Please clarify something...

RoyBeck

If my TDEE is 3450 according to fitness frog why can't I just eat 2950 per day, do no exercise and still have a deficit of 500 per day? I'm not quite getting this TDEE and bmr just yet despite your best efforts. Please help me and go...very...slowly

Thank you.

jwdieter

If your TDEE is 3450, you can eat 2950 and have a 500 calorie deficit.

RoyBeck

But it makes no sense. Why does MFP calculate my daily goals at 2040? This would give me a daily deficit of 1500?!

lizzardsm

Because MFP has funny calculations. Ignore them. MFP almost always underestimates a person's TDEE.

bonitacash08

But it makes no sense. Why does MFP calculate my daily goals at 2040? This would give me a daily deficit of 1500?!

Then you have your activity levels set differently on MFP vs. whatever calculator you used to get your TDEE.

SmartAlec03211988

Because MFP has funny calculations. Ignore them. MFP almost always underestimates a person's TDEE.

This.

MFP says my TDEE is somewhere in the realm of 1750. It's actually 2000-2100 (2300-2600 when I exercise).

RoyBeck

But it makes no sense. Why does MFP calculate my daily goals at 2040? This would give me a daily deficit of 1500?!

Then you have your activity levels set differently on MFP vs. whatever calculator you used to get your TDEE.

It's set at moderate on both.

mathjulz

But it makes no sense. Why does MFP calculate my daily goals at 2040? This would give me a daily deficit of 1500?!

Because TDEE includes that exercise already. MFP doesn't. Once you eat back your exercise calories, you'll probably find that it's fairly close to the TDEE -500.

Method 1 - TDEE -500, 2950 per day
Method 2 - MFP, 2040 + 800 calories of exercise, 2840 calories per day.

Not a lot of difference. Both ways, you're exercising the same. (I am assuming that when, using the TDEE calculator, you put in how much exercise/activity you typically get in a week; that's how most of them work. If you put in the nothing that you're now talking about doing, then the TDEE is off, it shouldn't be giving you 3450!)

RoyBeck

So is 3450 fairly accurate? I'm in the obese category at 35% BMI and weigh 247 lbs. my body burns THAT many calories per day? Wow.

bonitacash08

But it makes no sense. Why does MFP calculate my daily goals at 2040? This would give me a daily deficit of 1500?!

Then you have your activity levels set differently on MFP vs. whatever calculator you used to get your TDEE.

It's set at moderate on both.

And did you put in MFP that you're going to exercise? I swear it's so tricky to get the damn thing to work properly but there is a way.. The TDEE calculators factor everything for you while you have to literally tell MFP what you normally do + what you plan to do on top of that..

RoyBeck

But it makes no sense. Why does MFP calculate my daily goals at 2040? This would give me a daily deficit of 1500?!

Because TDEE includes that exercise already. MFP doesn't. Once you eat back your exercise calories, you'll probably find that it's fairly close to the TDEE -500.

Ah ok ty.

3dogsrunning

Because MFP has funny calculations. Ignore them. MFP almost always underestimates a person's TDEE.

MFP does not calculate TDEE. TDEE includes all activity, including exercise. MFP does not include exercise in their calculations so it is not true TDEE.

OP, can you tell which calculator you used and what activity levels you selected and I'll try to explain it.

But to start BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate - that is what your body needs just to survive, like if you were in a coma survive. It does not account for moving around or daily activities.
TDEE - total daily energy expenditure. That includes all your daily activity, like walking to the car, preparing food, brushing your teeth, as well as your job activity and exercise.

Yes, you can eat 500 calories less than your TDEE and lose weight without exercise, assuming your TDEE didn't include exercise when you did the calculations but there are many other benefits to exercise.

RoyBeck

But it makes no sense. Why does MFP calculate my daily goals at 2040? This would give me a daily deficit of 1500?!

Then you have your activity levels set differently on MFP vs. whatever calculator you used to get your TDEE.

It's set at moderate on both.

And did you put in MFP that you're going to exercise? I swear it's so tricky to get the damn thing to work properly but there is a way.. The TDEE calculators factor everything for you while you have to literally tell MFP what you normally do + what you plan to do on top of that..

I'm with you I think. Thanks.

RoyBeck

Because MFP has funny calculations. Ignore them. MFP almost always underestimates a person's TDEE.

MFP does not calculate TDEE. TDEE includes all activity, including exercise. MFP does not include exercise in their calculations so it is not true TDEE.

OP, can you tell which calculator you used and what activity levels you selected and I'll try to explain it.

But to start BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate - that is what your body needs just to survive, like if you were in a coma survive. It does not account for moving around or daily activities.
TDEE - total daily energy expenditure. That includes all your daily activity, like walking to the car, preparing food, brushing your teeth, as well as your job activity and exercise.

Yes, you can eat 500 calories less than your TDEE and lose weight without exercise, assuming your TDEE didn't include exercise when you did the calculations but there are many other benefits to exercise.

I used fitness frog. 247 lbs, 5 ft10ins, moderate activity, 29 years old

3dogsrunning

Because MFP has funny calculations. Ignore them. MFP almost always underestimates a person's TDEE.

MFP does not calculate TDEE. TDEE includes all activity, including exercise. MFP does not include exercise in their calculations so it is not true TDEE.

OP, can you tell which calculator you used and what activity levels you selected and I'll try to explain it.

But to start BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate - that is what your body needs just to survive, like if you were in a coma survive. It does not account for moving around or daily activities.
TDEE - total daily energy expenditure. That includes all your daily activity, like walking to the car, preparing food, brushing your teeth, as well as your job activity and exercise.

Yes, you can eat 500 calories less than your TDEE and lose weight without exercise, assuming your TDEE didn't include exercise when you did the calculations but there are many other benefits to exercise.

I used fitness frog. 247 lbs, 5 ft10ins, moderate activity, 29 years old

Ok, if you were to do no exercise, you would have to chose a different activity modifier. With the no exercise modifier, your TDEE would be 2755. You would have to eat less than that. So if you cut 500 for 1 lb a week, you would have to eat around 2255 and do no exercise to lose weight. That is still a little over MFP's suggestion, but not far off (and its possible you chose a higher weight loss per week goal for MFP).

Remember, MFP doesn't account for exercise until you log it. It expects you to log exercise and "eat back" those calories.

RoyBeck

That's great I understand now. Your very good at explaining things (Not that anyone who has tried isn't by the way!!)

I only eat back half of my exercise calories to allow for better weight loss and also any errors.

Kristopher25

I started at pretty much the same stats as you. What I found was that MFP had me way too low and although I lost weight in the beginning I stalled out pretty quickly. I found that 2,100 - 2,200 calories per day was the ideal number and am back to losing between one and 1 1/2 pounds per week. I also eat back all of my exercise calories on top of this.

Set your daily calories to between 2,100 and 2,400 and you'll be fine. Eat what you want but stay in this range and you'll be losing a pound or two a week no problem. Be sure to eat back most or all of your exercise calories as well.