" calorie recommendations? I'm not entirely sure what you mean.

Are you referring to the specific TDEE number that MyFitnessPal gives you? Just in case you aren't, to clarify (although I assume you know this, if you've been at it long enough to be maintaining ): TDEE isn't a "their"... It's an acronym that refers to your total daily enery expenditure.

As to your question, I'd personally check out several calculators (IIFYM.com or some site with a similar name like that has one, although I personally like the one on FitnessFrog.com; and obviously MFP also has one) and then take an average. Otherwise, just keep upping your calories every two weeks and monitor your weight until you start gaining weight consistently. By consistently, I mean going slightly but steadily up over a period of two weeks to a month, rather than just a crazy fluctuation of five pounds or something.

Jubee13

Susieq_1994 wrote: »

Jubee13 wrote: »

I've been maintaining for about a month. I increase my calories every two weeks and am currently averaging 1,500. TDEE calculator gives me 1,700 per day. I'd LOVE to be able to eat that amount. I am very consistent with my exercise and so thought about switching to TDEE. On my rest day using MFP I am allowed fewer calories but sometime that is the day I am hungriest. I think TDEE would be easier for me, and I'd like to hear if their calorie recommendations have been accurate for those using it.

"Their" calorie recommendations? I'm not entirely sure what you mean.

Are you referring to the specific TDEE number that MyFitnessPal gives you? Just in case you aren't, to clarify (although I assume you know this, if you've been at it long enough to be maintaining ): TDEE isn't a "their"... It's an acronym that refers to your total daily enery expenditure.

As to your question, I'd personally check out several calculators (IIFYM.com or some site with a similar name like that has one, although I personally like the one on FitnessFrog.com; and obviously MFP also has one) and then take an average. Otherwise, just keep upping your calories every two weeks and monitor your weight until you start gaining weight consistently. By consistently, I mean going slightly but steadily up over a period of two weeks to a month, rather than just a crazy fluctuation of five pounds or something.

I think what I meant was, have people had success eating a certain number of calories per day ("their" being the TDEE calculator I found online - Scooby's) or is it better to have a baseline such as MFP gives you, then add calories only the days you exercise. I didn't realize there were different types of TDEE calculators.

sijomial

There's quite a few different formulas for calculating TDEE and different sites will use different formulars.

Whether MFP's method or TDEE method is "better" often depends on personal preference, how consistent your exercise is etc...

I would hate to eat the same every day and as I cycle a long distance I need to fuel that exercise on the day - so MFP's eat back exercise method works for me.

If you want to work out TDEE far better to work it out from your own data than using a "calculator". That way any inaccuracy in food logging is taken into account.

MacMadame

I think eating to a calculator's TDEE is the tail wagging the dog. When I wanted to maintain, I added 200 calories to my daily allotment and waited 2 weeks to see if I kept losing. If I did, I added another 200 and repeated until I stopped losing. Then I adjusted my MFP settings until it said I should get that many calories per day.

Note: I did do this while logging exercising separate from daily allotment. Some people like to eat about the same every day and I think that's fine for people who only work out a few days a week and don't want to have big days followed by small days. But I workout most days so I do a combination. I don't aim for the exact calories every day but I do eat more on days I burn crazy calories in exercise and less on other days, too.

In the end, some days I go over what MFP says and some days I'm under but as long as my totals for the past 3-4 days aren't over or under, I maintain.

SnuggleSmacks

If you are consistent with your exercise, and input the correct info including activity level, then TDEE is great. If you are not consistent, then you're better off using a daily approach.

Either way will require a little trial and error, as any calculator, including MFP's, is just an estimate based on population averages.

heybales

Jubee13 wrote: »

I've been maintaining for about a month. I increase my calories every two weeks and am currently averaging 1,500. TDEE calculator gives me 1,700 per day. I'd LOVE to be able to eat that amount. I am very consistent with my exercise and so thought about switching to TDEE. On my rest day using MFP I am allowed fewer calories but sometime that is the day I am hungriest. I think TDEE would be easier for me, and I'd like to hear if their calorie recommendations have been accurate for those using it.

You've been eating 1500 on average for about a month.

Guess what your TDEE is for your level of exercise during that month?

Ya.

So you could eat that daily indeed, instead of up and down amounts, and help out that hungry day.

Or, you could test to see if your body is willing to speed up, perhaps it's suppressed a tad.

Do the 2 week 250 test.
For 2 weeks, eat an extra 250 daily.
If prior level was really TDEE, you would slowly gain 1 whole pound. Reread that.
And if doing strength training, not even all fat, or perhaps none.
But that does mean with current activity level, need to eat 1500 daily.

If you gain more or faster, then prior level was not TDEE, and you gained water weight topping off glucose stores, which store with water. Also increases metabolism since body has to deal with that extra water management. Part of LBM.
That would imply if not topped off, you were not at TDEE prior.
Or if you gain none, your body sped up.
Congrats, get to eat at 1750 at least and maintain there.

Unless brave enough to run the test again at 2000!

kickassbarbie

I'm a tdee girl too, I like to have a steady amount of food to focus on rather than adding in each and every bit of exercise, makes my meal planning much simpler.

As to the calculators being accurate. I really think people should use then as a rough guide only.
Mine sets me at anywhere between 1650ish and 2000ish, depending on the formula/ activity level guidelines. My maintance seems to be 2200ish, no clue as to why but I'm not going to complain! (I had water weight bloating for the first few weeks.)
Try your maintance tdee or work towards it for a couple of weeks to a month then change it accordingly by 200 cals each time.

ExRelaySprinter

Just posted this in another thread, but will post it here too.
I use this TDEE calculator http://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/
It uses 6 different methods (3, if you don't know your body fat %) then gives you the average number.

Springfield1970

ExRelaySprinter wrote: »

Just posted this in another thread, but will post it here too.
I use this TDEE calculator http://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/
It uses 6 different methods (3, if you don't know your body fat %) then gives you the average number.

Wow that's pretty damn good. It's 13 calories below what Ive been using for a couple of years.
I add on exercise calories, but I tend to be at 1750 on a non exercise day. I'm 44 128lb 5'7", under 20% body fat.

dopeysmelly

I use a modified TDEE, which I calculated from logging my activity and calorie intake and weight loss. That way I know how much to eat on workout days and how much to eat on non-workout days. It helps me plan my meals, but also gives variation and matches my intake to my exercise. It just feels comfortable to me.

CrabNebula

TDEE was pretty good for me for losing weight, but it is a bit more difficult with maintenance. I don't think any multiplier describes what I do in a day. My job is very sedentary, however, when I am not sitting in the chair at work or commuting, I am fairly busy on my feet running the household, hiking, or kayaking. I row 40-60km a week (average of 7.5km a day). Moderately active? Not sure. I'd have to try eating a weekly average of 2k a day for a month and see how that goes.

yirara

ExRelaySprinter wrote: »

Just posted this in another thread, but will post it here too.
I use this TDEE calculator http://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/
It uses 6 different methods (3, if you don't know your body fat %) then gives you the average number.

Hmm.. I can only estimate my bodyfat % using the calculator method mentioned on that site. But even then I only get around 1600kcal, which is clearly too low for me. But honestly, even if I adjust the bodyfat% from 21.6 (that's what I got out of the calculator) to an overly positive 20%, the numbers hardly go up for sedentary lifestyle. Though when I add light jogging 3-4 days a week I get much higher numbers - which still seem to be too low. I've upped my calories from 1600 to 1750 now as weight loss is still rather fast, and will continue eating exercise calories back on top of that. Provided I manage to eat so much.

LivingtheLeanDream

SnuggleSmacks wrote: »

If you are consistent with your exercise, and input the correct info including activity level, then TDEE is great. If you are not consistent, then you're better off using a daily approach.

Either way will require a little trial and error, as any calculator, including MFP's, is just an estimate based on population averages.

^^ agree with this.

Sued0nim

My TDEE on MFP is wrong - and that's set to sedentary with my fitbit and my HRM adding additional calories each day

Following @sijomial advice, I averaged out 30 days and my weight loss and found my TDEE was actually a couple of hundred calories higher which is why I couldn't find maintenance

RaspberryTickleChicken

Yea I've found my TDEE to be pretty spot on as well & I've been maintaining going on two yrs in a few.