tdee vs mfp calorie suggestion

allison1983weber

Hoping for some help from some people with experience in the TDEE department. I am a 31 year old female starting weight 266 (January) current weight 228. I have done mostly beachbody workouts. 1 full round of T25 then 1 full round of Insanity Max 30, now 3/4 done another round of T25. I work my butt off during my workouts and have just started to add in walking/jogging at night (about 3.5k in 30 min)

At this point, the first 30ish lbs came off very quickly at the beginning. Now I have not lost much in the last 6 months (around 10lbs) I have always followed the MFP carlories (1500/day plus workout calories back in sometimes) I am wondering if going the TDEE route and micros/macros might give my body a boost in the right direction. I tend to reach for lean proteins, eggs and chicken and lots of veggies. But we are all human, and I have days where I don't eat that way.

Thanks in advance for you help

TeaBea

MFP & TDEE less a percent should come out the same.....when similar inputs are used.

TDEE should include exercise up front. MFP expects you to log exercise after the fact. Granted, workout calorie burns in MFP are often inflated.

TDEE generally takes a percentage off.....IF the TDEE percentage used is equal to the MFP pounds per week, then you get back to the same place.

Macros / micros don't help you lose weight....that's all calorie deficit. But they do help with satiety and health.

sixxpoint

http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/

Page 2 of that calculator, where you enter your basic info, will help you to understand your actual TDEE (the calories at which you maintain your current weight).

Fill in everything as accurately as you can. Most overweight to obese people will fall in the sedentary or lightly active Activity Level. Google images for Bodyfat % and enter an honest estimate. Waist size can remain blank since it shouldn't affect your TDEE.

Once you have your TDEE, write it down. Subtract 10-20% calories from your TDEE to lose weight at a safe and steady pace. A 20% cut would be my suggested target. This way you have 10% leeway with your diet.

So hypotheticaly, if a person's TDEE is 2,000 calories per day to maintain at 238 lbs, then their daily calorie intake should be between 1,600 and 1,800 calories per day to lose weight (10-20% range less than TDEE). As you gain or lose 5 lbs, you will need to crunch the numbers again since your TDEE will no longer be the same.

Combine all of this with a higher activity level, accurate scanning of foods using your MFP mobile app barcode scanner, the use of a $20-30 digital food scale to weigh your food in grams/ounces, and regular weigh-ins. You should lose weight in no time. If not, then you are either overestimating your average activity level or underestimating your daily calories.

Eliminating high calorie processed foods (and processed foods in general) can really help with composing a rational diet. Also, try to wane off from drinking your calories; they can really add up if you are used to having soda, beer, wine, cream & sugar laden coffee, etc. on a daily basis. Predominate your intake with a rich variety of whole foods found in nature and you should be on a better path.

allison1983weber

Thank you TeaBea I have used a tdee calculator and I changed all my goals on MFP to reflect those. I am going to log my workouts but at 0 calories burned manually, just so I can see that I have worked out. Fingers crossed I get somewhere

allison1983weber

Thank you sixxpoint!!!! I appreciate you taking the time to help! I am going to do that!

Ready2Rock206

allison1983weber wrote: »

I am going to log my workouts but at 0 calories burned manually,

Just an FYI - MFP won't let you enter 0 - you'll have to enter as 1 calorie.

allison1983weber

oh, ok thank you!!