Bit Scared to do TDEE help?

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Firstly, I have seen loads of TDEE posts but I've never actually found any that calculates them well.

The ones I have tried are saying that I should be eating around 3300 calories a day ? to lose weight

Surely this cant be right? Seems so high...

What is the best calculator out there or does anybody know the formula to calculate....


BMR
TDEE


Thanks

Replies

  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
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    I tried it and gained 3lbs and it hurt my stomach to eat so much food so I don't recommend it but there are lots of people that claim it works.
  • jennagoogles13
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    Depending on how much weight you have to lose, you must calculate your TDEE with your current activity level (exercise included) and subtract 10%,15%,20% etc. Another option would be to calculate your TDEE using sedentary, and then eat back your exercise calories!
  • Danni3ll3
    Danni3ll3 Posts: 365 Member
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    Depending on how much weight you have to lose, you must calculate your TDEE with your current activity level (exercise included) and subtract 10%,15%,20% etc. Another option would be to calculate your TDEE using sedentary, and then eat back your exercise calories!

    This ^ is what I do. I use Haybales' spreadsheet and it works for me. I started using it after I plateaued for a while.

    Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Amt7QBR9c6MdGVTbGswLUUzUHNVVUlNSW9wZWloeUE#gid=14
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    I was frustrated with the varying numbers I got out of different TDEE calculators too so in the end I googled TDEE Calculator and calculated my BMR and TDEE on 6 different websites, then took an average and subtracted my percentage from that. I used Scooby's site, FitnessFrog, The FitGirls, IIFYM, The Skinny Equation,and exrx.net
  • sc10985
    sc10985 Posts: 347 Member
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    I don't know. I switched from mfps calorie recommendation to tdee -20% and hit a plateau for over a month. Switched back and lost 1lb the first week... I don't think it works for everyone!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    I don't know. I switched from mfps calorie recommendation to tdee -20% and hit a plateau for over a month. Switched back and lost 1lb the first week... I don't think it works for everyone!

    It didn't hurt though, it boosted your metabolism a bit again so you were able to lose.

    I switched to TDEE-20% but I honestly just can't eat that much food most days, so I guess I'm mostly around MFP goals still.
  • sc10985
    sc10985 Posts: 347 Member
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    I don't know. I switched from mfps calorie recommendation to tdee -20% and hit a plateau for over a month. Switched back and lost 1lb the first week... I don't think it works for everyone!

    It didn't hurt though, it boosted your metabolism a bit again so you were able to lose.

    I switched to TDEE-20% but I honestly just can't eat that much food most days, so I guess I'm mostly around MFP goals still.


    True that it didn't hurt, but I had been steadily losing until then. No previous plateaus. I only switched because of the 101 threads on mfp boasting how much better it is lol. And who turns down more calories? ;)
  • Leeann1979
    Leeann1979 Posts: 1,090 Member
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    I am doing the TDEE method. I like eating too much, and I refuse to eat so little just to lose a bit of weight. I eat 1,999 calories a day, but I don't eat back exercise calories, unless its an intense day, such as a tennis tournament. You wont gain weight, its not enough calories. You may see an initial increase, but it wont last. Your weight loss will probably be slower, but its a more sustainable way to do it. I have lost weight about 45 times in my life, usually 20-30lbs, by eating anywhere from 1000-1600 calories, and I was miserable all the time, plus I always gained back the weight. Plus, if you include your activity level, you don't have to eat exercise calories. I believe exercise calories are drastically overestimated too. A lot of people stop doing the TDEE method because they gain a few pounds in a week, but you need to stick with it.

    Good luck with whatever path you choose!!
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
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    There's no reason to be scared. Try it for a month, changing only the amount of food you eat and not the amount of exercise you do or macro composition. If you gain weight on this new routine or don't lose, your TDEE is not what you set it to. No calculator is going to give you the right number--they are all estimates. The only way to figure out your body's TDEE is by trial and error.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    I used the info in this topic to calculate mine: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13

    It's been working great for me foe almost a year and a half now. As far as a plateau - I would say I haven't had one since starting TDEE, although I did go six months without losing a pound. Some would call that a plateau, but while my weight stayed the same, I was losing inches and dropped a full pants size. :bigsmile:

    I've had steady progress the whole time.