What's your caloric deficit, how did you calculate it, how easy is it to stick with it?

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  • sixxpoint
    sixxpoint Posts: 3,529 Member
    edited May 2015
    shadow2soul wrote: »
    DrEnalg wrote: »
    a_stronger_me13 wrote: »

    Because it's a complete misuse of the terms.

    It would be really helpful to explain why.
    I think it's probably because TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. If your calculating it a Sedentary TDEE when your not Sedentary, it's not your TDEE. It ends up being similar to MFP's method of using NEAT (calculating your daily burn without exercise and then adding exercise in).

    If you're blurring the lines between Sedentary and Lightly Active, then it would be wise to calculate your TDEE at both activity levels and use the middle figure.

    TDEE is a maintenance calorie value (no weight gained, no weight loss if followed). It is based on more than activity level, including height, weight, age, etc.
  • allyphoe
    allyphoe Posts: 618 Member
    Maintenance for me is about 2,200 calories*, as determined by the best fit line of my giant spreadsheet. My MFP target is set to 1,800, but my average consumption runs more like 1,900. So about a 300 calorie / 14% deficit.

    * I count by eyeball. Internet calculators based on my age / size / gender / activity level say maintenance for me is more like 1,650. Assuming I'm mostly losing fat, rather than muscle, I've still got a 300-calorie-per-day deficit, based on my long-term trend in weight change. So it's possible (but IMHO unlikely) that if I measured everything with a gram scale and a calorimeter, I'd find I'm really consuming 1,350 calories a day, and have an 18% deficit.
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  • ElJefeChief
    ElJefeChief Posts: 650 Member
    edited May 2015
    sixxpoint wrote: »
    shadow2soul wrote: »
    DrEnalg wrote: »
    a_stronger_me13 wrote: »

    Because it's a complete misuse of the terms.

    It would be really helpful to explain why.
    I think it's probably because TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. If your calculating it a Sedentary TDEE when your not Sedentary, it's not your TDEE. It ends up being similar to MFP's method of using NEAT (calculating your daily burn without exercise and then adding exercise in).

    If you're blurring the lines between Sedentary and Lightly Active, then it would be wise to calculate your TDEE at both activity levels and use the middle figure.

    TDEE is a maintenance calorie value (no weight gained, no weight loss if followed). It is based on more than activity level, including height, weight, age, etc.

    Interesting. When I take your approach (averaging lightly active and sedentary TDEE correction factors) and then factor in my desired caloric deficit (25%) I get a number much closer to what MFP suggests (a higher overall net caloric allotment).

    Using my approach, my adjusted TDEE plus 25% deficit = 1812
    Using your approach, my adjusted TDEE plus 25% deficit = 1944
    Using MFP's built in approach = 2078

    Very interesting.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    asflatasapancake wrote: »
    I sacrificed a chicken and gave it to the MFP gods. They returned with their magical number of 2320 calories. I checked with a few other sources as well as calculated it through math and stuff. It's about right. From what I've been told, all of the meat from the sacrificed chicken was used to feed the hungry around the world.

    Your method is as good as any. Eat 2,320 calories for a few weeks, then reevaluate your progress.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,597 Member
    asflatasapancake wrote: »
    I sacrificed a chicken and gave it to the MFP gods. They returned with their magical number of 2320 calories. I checked with a few other sources as well as calculated it through math and stuff. It's about right. From what I've been told, all of the meat from the sacrificed chicken was used to feed the hungry around the world.

    That was my method too. :smiley:

    Only the magic number was 1250 cal.

    Maybe my chicken was too small.

  • fr3smyl
    fr3smyl Posts: 1,418 Member
    asflatasapancake wrote: »
    I sacrificed a chicken and gave it to the MFP gods. They returned with their magical number of 2320 calories. I checked with a few other sources as well as calculated it through math and stuff. It's about right. From what I've been told, all of the meat from the sacrificed chicken was used to feed the hungry around the world.

    :D

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