TDEE / BMR etc...

ACyclingAdmin

So I sit at a desk all day (systems administrator) and at home as well. I posted something similar earlier but I don't think I was understood or clear enough... I work out pretty intensely compared to the average person though
This is a moderately active week for me along with my calorie intake (training peaks screenshot) ---
http://content.screencast.com/users/thecyclingadmin/folders/Jing/media/9113340c-5a10-471e-ab2e-c49dabbce15c/2015-05-26_1819.png

I'm not sure if I should set my activity level to sedentary or lightly active just due to the amount of calories I can burn while working out. I can not take a break and just "cut" as I would lose too much form and fitness, the higher your threshold in cycling the more you stand to lose from breaks outside of rest periods.

This is a little confusing for me and I'm having trouble with my google-fu and searching these forums to help me understand this.

fgleiser

I'm on the same boat. I'm a sysadmin/computer consultant sitting on a chair most days but I jog 4 times a week for 1hr on average each time (2 times 45 minutes at a faster pace, 2 times 80min a bit slower).

I set my profile as sedentary, but I'm not sure it's right

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galgenstrick

MrM27 wrote: »

If you're going by the TDEE method asyou obviously are then in reality the activity level you choose in the long run becomes irrelevant because what will determine what you do with your calories is the rate of weight loss. That will come as a result of trail and error. Calculators just give you ballpark figures, you still have to figure it out by yourself. So if for instance sedentary gives you 2000 calories and lightly active give you 2200 and you can't decide,, just pick one or in between, have consistency for several weeks and make adjustments as needed.

^^^ This. When I started I chose sedentary, but logged everything, including going for a walk and it was pretty accurate. It became cumbersome to log everything, so I just switched to the TDEE calculator, and set it at an activity level such that I still had to log my HIIT sessions, because I don't do them on a consistent enough basis to include them in the TDEE calculation.

What you need to do is log your food and exercise accurately and record your weight every day for a few weeks. Then you can use those data to determine your actual TDEE.

ACyclingAdmin

galgenstrick wrote: »

MrM27 wrote: »

If you're going by the TDEE method asyou obviously are then in reality the activity level you choose in the long run becomes irrelevant because what will determine what you do with your calories is the rate of weight loss. That will come as a result of trail and error. Calculators just give you ballpark figures, you still have to figure it out by yourself. So if for instance sedentary gives you 2000 calories and lightly active give you 2200 and you can't decide,, just pick one or in between, have consistency for several weeks and make adjustments as needed.

^^^ This. When I started I chose sedentary, but logged everything, including going for a walk and it was pretty accurate. It became cumbersome to log everything, so I just switched to the TDEE calculator, and set it at an activity level such that I still had to log my HIIT sessions, because I don't do them on a consistent enough basis to include them in the TDEE calculation.

What you need to do is log your food and exercise accurately and record your weight every day for a few weeks. Then you can use those data to determine your actual TDEE.

This makes a lot of sense now, I'm considering a fitbit for my random walks etc... And my cycling is already super accurate since i use a crank based power meter. I read a common mistake as well is not updating calorie goals as weight goes down as well. Thanks!!

editorgrrl

thecyclingadmin wrote: »

I'm considering a fitbit for my random walks etc... And my cycling is already super accurate since i use a crank based power meter.

Your Fitbit burn is TDEE—way more accurate than any online calculator. When you connect your accounts, MFP adjusts your calorie goal to TDEE minus deficit.

You can learn more in the Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

TimothyFish

My activity level is set to sedentary, even though I usually put in at least twenty miles on the bike every evening and whatever on the weekends. I didn't manage that this week because I broke a spoke on two different evenings. Which is part of the reason I don't like the so called TDEE method. I never know how much time I'm actually going to spend on the bike.

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ACyclingAdmin

MrM27 wrote: »

thecyclingadmin wrote: »

galgenstrick wrote: »

MrM27 wrote: »

If you're going by the TDEE method asyou obviously are then in reality the activity level you choose in the long run becomes irrelevant because what will determine what you do with your calories is the rate of weight loss. That will come as a result of trail and error. Calculators just give you ballpark figures, you still have to figure it out by yourself. So if for instance sedentary gives you 2000 calories and lightly active give you 2200 and you can't decide,, just pick one or in between, have consistency for several weeks and make adjustments as needed.

^^^ This. When I started I chose sedentary, but logged everything, including going for a walk and it was pretty accurate. It became cumbersome to log everything, so I just switched to the TDEE calculator, and set it at an activity level such that I still had to log my HIIT sessions, because I don't do them on a consistent enough basis to include them in the TDEE calculation.

What you need to do is log your food and exercise accurately and record your weight every day for a few weeks. Then you can use those data to determine your actual TDEE.

This makes a lot of sense now, I'm considering a fitbit for my random walks etc... And my cycling is already super accurate since i use a crank based power meter. I read a common mistake as well is not updating calorie goals as weight goes down as well. Thanks!!

Adjusting you intake as you lose weight isn't an automatic just because you lost a few pounds.   Again I would say is that you should be looking at the rate of loss instead of just basing it on losing a few pounds.  An automatic adjustment is assuming your body is working on one variable which is weight lost when in fact you have a bunch of things involved like fat lost, have you gained any muscle based on beginner gains as a result of training, how large was your deficit, are there any logging errors that you may not notice that get adjusted when you make the change,  hormones etc.  If you're saying to yourself that you lost 10 lbs of fat and now you have to adjust or you lost 20 lbs and it's time how do you know how much of that weight is really making an impact on your TDEE? 

Let's say you did lose 10 lbs of pure fat and we know that fat burns just over 2 calories per lb, are you going to adjust your intake by 20 or 30 calories?  How much of that weight wasn't fat?  What if you don't have a big amount to lose and you rate slowed down just a little bit but you're feeling fine, your training is great and you are feeling comfortable, are you going to reduce your calories just because?  What if that adjustment makes you make a couple of adjustments here or there in your menu and now you find you are not satiated?  Then you get stressed out and you are kind of hungry and your little friend Cortisol comes knocking on the door messing with your Utopia?   If you are someone that needed to lose 200 lbs and now you lost 100 then obviously the decisions you need to make are going to differ from that person that has 30 or 40 lbs to lose.

Many people will feel a different approach works for them as they lose more weight but what they do may not work for you.  So a standard reduction based on a new weight isn't just a straight answer in my opinion. 

Wow! Very good points, I'm only looking to drop about 10-15lbs as that would put my power to weight ratio closer to the am-pro arena but as everyone here seems to say.... It definitely gets harder the closer you are to your goal lol.... Having been over 200lbs 6 or so years ago, going down 10lbs a year was easy until last year.

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galgenstrick

^^^ that's great advice right there.