For those who are successful with TDEE method

j99li

Hi!

I've been using the TDEE -20% method for quite some time now and it worked at first, but now my weight loss has stalled. I decided to recalculate my TDEE to determine a new calories count for myself.

Previously, I've chosen to choose sedentary as my activity level and then eat back my exercise calories.

Here is what my workouts look like: On Mon, wed and fri, I do a weight training program. On tues and Thurs, I do a one hr spinning class. I dont work out on sat and Sun.

So, given that workout schedule, should I choose sedentary and eat back calories or should I choose another activity level?

For experimental sake, I chose lightly active. I am 67 inches tall, 23 y/o, female, and I currently weigh 180.

So, according to the fat to fit radio website, for lightly active people, they need 2262 calories to maintain 180. And then 2262 minus the 20% is 1809 calories. Currently I am eating slightly above 1700. Does this mean I need to up my calories? Or should I choose sedentary (as before) and eat back calories?

Please help! Thanks in advance!

Greenrun99

Your workout schedule is not lightly active.. underestimating your activity can stall your progress (as well as overestimating) you need to find that area where you lose weight.. I would up your calories for a few weeks and see.. if nothing.. up again.

SideSteel

Hi!

I've been using the TDEE -20% method for quite some time now and it worked at first, but now my weight loss has stalled. I decided to recalculate my TDEE to determine a new calories count for myself.

Previously, I've chosen to choose sedentary as my activity level and then eat back my exercise calories.

Here is what my workouts look like: On Mon, wed and fri, I do a weight training program. On tues and Thurs, I do a one hr spinning class. I dont work out on sat and Sun.

So, given that workout schedule, should I choose sedentary and eat back calories or should I choose another activity level?

For experimental sake, I chose lightly active. I am 67 inches tall, 23 y/o, female, and I currently weigh 180.

So, according to the fat to fit radio website, for lightly active people, they need 2262 calories to maintain 180. And then 2262 minus the 20% is 1809 calories. Currently I am eating slightly above 1700. Does this mean I need to up my calories? Or should I choose sedentary (as before) and eat back calories?

Please help! Thanks in advance!

I would simply take your current intake, reduce it by 10% and move forward.

j99li

Your workout schedule is not lightly active.. underestimating your activity can stall your progress (as well as overestimating) you need to find that area where you lose weight.. I would up your calories for a few weeks and see.. if nothing.. up again.

What activity level does my workout schedule produce?

j99li

Is your recommendation to reduce my current 1700ish by 10%? That would bring me down to 1600s. Then do I eat my exercise calories?

Hi!

I've been using the TDEE -20% method for quite some time now and it worked at first, but now my weight loss has stalled. I decided to recalculate my TDEE to determine a new calories count for myself.

Previously, I've chosen to choose sedentary as my activity level and then eat back my exercise calories.

Here is what my workouts look like: On Mon, wed and fri, I do a weight training program. On tues and Thurs, I do a one hr spinning class. I dont work out on sat and Sun.

So, given that workout schedule, should I choose sedentary and eat back calories or should I choose another activity level?

For experimental sake, I chose lightly active. I am 67 inches tall, 23 y/o, female, and I currently weigh 180.

So, according to the fat to fit radio website, for lightly active people, they need 2262 calories to maintain 180. And then 2262 minus the 20% is 1809 calories. Currently I am eating slightly above 1700. Does this mean I need to up my calories? Or should I choose sedentary (as before) and eat back calories?

Please help! Thanks in advance!

I would simply take your current intake, reduce it by 10% and move forward.

SideSteel

Before you read any of the below I jumped the gun on this. First and foremost how long have you stalled out? If the answer is a couple of weeks, then I'd actually disregard and give it a couple more weeks. If you've been stalled out for a month or more then proceed.

Is your recommendation to reduce my current 1700ish by 10%? That would bring me down to 1600s. Then do I eat my exercise calories?

My recommendation is to take whatever you are eating now in total and reduce it by 10%.

So for example if you are currently eating back your exercise calories then you would continue to do so such that your total intake of calories, on average is about 10% fewer than you are eating now.

If you are currently not eating back exercise calories then you would continue to not eat back exercise calories.

My point being that your gross intake of calories should be reduced another 10% if your weight loss has stalled.

Finally, I would recommend doubling your protein intake and reducing carbohydrate to accomplish this. Your average protein intake is around 60g over the past 2-3 weeks and you'd likely be better off increasing it to the 100-120g mark.

I'm also seeing some days in your food diary that are around 800 calories and it looks to me like the logging is incomplete.

If you do not own a food scale I'd consider getting one, and focus on logging and measuring things meticulously as that could help you in tracking accuracy, which can become very important in situations where you're not losing.

graciepecie

To me it really seems like you're Moderatly Active. So take that number and deduct 20%. Use that number on MFP and don't eat back exercise calories, becaus fat2fit has already calculated your exercising in the numbers!

ahviendha

Before you read any of the below I jumped the gun on this. First and foremost how long have you stalled out? If the answer is a couple of weeks, then I'd actually disregard and give it a couple more weeks. If you've been stalled out for a month or more then proceed.

Is your recommendation to reduce my current 1700ish by 10%? That would bring me down to 1600s. Then do I eat my exercise calories?

My recommendation is to take whatever you are eating now in total and reduce it by 10%.

So for example if you are currently eating back your exercise calories then you would continue to do so such that your total intake of calories, on average is about 10% fewer than you are eating now.

If you are currently not eating back exercise calories then you would continue to not eat back exercise calories.

My point being that your gross intake of calories should be reduced another 10% if your weight loss has stalled.

Finally, I would recommend doubling your protein intake and reducing carbohydrate to accomplish this. Your average protein intake is around 60g over the past 2-3 weeks and you'd likely be better off increasing it to the 100-120g mark.

I'm also seeing some days in your food diary that are around 800 calories and it looks to me like the logging is incomplete.

If you do not own a food scale I'd consider getting one, and focus on logging and measuring things meticulously as that could help you in tracking accuracy, which can become very important in situations where you're not losing.

^^ he knows what he's talking about, solid advice.

j99li

Thanks! I will try that. I've really stalled for like 2 weeks or so, and I'm freaking cuz i'm so used to seeing the numbers on the scale move. I am debating whether I should eat more or less...when I reduced my calories intake before, I was always feeling hungry

Before you read any of the below I jumped the gun on this. First and foremost how long have you stalled out? If the answer is a couple of weeks, then I'd actually disregard and give it a couple more weeks. If you've been stalled out for a month or more then proceed.

Is your recommendation to reduce my current 1700ish by 10%? That would bring me down to 1600s. Then do I eat my exercise calories?

My recommendation is to take whatever you are eating now in total and reduce it by 10%.

So for example if you are currently eating back your exercise calories then you would continue to do so such that your total intake of calories, on average is about 10% fewer than you are eating now.

If you are currently not eating back exercise calories then you would continue to not eat back exercise calories.

My point being that your gross intake of calories should be reduced another 10% if your weight loss has stalled.

Finally, I would recommend doubling your protein intake and reducing carbohydrate to accomplish this. Your average protein intake is around 60g over the past 2-3 weeks and you'd likely be better off increasing it to the 100-120g mark.

I'm also seeing some days in your food diary that are around 800 calories and it looks to me like the logging is incomplete.

If you do not own a food scale I'd consider getting one, and focus on logging and measuring things meticulously as that could help you in tracking accuracy, which can become very important in situations where you're not losing.

marcvandenberg

Choice sedentary and eat back.

If u exercise less or more its always correct.

j99li

To me it really seems like you're Moderatly Active. So take that number and deduct 20%. Use that number on MFP and don't eat back exercise calories, becaus fat2fit has already calculated your exercising in the numbers!

This means that I am going to need to increase my food...and it makes me scared because i'm scared of gaining weight due to increased calories.

I think I am being conservative because I feel like there's more wiggle room if I choose lightly active so that it still works if I dont end up getting to the gym on a certain day

SideSteel

Thanks! I will try that. I've really stalled for like 2 weeks or so, and I'm freaking cuz i'm so used to seeing the numbers on the scale move. I am debating whether I should eat more or less...when I reduced my calories intake before, I was always feeling hungry

I mean this in the nicest way possible:

You're dieting, acute hunger is going to happen at some point. Do what you can through intelligent food selection (high volume low calorie foods are a good idea) to stave off acute hunger. If you're having issues where you can't workout and you look at your coworker and he looks like a hamburger, then you're probably having intake problems. But some hunger here and there on a diet, especially for someone like yourself who has already lost 50+lbs (congrats) is normal.

I would wait 1-2 more weeks before reducing intake.

I would get a food scale immediately and improve your logging accuracy where possible.

SideSteel

To me it really seems like you're Moderatly Active. So take that number and deduct 20%. Use that number on MFP and don't eat back exercise calories, becaus fat2fit has already calculated your exercising in the numbers!

This means that I am going to need to increase my food...and it makes me scared because i'm scared of gaining weight due to increased calories.

I think I am being conservative because I feel like there's more wiggle room if I choose lightly active so that it still works if I dont end up getting to the gym on a certain day

I want to clarify something:

Often times people will reach a plateau and think they need to make some sort of major change in how they calculate their recommended intake. You will see people post things (and no offense to you at all OP, I'm merely making an observation) like "Hey I was using this method, but I'm stalled so now I'll use this method".

The issue with this is that in many cases you already have a reasonable amount of data to use (your intake records) and that data is more valuable than an estimation calculator.

Even though I'm in favor of using a TDEE method for simplicity, I really don't see a need for you to "recalculate" anything. You already know what your intake levels are and what the result is from eating at that intake level. Since you're presumably stalled, you probably need to reintroduce/increase your energy deficit. This is why I'm suggesting a flat 10% reduction in current intake rather than trying to re-do the math. (Note: To avoid confusion -- I'm suggesting giving it another 1-2 weeks, buying a food scale and improving your logging, and THEN reduce 10% if no improvements are seen in that time).


In other words:

What matters is how much you are actually eating and expending. I don't care what any calculator or fancy method of partitioning your calories will do, it does not change energy balance. If you decide to use method B and method B tells you to eat 500 more calories per day than method A, and method A had you eating at maintenance, method B will make you fat and it doesn't matter what the method is.

You can't cheat the system.


I hope this post makes sense.

j99li

Thanks! I dont mind the tough love haha.

So this is what I have in mind, please correct me if I am wrong.

Currently, my gross calories intake is 1,730. Reducing it by 10% will bring me to 1,557 (without considering any exercise). And since I am currently eating my exercise calories, I will continue to do so.

Now, currently on my food/exercise tracking, I don't track the calories burned on days I lift. I am trying to save up money to get a HRM but until then, what would you recommend I do? Because I know I'm burning calories on days I lift but obviously I dont know how much I am burning.

I actually recently just got a food scale and it's amazing how much food I was eating/not eating haha

Thanks! I will try that. I've really stalled for like 2 weeks or so, and I'm freaking cuz i'm so used to seeing the numbers on the scale move. I am debating whether I should eat more or less...when I reduced my calories intake before, I was always feeling hungry

I mean this in the nicest way possible:

You're dieting, acute hunger is going to happen at some point. Do what you can through intelligent food selection (high volume low calorie foods are a good idea) to stave off acute hunger. If you're having issues where you can't workout and you look at your coworker and he looks like a hamburger, then you're probably having intake problems. But some hunger here and there on a diet, especially for someone like yourself who has already lost 50+lbs (congrats) is normal.

I would wait 1-2 more weeks before reducing intake.

I would get a food scale immediately and improve your logging accuracy where possible.

SideSteel

I actually recently just got a food scale and it's amazing how much food I was eating/not eating haha

How recently?

Please read this too:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

j99li

I bought it this past weekend. Is what I wrote previous re: the reduced calories correct?

I actually recently just got a food scale and it's amazing how much food I was eating/not eating haha

How recently?

Please read this too:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

SideSteel

I bought it this past weekend. Is what I wrote previous re: the reduced calories correct?

I actually recently just got a food scale and it's amazing how much food I was eating/not eating haha

How recently?

Please read this too:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

Given that you just got a food scale, I would read the above link, use your food scale meticulously for two weeks (I mean very meticulously. Track and weigh everything you consume).

I would not change your intake until you do this for two weeks. I suspect you will start losing again.

If you do this and you DO NOT start losing again, I would then reduce by 10%.

The protein recommendation still stands. I think you'll benefit from a higher protein intake. 100-120g for starters, reduce carbohydrate by 40-60g to accommodate this.

timbrom

Since you are getting close to your goal weight (judging by your ticker), you probably actually should be eating more. TDEE - 15%, or even 10% is usually recommended once you get close to your goal weight.

Don't freak out about eating more. I had lost 30 lbs, but had been stuck at between 220 and 222 for a little over a month. I increased my calorie intake from 2200 to 2800 calories this past Sunday, with a focus on getting more protein, about 250 grams a day. That's where most of my calorie increase came from since I had been shooting for closer to 150 grams.

Scale said 216.8 this morning.

Edit to say: I am doing the Starting Strength weight training program.